This is a Cort G series electric guitar with the characteristic body and headstock shape of the range. However, it is apparently a limited edition model, created specially for the Frankfurt Musicmesse 2005 trade show.

The G-VT is basically a relatively inexpensive Strat type guitar with a surprisingly full house of modern features, including a Graph Tech Trem Nut, Lace Sensor pickups, locking tuners and roller string trees.

Body
The body is made of swamp ash, a touch lighter than I expected from an Asian guitar and very resonant as a result. It's made from two pieces of wood, but they are joined in the centre and nicely matched so the join is not obvious. The grain is attractive, without any flaws.

The body shape is a modern "Strat" one, with the usual forearm and tummy contours. Where it differs is it is slightly smaller and the cutaways are deeper, allowing better access to the high register.

The body finish is unusual, being what Cort call 'Burnt Open Pore' - the grain is darkened by burning it somehow. The grain has not been filled (hence the 'Open Pore' designation), and the finish is a thin coat of polyester. The end result is a natural looking matt finish which feels good to the touch, and does not inhibit the sound of the guitar..

Neck
The neck is made of maple with a separate maple fingerboard. The theory behind using a different piece of wood for the fretboard is it makes for a stiffer, more resilient neck which is better at transmitting vibration to the body than a one-piece. It also allows for a better looking piece of fingerboard wood to be used than a one piece neck and fingerboard. The G-VT has some birdseye figuring on the fingerboard - not a lot, but more than many guitars I have seen that are marketed as having birdseye necks.

One small thing that puzzles me with the G-VT's neck is the presence of a rosewood "skunk stripe" down the back of the neck. Usually this is used to insert the truss rod on a one piece maple neck, but is not needed with a separate fingerboard, as the truss rod is fitted to the neck under the fingerboard before the fingerboard is glued to the neck. The neck is finished in a satin polyester, which is very comfortable to the left hand.

The neck contour is a typical Fender style C shape and is thick enough to feel substantial in the palm of your left hand and avoid cramping, but is not so thick that it would be difficult for players with smaller hands or those who prefer a slimmer neck profile. The Fretboard radius is a modern 9.5" the same as a modern Fender Strat.

The frets are medium width and high, something very similar to the Dunlop 9105 fretwire. The fretwork is immaculate, the frets are perfectly fitted, dressed, crowned and polished, allowing the action to be dropped very low without any buzzing if needed. In fact, I've seen worse fret jobs on new guitars costing ten times this guitar's asking price.

Hardware
The tuners (which look like Gotoh made) are staggered locking models. There are two roller string trees which seem like a good idea in theory, but are not needed with staggered tuners - in fact I found the tuning stability improved when I removed them. The nut is a Graph Tech Trem-Nut, which together with the locking tuners keeps the guitar in tune admirably well, even with some fairly radical whammy bar theatrics.

The trem is a two stud type, with cast saddles. A pleasant surprise is the brass inertia block, which is far superior to the cast pot metal blocks which most inexpensive guitars have. Steel inertia blocks are the current popular favourite, but brass is also a good metal, and is not quite as bright sounding as steel.

The finish used on the metal hardware is unusual - a 'rusty' finish. This is not as scary as it sounds as there is no actual corrosion. On close inspection, it looks more as though the surface is left rough, a layer of black chrome finish applied and then mostly removed again. This rough looking, 'relic' style looks very nice - particularly with the burnt open pore finish.

Pickups and electronics
The pickups are Lace Sensors; a blue/gold humbucker and a pair of golds. There is a single master volume and the master tone control is a push/pull pot which taps the bridge humbucker so that only the gold coil is selected. Output is by way of a single barrel jack on the side of the guitar.

The body cavity is well shielded with screening paint, which is applied very consistently and neatly, with a sharp line between the painted cavity and the surface of the guitar. Screened cable is used for all the wiring, aside for the wires leading from the pickups.

Attention to detail
Some of the features on this guitar show really nice attention to detail. The tremolo cavity cover and the plate that covers the access to the jack socket are both recessed flush with the surface of the body. The neck screws use ferrules rather than the traditional neck plate - and these ferrules are neatly recessed. The neck pocket is angled, getting thinner towards the neck, making for as comfortable a joint as you can get with a bolt-on neck. The inlays in the fingerboard are classy looking small abalone ones on the left hand side of the fingerboard.

Build quality
The build quality is excellent, a tight neck pocket with no gaps, the cavities are clean with no routing fuzz and as good a finishing standard as the visible parts of the body. The fret edges are rounded and comfortable. The inlay work is excellent, with no sign of glue or filler.

Sound
The thing that immediately impressed me with the sound of the G-VT was the tone unplugged. It's a wonderful, very resonant tone, a little bright, as this wood combo tends to be, but with a very complex character. After I tightened the trem springs so the bridge was hard against the body, the whole guitar resonated while being played - that "almost alive" feel you get with a good guitar.

Tonally, it sounds pretty much like a good ash bodied maple necked Strat with lace sensors. The Laces are a little sterile for my taste, but the ash body adds some character to make up for that. Neck pickup alone is a very good sound - not quite as woody as I would prefer, but well defined and well rounded. The in-between positions have tons of "quack" and do convincing Knopfleresque sounds. The middle pickup is what I expect from most middle singlecoils - a bit bland by itself, but blending well with either neck or bridge pickup.

The bridge pickup was a bit of a problem for me - there is a bit of a volume jump when using both coils as a full humbucker. This need not be a problem for those players who like a volume jump on the bridge position for soloing, so it is more my personal preference, rather than a fault with the guitar.

The guitar is noise free - as I expected from a guitar fitted with Lace Sensors and well screened. I managed to get some hum eventually, but only by putting the guitar within about 10cm of a CRT monitor - in normal usage this is a completely silent guitar.

Overall the plugged tone is pretty good, a lot better than I usually expect from a guitar in this price range, but not quite as exciting as it was unplugged. This guitar tends to prefer cleaner sounds and Country and clean Funk rhythms are wonderful. Dialling in some grit at the amp provided very usable crunchy sounds, but a little bland. Driven hard, the bridge humbucker becomes very indistinct, struggling to cut through a mix.

I tried different pickups in this guitar, and found that a good set of pickups works wonders. I started with some Fender Custom Shop '69s and the plugged tone sprang to life, immediately gaining boatloads of character and personality. Ultimately though, they were a little bright for this guitar, so I fitted a set of Kinman Woodstock Regulars, which are still very punchy and have the sound of a warmer single-coil. The guitar now has all the character and tone I could want, and works very well with the full range of tones, from clean to high gain.

Detail Photos (Click for large image)
Pickups & controls	Angled Neck joint & recessed Screws	Recessed cavity covers
Graph Tech Nut, Roller string trees, locking machines	Back of the locking machines, clearly showing the 'rusty' finish	The 'rust' finished bridge

Conclusions
This is a great guitar by any standards! Well built, good woods and all the features of a much more expensive instrument. I'd say it's ideal for someone with a limited budget, but expensive tastes, as with a little tweaking it is everything you could want from a Strat type instrument.