Cort has expanded its G Series of affordable electric guitars with the G250 SE, an HSS bolt-on S-style that offers a heap of versatility – and some eye-catching specs – for just $349.
We are big fans of the G Series. In recent years it has offered some of the best-value electrics on the market, with more upscale models in the series such as the G290 FAT II offering a top-shelf performance for under 600 bucks.
The G250 SE is the G Series at its most budget-friendly but it does not lack for features. For starters it has a roasted maple neck bolted onto its basswood body, with that cutaway opening up the entire fretboard.
As with the others in the series, it is designed for all occasions, with five-way switching plus a coil-tap teasing every bit of tone of out that humbucker and single-coil pickup pairing. The G250 SE is fitted with Cort’s newly designed Voiced Tone pickups, which split the difference between vintage and modern.
That VTH-59 bridge humbucker will give it some old-school warmth and muscle, while those more slinky and spanky Stratocaster-style tones are on tap via a push/pull feature on the tone control, or via the the VTS-63 single-coils at the bridge and middle positions.
Whammy bar action is on the menu. We’ve got a vintage-style 2-point tremolo with bent-steel saddles. It looks tidy, with those saddles sitting on a steel base plate.
Elsewhere, the specs are familiar. There is a 25.5” scale length and a 9.45” fingerboard radius. Again, there is sense that Cort is trying to bridge vintage and modern guitar design with this, with the G250 SE’s vibrato, pickup choice and dimensions all calling to mind classic Fender, yet that bevelled heel design is an ergonomic feature that betrays a contemporary influence.
With a guitar like this you have all the permission you need to take it in whichever direction you choose. Old-school blues guitar or 21st-century funk or fusion, it doesn’t matter. This should handle both, and rock, too, while the neck’s satin finish won’t gum up on you when the going gets hot.
That roasted maple and matching fretboard is deep caramel and looks very luxurious for a guitar at this price point. That’s the sort of thing we see on a Charvel.
The G250 SE is out now, and it is available in four solid-colour finishes: Ocean Blue Grey, Olive Dark Green, Vivid Burgundy, and Black. A black pickguard and knurled metal control knobs finishes the look. For more details, head over to Cort.
