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Cort M520 Electric Guitar

 

Review of the Cort M520 by The Man in the Jar

I came to this guitar with no pre-conceptions. It was my first exposure to Cort guitars. 

Features of the Cort M520

Tuners - Sealed and unbranded mini-tuners that work smoothly.

Headstock - Very compact headstock, three-a-side with the Cort logo in slightly-raised silver lettering.  

Nut - Black plastic nut abuts the rosewood of the fingerboard.

Neck - The mahogany set neck is slim in depth but satisfyingly wide across the fretboard, very much like a Les Paul.

Fretboard - Medium dark rosewood with a good, tight grain and traditional dot markers.

Frets - Medium frets with a low rounded profile.

Action - Quite low from the box with scope to go lower with the right strings loaded.

Body - The mahogany body looks like a cross between a Strat (with the horns) and a Les Paul (with the fat bottom). The contour on the back is Strat-like, but the carved top is Les Paul. What're ya' gonna' do?
Antiqued binding adds a touch of luxury against the black finish.

Bridge - Tune-o-matic with stoptail in chrome. Each saddle is adjustable for intonation and the string height is adjustable with a screw at each end of the bridge assembly. Normally such stoptails and bridge units are held in place on their mounts solely by string tension, and therefore fall off when the guitar is completely destrung. On this particular stoptail Cort have solved that problem by adding two small allen screws that secure the stoptail unit permanently to its mounts.

Pickups - The Cort M520 is loaded with two Mighty Mite LP humbucker pickups. These sit in antiqued housings and sport chrome covers.

Controls - One master volume and one master tone control with a three-way pickup selector. The tone control is also a push-pull coil-tap that taps both pickups at once.

Strap-buttons - Quite small buttons sit in the usual places. I'd be tempted to fit larger buttons, especially if you are gigging this guitar.

Output Jack - On the lower edge in a square chrome plate.

Finish - This is a handsome-looking instrument that is nicely finished.

 

Sound of the Cort M520

This guitar delivers a classic double-humbucker package that has got balls and attitude. The Mighty Mites have a sweet, PAF-like vintage tone that has heaps of depth and character. The bonus comes by way of the double coil-tap which in effect gives you a whole second guitar for free, adding great tonal flexibility for both stage and studio.

 

Overall Impressions of the Cort M520 

So my first impressions of Cort are very good indeed. This is a really attractive axe with bags of rock attitude and a double-bucker voice to match. The dual coil-tap adds a useful extra dimension for when you need it. I would certainly recommend this guitar to anyone who may otherwise be considering a Les Paul copy. The M520 delivers the Les Paul playing vibe without sacrificing individuality in looks. 

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