“Every guitar player should have a nylon-string guitar in their collection. This is an ideal ‘gateway’ instrument for electric players”: Cort Sunset Nylectric DLX review

What is it?

Every guitar player should have at least one nylon-string guitar in their collection. Even better is a nylon-string acoustic-electric that can hold its own amongst other amplified instruments on stage.

The Cort Sunset Nylectric DLX leans more towards the electric than acoustic side of the spectrum with its chambered solidbody design, but that makes it a great choice for electric players who want to explore the nuances and expressiveness of a nylon-string instrument without having to adapt their playing style too much to a traditional classical or flamenco guitar.

Specs

• Launch price: $999/£572
• Type: Thinline cutaway-electro nylon-string
• Top: Flamed Maple Veneer on Solid Sitka Spruce
• Back: Chambered mahogany
• Neck: Mahogany, bolt-on
• Scale length: 648mm (25.5”)
• Tuners: Classical open-gear with ebont buttons
• Nut: Graph Tech Tusq / 48mm
• FIngerboard: Ebony, 15.75″ radius
• Frets: 22
• Bridge: Ebony with Graph Tech Tusq saddle
• Electronics: Fishman S-Core VTB, Volume, Treble, Bass
• Left-handers: No
• Finish: Tobacco Sunburst Gloss
• Contact: Cort Guitars

Playability and sounds

Featuring a chambered mahogany body with a solid Sitka spruce top covered with a flamed maple veneer, the Cort Sunset Nylectric DLX looks more like a steel-string acoustic-electric or even a solidbody electric (minus the pickups and electric hardware).

The bolt-on neck joins the body at the 16th fret (instead of the 12th), and a deep cutaway and contoured neck-body heel joint provide unrestricted access to the entire fretboard. The body width measures slightly more than 1.75 inches, so it even feels like an electric solidbody instrument.

However, the Nylectric’s slotted headstock, ebony bridge with tie block and mahogany neck with a relatively flat radius (15.75-inch), ebony fretboard with 22 medium-profile frets, 25.5-inch scale length and U-shape profile provide familiar nylon-string aesthetics.

The nut width, which measures 1-7/8 inches is slightly narrower than a traditional classical guitar to allow electric players to adapt to the neck more easily. Internally, the top is fan braced to provide similar sonic characteristics to a traditional acoustic nylon-string guitar.

The built-in Fishman Sonicore under-saddle piezo pickup/preamp system is designed specifically for nylon-string guitar to preserve natural resonance and expressive nuances.

Controls consist of volume, treble and bass knobs, with the EQ allowing players to dial in more presence to cut through a band or warmth for fuller-sounding solo performances.

Thanks to its chambered body design, the Sunset Nylectric DLX can be played unplugged at a decent volume level for practice, although by no means does its purely acoustic sound compare with that of a finely crafted classical or flamenco instrument. However, the bass is nicely round and full-bodied and the treble is sweet and expressive.

Those acoustic tones provide a solid foundation for the Cort’s amplified tones, which is where the Nylectric shines. The chambered body provides “air” and resonance that makes each note sound lively and three-dimensional instead of dry and flat.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

The pickup can handle rather aggressive flamenco strumming techniques without distorting or compressing the tone, although it may not be responsive enough to body slaps to please an Andalusian purist.

Although the Nylectric sounds more than good enough on its own, it really shined when it was processed with a touch of room reverb, which brought the sound even closer to that of a mic’d classical guitar.

Guitar World verdict: The Cort Sunset Nylectric DLX is an ideal “gateway” instrument for electric players who want to add nylon-string classical/flamenco tones to their stage and studio repertoires.

Hands-on videos

Cort

For a great classical nylon-string sound on stage: Sunset Nylectric DLX - YouTube

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• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.