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Cort Earth 100F Electro Acoustic Guitar

 

Review of the Cort Earth 100F by The Man in the Jar 

Classic acoustic looks with Fishman electrics.

Features of the Cort Earth 100F 

Tuners - Sealed chrome mini-tuners with black kidney knobs. Worked very well and stayed in tune nicely.

Headstock - Simple splayed three-a-side paddle design.

Nut - The white plastic nut abuts the fretboard. All is neat and tidy here.

Neck - The three-piece mahogany neck has a nice rounded feel in the palm of the hand that tapers out behind the first three frets. The semi-gloss finish enhances the playability. Sound transmission and sustain is enhanced by the use of a dovetail joint to secure the neck to the body.

Fretboard - The dark rosewood fretboard is bound in black on both edges with dot markers along the upper edge. The dot markers on the fretboard itself very tiny white inlays which give the guitar a nice vintage look. The heel starts behind the 11th fret and the fretboard joins the body at the 14th fret.

Frets - The thin frets are all well finished.

Action - The medium high action gives good resonance for strumming but makes you earn your living above the 8th fret.

Body - Dreadnought proportions bode well for depth of sound but may be less that easy for smaller people to cope with, especially in the sitting position. The sitka spruce top is solid (not laminated) and gleams with a lovely blonde colouring. The back and sides are mahogany and white binding front and back gives visual definition. The soundhole inlay is of dark wood which gives an air of classy craftsmanship and the top is finished off with a discreet double pinstripe binding. 

Bridge - The plain rosewood bridge supports a plastic saddle which is compensated at the second string. The strings are secured with traditional bridge pins.

Pickup - The 100F is equipped with the Fishman Classic 4 electrics with a single bridge pickup.

Controls - The control panel on the top of the instrument has faders for Volume, Brilliance, Treble, Middle and Bass.

Pickguard - Teardrop in mock tortoiseshell.

Strap-buttons - Only on strap button on the bottom of the body.

Output - The output jack is incorporated within the strap button on the base of the guitar. 

Finish - I could find no flaws in the finish of this Chinese-made instrument.

Accessories - None.

 

Sound of the Cort Earth 100F

Acoustically the Cort has the sonic advantage of the dreadnought proportions, nice depth to the mids and bass with a chime in the top strings. But I think this particular model was struggling against the fact that the strings it came with weren't in the best of condition. This is not unusual in instruments from the Far East. In any event I always recommend you treat yourself to new strings as soon as you can, whatever the guitar you choose, and change them regularly to keep up your instrument's sonic well-being.

Amplified, the Fishman stepped in and with the exceptional Classic 4 EQ system I was able to coax the best from the Cort. A boost to the mid and bass and a tweak of brilliance banished the failings of the strings and allowed the voice of the 100F to boom with great authority.  

 

Overall Impressions of the Cort Earth 100F

This is a nice workmanlike instrument with a classic clean construction using traditional materials. When you add the Fishman electrics with the wide ranging EQ available the package starts to become attractive value for money. Perfect for the intermediate acoustic player to take their first steps into the amplified arena. To that end Fishman have thoughtfully provided a number of EQ settings in the manual for Fingerstyle, Scooped Mid, Strummer and Cut-Through. These are a good way to get familiar with the preamp and EQ system and begin to explore the wide range of sounds available.  

Buy the Cort Earth 100F

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