Guitar World Verdict
For a youngster who is just setting out on their guitar journey, this guitar would be an absolute gem. But seasoned players who want a sofa buddy or even just a bluesy knockabout would be well advised to seek one out. At a price point that’s cheaper than the average drive pedal, it isn’t a difficult decision to make, after all!
Reasons to buy
- +
A great deal of good, fun sounds for the price.
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Good workmanship.
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Great looks.
Reasons to avoid
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We can’t help thinking that a bone nut and saddle would up the ante even more.
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What is it?
It’s not often that we dive this deep into the budget end of the acoustic guitar market, but when we heard that Indonesian mega-manufacturer Cort had produced a parlour guitar that has a lot to say for itself at a staggeringly low price, we had to take a look.
And if your eyes just drifted up the retail price, then yes, that’s not a typo or a misprint: the retail price of this guitar really is $209/£139.
What’s more, the AP550M’s spec looks amazingly reasonable for this end of the market, and when you factor in Cort’s reputation for producing quality instruments bearing surprisingly low price tags, let’s say breath is somewhat bated around these parts.
Cor-Tek, Cort’s parent company, reportedly turns out around 25,000 acoustic guitars per month across its massive 10-building manufacturing facility in Ngoro, Indonesia, and makes guitars for numerous big-name brands, too, including PRS’s very highly regarded SE range.
But even this mind-boggling statistic and the supposition that mass production at this kind of epic scale could keep prices low doesn’t seem to justify the somewhat meagre ticket price for this little parlour guitar. But enough of the theorising, it’s time to open the box and examine the goods.
For starters, it has to be said that the AP550M is very handsome, from its slotted headstock to its open-pore matt black finish. In fact, the slotted headstock raises another point: if cost-cutting is at a premium here, then surely a solid headstock would be cheaper to manufacture? We’re still full of questions.
Spec-wise, the parlour’s top, back and sides are mahogany, and it’s just possible to see a little of the distinctive grain pattern through the finish. It would seem that the back is made up from four pieces of timber, and the seams inside the guitar – viewed through the soundhole – confirm this.
Of course, this also bears out the fact that it’s solid woods we’re dealing with here. It’s also worth mentioning that multi-piece backs are not necessarily a cost-cutting manoeuvre on Cort’s part as many manufacturers have produced acoustics this way, including Martin’s celebrated D-35. The top, however, is the standard bookmatched two-piece.
The neck is once again mahogany with a separate heel, and it doesn’t look like there’s a scarf joint for the headstock, but the density of the finish hereabouts defeats our investigative eye.
Fingerboard duties are given over to a new timber for us – merbau – and the Wood Database tells us that this particular wood has many aliases including kwila, ipil and sometimes Borneo teak or Johnstone River teak. Here, it’s practically a dead ringer for the more accustomed rosewood and is reputedly extremely durable. It certainly has the sheen of a fine rosewood, too.
Along its course the 19 frets are not only neatly seated, they have been polished and had the ends finished so that there are no sharp edges as you move your hand over the playing area. We noticed that there were a couple of rough edges above the 12th fret, but nothing that would make us deduct any points.
Cort’s quality control is, as ever, at optimum levels even on its budget instruments
We’d swear that the fretboard edges have been lightly rolled, too, which came as a very pleasant surprise. We can’t stop thinking about the retail price; there’s evidence of a lot of finesse in the guitar’s fit and finish, and Cort’s quality control is, as ever, at optimum levels even on its budget instruments.
It’s merbau once again for the Cort’s bridge, the ‘pyramid’ ornamentation at either side being a very nice touch. If we were to aim just one slight criticism at the fittings on the AP550M it would be that the nut and saddle are both made from Polyphenylene Sulfide, or PPS for short.
This is a material that echoes the Corian nuts and saddles used on some Martin acoustics in both feel and appearance. We can’t help thinking that bone would have been a better option and wouldn’t have added too much to the price. There would be a tonal upgrade to be had which might add to this little parlour’s allure somewhat, too.
Specs
- Price: $209 | £139 | €179
- Origin: Indonesia
- Type: Parlour
- Top: Mahogany
- Back/Sides: Mahogany
- Max Rim Depth: 116mm
- Max Body Width: 358mm
- Neck: Mahogany
- Scale Length: 648mm (25.5”)
- Tuners: Vintage classic
- Nut/Width: PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide)/45mm
- Fingerboard: Merbau
- Frets: 19
- Bridge/Spacing: Merbau with PPS compensated saddle/55mm
- Weight (kg/lb): 1.6/3.6
- Options: Available in plain mahogany finish
- Left-Handers: No
- Finish: Open pore black
- Contact: Cort Guitars
Build quality, usability and sounds
It would be difficult to sum up exactly what our expectations were when we began exploring the AP550’s sound potential. If so much care has been taken on the aesthetics, then surely an equal amount of time would have been spent on ensuring a good sound.
Examining the guitar in the playing position, the neck is a very welcoming C profile and so players more used to electric guitar necks shouldn’t have too much trouble acclimatising. It’s also a very light instrument, just 1.6kg (3.5lb), and so it’s easy to manoeuvre while sitting. There is no second strap button on the heel, but these are dirt cheap and easy to fit if desired.
The action is spot on – a lowish medium – and so our first chords were a breeze. And then there’s the sound. Whereas this might have been the Cort’s downfall, it turned out that the AP550 sounds as good as it looks. Campfire chords ring out with a surprising amount of bass register supporting some very sweet trebles.
A few parlour models we’ve played in the past have been boxy and lacking in bass and lower mids, but that isn’t the case here. In order to make sure our ears weren’t deceiving us we grabbed a nearby small-bodied acoustic we had to hand – which, incidentally, cost 20 times this price – and although it definitely sounded smoother and more rounded than the Cort, there certainly wasn’t the kind of difference we would have expected.
It has its rough edges, for sure: its voice seemed to demand anything with a country blues lilt to it. But when we say ‘rough’ we’re really talking characterful. And after playing it for way longer than is necessary for this review, we also realised that we were having a great deal of fun with this little parlour guitar. It proved very difficult to put down.
If it scores in the chord department, how about when we travel up the neck into the single-note soloing zone?
Even here, the low action, nicely polished frets and good-feeling neck profile all provided a great playing experience with notes that sang out with tonal polish and a very good amount of sustain.
Verdict
Verdict: ★★★★½
As we said, we’d heard good things about the AP550 and our curiosity was well rewarded.
We can remember a time when buying a cheap acoustic meant a tortuously high action, a bad setup and an indifferent, shallow tone. But that’s not the case here. It's easy on the eye and the pocket, and an instrument that doesn’t want to fight back with an agenda of unplayability.
Guitar World verdict: For a youngster who is just setting out on their guitar journey, this guitar would be an absolute gem. But seasoned players who want a sofa buddy or even just a bluesy knockabout would be well advised to seek one out. At a price point that’s cheaper than the average drive pedal, it isn’t a difficult decision to make, after all!
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