Cort vs. Gibson Guitars - Shoot-Out! CR250 vs. Les Paul !!

For behind the scenes (and to see what videos are coming before they get released) ... friend me on Facebook. Full contact details here :
thetoneking.com...
Folks, enjoy this friendly shoot-out between Cort and Gibson!
Featured is the Cort CR250 and the Gibson Les Paul (Standard & Custom)
For those that haven't seen, here is my stand-alone review of the Cort :
• Cort CR250 Guitar Revi...
Here is the full write up on the CR250 :
thetoneking.com...
I hope you enjoy this video.
Thanks & Rock ON! Please note, description above may contains affiliate links to companies like Amazon.com, Sweetwater.com, ThomannMusic.com, Reverb.com, etc. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, I'll receive a small commission with no added cost to you. Thank you for your trust & support!

[@DrBliss23]

I think the Cort 250 sounds better than BOTH of the Gibsons. Wow.

[@beefnacos6258]

Gibson's are over rated.....

[@281cu6]

To my ears the Gibsons have far greater clarity in the Neck Position. Bridge position sounded better to me in the Cort model.

[@electrojazz14]

I am a Gibson unconditional. I owned a few Les Paul and 335 all along my playing life which is 55 years or so of Jazz Brazil and Funk. I own 2 Corts a M200 and a Source 335 except for the es347 which I think is the most amazing Jazz guitar I have played, Cort is the big winner these days, in quality and in price. As far as what I just heard, for 20% of the price there's no question in my mind! I want to thank you for your great video.

[@wagnernoise]

With such amount of gain (and a Blackstar head) a pineapple will sound the same! I've missed a clean comparison between them

[@komalthecoolk]

Thank you. There was 4 minutes of high gain playing and no clean tone. WHY?

[@resington]

I just got the CR250. Woooh, really impressed so far. A les Paul style gee that stays in tune!! I kid you not. Needs sum thicker strings but very smooth action, set up, finish and none of that annoying low E loose tention balls, well done Cort, cheers!

[@defilrepairman1970]

Cort CR250 has thinner and lighter body...after 4 years of using, I can say- its very goog guitar, neck is comfortable, very good tuners, only pickups are thinnest point, I have replaced with SD. In my opinion ist underestimated guitar!

[@TheMrLoucrazy]

DEFIL Repairman man, How about the Vintage Les Paul? O really enjoy this Cort, but the Vintage brand made some great les pauls....

[@daw162]

For some reason, they chose Alnico 2. Some people like that (i'm fine with it), but I'd rather have something that sounds more like a burstbucker pro or duncan SH1/SH4 combo. Fortunately, the cort CR custom actually comes with those duncans. I found one for $300 used. Great guitar. The slightly thinner body makes it a lot more balanced than a non-chambered les paul.

[@craigrollandpoirier1979]

useless. I wanted to know about the quality, sound and play ability of the neck. i really could care less about the look of these guitars. Corts are great but all this video does is point out the superficial qualities of these guitars. we know nothing about the pick ups or the electronics. open them up..... tell us about the guts! it's super great that you can show off and play some riffs but this video has minimal informative properties.

[@daw162]

The electronics in the guitars are relatively basic. Cort guitars are straight when they come from the factory. Their fit and finish is better than Gibson's faded guitars (their qc is good), and the components are all decent but not the same level us something like an LP traditional or standard. Used price for a CR250 is in the ballpark of $300. Setup and QC for Gibson's LP standard types is generally a little better, and things like binding all are a little bit more elegant looking. I've had - these are all LPs, I've had far more guitars in general from these brands - tokai (four), gibsons (2), cort (2)...maybe something else that I can't recall. I only still have the two corts. There's just nothing functional in terms of playing that's better with the gibsons, and while the fit of the higher end of the tokais is better (anything with an H and a 200 number or better is generally going to be tighter than a USA gibson, too), the pair of corts cost me about $500 used. Cort's customs (which generally have duncans in them and associated electronics) don't sell well used, so you can usually get them cheap. One of my two is a CR250, the other is a cort CR custom with a duncan SH1 and SH4 stock. the two corts are a pound or so lighter than the gibsons that I had, and the tokais, and are more comfortable to play even if they don't feel like a $3000 guitar. they do feel better than gibson's $1000 guitars and seem to age better.

[@blisssenseripzyzz4evermiri176]

@@daw162 is cort better than agile?, say agile 3200? I can't decide between epi lp standard, cort or agile.

[@thedudelives]

Slash should start playing a Cort CR250 !!!

[@romaff8520]

LoL 🤣🤣

[@pedromota1774]

My first Guitar was a CORT x1. I Payed 150 dollars,went home thinking it wouldn't even Hold being tuned....Guess what...i never switched Brands again

[@daw162]

I've scraped up a couple of cort custom level guitars (which sell for almost nothing here, but come with duncans, etc) and a gaggle of others. I had a bunch of tokai and gibson guitars, still do have two collings. The cort custom guitars really don't have any holes in them, even if they don't feel quite as expensive as the top end of the gibson line. they are nicer than gibson's "faded" stuff, and seem to hold up a little better over time for a lot less money. Nothing touches the collings guitars, but you'll cry for a day if you put a ding in one. One ding in a collings guitar effectively drops its' value more than the total cost of any used cort guitar that I've ever found.

[@beefnacos6258]

Dude. I absolutely knew nothing about Cort guitars. I found a m 1200 cheap. I bought it. And it blew my mind.

[@atesnese4292]

My first guitar was a x1 too

[@sahashantanu]

Just picked up a Cort 250, a bit doubtful initially as I had my heart set on a LP 100 in the same budget, but thanks-I think i made a good and affordable choice!

[@lawrencegenereux8567]

It doesn't surprise me at all that the Cort is a great guitar. I have a Conklin GT-7 bass. It's made in the Cort factory, and is flawless. Best bass I've ever played, and I've played too many to count.

[@Mirko1957]

For me Cort sounds better than both Gibson guitars it sounds realy great!

[@Arcturian1111]

Wow that CR250 sounded F....g amazing.

[@mhdz10]

I love the sound of the LP Custom, but honestly in second place I put the Cort, because of the great features and great sound, all that for a smaller sum of money.

[@luizzeross]

Excellent review! After some adjustments, I got myself very surprised with the Cort CR250. Never thought that I would like it that much. Already replacing it's pickups for the Seymour Duncan JB + Jazz I had once in an Epiphone Standard. The neck feels really confortable on this model.

[@bradthebluefish]

The Cort CR250 sounds really close to the Gibson Standard LP. I will always search through the Cort catalog first before I shop elsewhere. Great stuff.

[@rogersharpe1043]

1st place goes to LP custom. 2nd Cort. 3rd Standard...

[@normlord8160]

I have a cort explorer from 1984 my first axe I ever bought 31 years ago well 30 plus guitars have come and gone since including led Paul's strats Kramer's Jacksons etc guess which I still have and will never get rid of lol lol. freaking cort my best pal ever

i have a couple of Corts. Jabs garage model and a really great ML 520 that beats any Gibson i had..if i consider the price for the ML520 it's ridiculous.. feel free to pay your money on Gibsons when a CR250 is just as good.. or in some cases ..better.. i have deep respect for Cort as guitar maker..my Jabs Garage model feels just as good as a US Fender in quality..

[@agirotto1]

Yep. It seems like the Cort guitar gets the job done. Great work.

[@monmixer]

I'm impressed with the Cort sunset series..seriously thinking of buying one.

[@jepa2527]

I know it's 7 years after but did you get one? I just have the cort sunset tc worn butter and loving it!

[@HankMartin-ll4pi]

Thanks for the video it shown me that Cort range are excellent value for the money and hold there own in this test....🎼🎶🎸👍

[@bjfornash9976]

Can’t knock a Cort.🎸🤘🏼. Been around a long time and always delivered. I love all these guitars, so I couldn’t pick a “winner”. 🤘🏼🎸⚡️⚡️

[@timothyplonk4266]

I bought my CORT CR250 based on this review. Cort based their alnico II pickups on vintage Gibson PAF's. That said,I love alnico V pickups so I installed Stew-Mac Golden Age PAF alnico V buckers and now that's tone. The CR250 is not too heavy,I have had a number of back surgeries and can play it comfortably. With the money saved not buying a Gibson,I also installed locking tuners and locking Faber hardware ,CTS pots. I have not seen or heard a Gibson that will touch it.

[@kangaxx89]

man that grey les paul sounds amazing !!!

[@Mockingbirder6]

Great job TTK in pointing out that paying more doesn't always get your more. Your write-up behind this video was spot on!

[@metaldarka13]

well, i think that everyone haves their own opinion and taste, so what i recommend you is to try them both, and see wich one you like the most.

[@BlackBalloonGraz]

Cort has a very transparent open sound which i like, without sounding shrill. I bet it works great with a vintage style vintage gain amp like jtm45. For the price this is amazing. Most vintage sounding of the 3

[@OrdinaryWatchGuy]

This is great - very helpful, very informative. That Cort CR250 certainly looks like a good deal.

[@jepa2527]

Underated brand seriously.. I have the sunset tc worn butter and sounds amazing!

[@metaldarka13]

well... what I can say to you is that Cort is great brand known for their good guitars in affordable prices. Epiphone is a bit diferent. Some people say that they are as good as Gibson, some say the exact opposite.

[@spaceburger80]

I thoroughly enjoyed the comparison and accompanying discussion. This is the first I've heard about Cort, so I thank you for putting it on my radar!

[@kamaboko1]

@mechmat12345 As a Gibson owner, I think it would be more accurate to say you're paying more for the parts, labor, materials, woods and craftsmanship, but not necessarily getting more.

[@LautaroGalanCid]

Never trusted Cort until i bought my first EVL series Axe. It took my 96 Jackson's dinky and my Ibanez Prestige's place for less than a half of what i've paid for those. Im in love of the series, and really love the brand now...

[@tak178]

I actually enjoyed the voicing of the bridge pickup on the Cort. The notes rang very nicely. That said, the Gibson cannot be matched for tone, there's just something about a Les Paul that gives it that punch.

[@1835msd]

I think the tone kings technique is getting better. The Custom seems to push the gain a little more imo, but the other two sound pretty close. You seem to be able to play it rather well, I might have to check one out.

[@DoubleD42]

we need more cort videos, (fit and finish compared to other top end brands) I have a Cort X-custom, I love this ting so much, bought it new a long while ago but dont remember when it was, also cant find any info on it. For those that maybe know where I can research the info or someone that may have a better understanding of release dates of Cort guitars here's a description of my X. Body Color : Black Hammer tone Bolt-on neck Body Basswood Neck: 3pcs Canadian silver maple Fretboard: Rosewood, 15 3/4 "Radius (400mm) Frets: 24 / Jumbo (2.9mm) Scale: 25 1/2" (648mm) Double Locking II Tremolo Pickups: Seymour Duncan SH4 neck and SH-8b Invader bridge Electronics: 1 volume, 1 tone with push pull, 3-position selector Carved body Bond neck Any help would be appreciated

[@angelmusick2428]

I like Cort most

[@NomNom_Nom28]

my very first guitar was a cort and it came with a whammy bar n I just loved it now after 5 years I have a gibson lp 2012 traditional and its my guitar for life.

[@DeWittPotts]

I have just a couple of comments on this video. My first comment is that what you are using to listen to these may make as much difference as what the Tone King is using to record them. I am listening through my laptop with my Sony reference headphones. I think the Cort held up very well against the Gibsons. I own a 1975 LP Standard. I have played newer Gibsons and agree with the comment about the quality. New Gibsons are made mostly offshore and assembled here and the quality will show it.

[@hawg427]

There was a slight difference to me, not a $2000 difference though. The Cort doesn't have as thick a top as the Gibsons. The Cort Model above the one you demo'd does have a "Thick" top and might give it the same tone as the Gibsons. Although I do have a Gibson I wouldn't spend $2200 and up for one, especially with all these guys making affordable Single Cuts. Good Demo :-)

[@esalexg]

the cort sounds very very similar, could say, is almost the same sound , because the size of the guitars is the same size , what matters is the model , i think. because i was playing some models of this guitars and sounds very similar .

[@brianyork5510]

It looks as if the cut out is deeper on the Cort. The Cort sounded better to me also. Love the vids.

[@joaogabrielmatsudaverdi4070]

Brian York the cut is the same in all three, but Cort's is sharper on the edge so looks deeper, but is really the same. Looks good tho

[@fsdssfsfsdsds]

welcome to the Tonk-King!!!

[@kingstumble]

These days it's virtually impossible to buy a "bad" guitar.This was definitely not the case when I started playing about a hundred years go! I currently have a Gibson and a Tanglewood and there is hardly any difference.Which is my go to guitar? The Tanglewood.I kid you not.

[@sahilkaila9299]

I am confused between Cort CR250 and Ibanez 170Dx ? which one is the best ?

[@selwynkatz519]

The more Cort instruments are sold in the world--the more dignity can be restored to the proud craftsmen that make them.

[@onlyprnasneeded]

@coolumar335 That's because he mentioned all those points in the actual reviews. Look them up.

[@vanderpawl]

1:43 Best sound

[@search895]

I have heard someone saying PRS are normal average not high quality guitars, but fine finished, which makes the price so high.

[@whitebladed1]

La diferencia es pequeñísima, para alguien que no esta acostumbrado a la guitarra es casi imposible de distinguir.

[@thestratdude1]

True, there are guitars that cost more than Gibsons (PRS, etc.), but this particular video focuses on Les Paul-style guitars so I was referring to those. I will say that Gibsons are nice - I've owned exactly 5 in the past and 3 were excellent (1 was ok and the other flat-out sucked). I purchased my last Les Paul in 1992 for $1,199 and that was a good price. Now they're twice that much and the increase was more than just "inflation".

[@guitarjammer1]

I owned a Gibson 2010 LP studio. It was $799. But I wanted the fireburst finish. It was an additional $520.00 for the finish. I loved the guitar. Sustain was awesome. But was forced to sell it. If I ever get another one, I would consider the Cort series first. Then maybe Epiphone.

[@Petersorg]

This actually happened at the Korean site. If you search "Ugly truth behind Cort" here on youtube, you'll see that this was a very serious issue! There was an incident where a worker set himself on fire in a protest and several people got unemployed after the closure of a Cort factory without any warnings.

[@antonpaaske2169]

your amp is way too driven to hear the diffrence, all of them sounds alike. But there is no doubt that the custom is the one with the best build quality. try with slightly less gain? But at bitchin video!

[@russ02281990]

totally agree. more people should do reviews with mildly driven distortion for comparisons.

[@uTuber561]

Thanks I was going to buy an electric guitar so this video helped me much.,...

[@rampage222555]

the cort sounds surprisingly good compred to the other 2. not as good as the custom, but pretty good.

[@TheSolfilm]

Hey Tone King, thanks of you I bought a Chapman CAP 10 and I am very pleased with that guitar. I was wondering to buy a Blackstar ID Amp Head. I see that you are using that amp in this video. What is your opinion on them ?

[@yellowhorse52]

I would like to see you do the same thing with the Cort and the Agile 3000. I think the Agile will blow the cort away.

[@myworstenemy680]

If you're looking for an affordable single cut that smokes cort and epiphone, check out the dbz bolero. For metal they make a bolero with emg's and an ebony fretboard under $800.

[@Funkfreed]

Been having a hard time looking for les paul here in my country. Only Epiphone is available. Was wondering if these are worth it over the Epiphone classic series?

[@vanderpawl]

Wow. The G Custom is the wow one for me.

[@stringbreaker6]

Proud owner of 5 gorgeous gibsons! RESPECT:)

[@donnylee1992]

Actually Korea's factories were the original Cort factories. They didn't make the Indonesian and Chinese factories til later.

[@Claudisimooo]

There's a big difference between the cort crt 280 and 250. Everyone should save a little more money and go for the 280. I don't think it can be compared with a gibson anyway, but it costs half the money

[@rockriff8889]

Be interesting to hear the Cort with Burstbuckers fitted. Against the Standard... Was there a big difference in playability ???

[@search895]

I would go for the Cort. Epiphones are not as good as they seem, some of them are really bad, some not. but if Cort 250 can apparently beat a Gibson Standard, I would surely go for a 280.

[@wridefree]

i did a testing between Epi's LP standard and cort 250, the sound definitely better than the epis.. and i end up buying the 280 model

[@serdar.saglam]

I bought a cort cr250 today. I hope it is still good

[@Sevenxsnroses]

Well is it?

[@serdar.saglam]

@@Sevenxsnroses It is but i sent it back because of some damages

[@thestratdude1]

I've owned Gibson Les Pauls before, and they're great guitars (except the late 80's white Custom that I had - very poor workmanship but that was during their transition between MI and TN). But looking at the current prices, there is NO WAY a hunk of mahogany with wires in it is worth $2,500. Period. I'd take the Cort or any other Chinese copy any day of the week. Listening to this video, it's obvious that Gibsons are WAY overpriced. The Cort sounded just as good.

[@maggot6639]

I'd go with Cort cause i don't believe a guitar is worth more then 1000, and it also has a bigger body, but i like them jumbo's on the standard, or well they seemed Jumbo to me, but I would personally go with Cort :)

[@suhakv45]

우리나라가 너희나라보다 작을수는 있어도 우리나라 역시 위대한 나라다. Our country may be smaller than yours but our history is as great as yours. 세계에서 가장유명한 휴대전화와 자동차를 만들고 We make the most fast phones and cars in the world 세계 피겨스케이팅 챔피언 김연아와 박지성의 오른발과 왼발이 있는 나라라고 Also we have the world's champion figure skating Kim Yun Ah, and we have Park Ji Sung's left and right foot; 우리는 한국을 소중하게 생각한다. 다시는 한국을 무시하지 마라 We think that Korea is very precious. So never ever disregard Korea again

[@KingofPho75]

the custom sounds soo raw!

[@mechmat12345]

@Miteour17 There are a lot of things other than setup that affect playability. Fret sizes and how well their dressed, neck shape and finish, etc, etc. If you're going to compare how they're setup, you should compare each with their best setup anyway, so that's largely irrelevant.

[@marcio7580]

Great video. Thanks so much!

[@sarjanAbong]

I like the LP custom most. But i prefer the sound of the Cort than the LP standard

[@MrVic1954]

The purple LPS seemed to hve a brighter tone for the clean setting.

[@johnsmith-uh1gs]

You see all kinds of hype about Cort guitars, but good luck trying to find one in the US. You contact dealers listed on the Cort site and are told "we no longer sell them". It would seem US dealers have issues with Cort.

[@thestratdude1]

Not to shock you, but real Les Pauls also say "Gibsun". The top of the "b" and the top of the "o" are not connected on the real ones either, so the "o" does resemble a "u".

[@search895]

Many people would say "oh this cheap guitar would not work" but I dont think the same. A cheap guitar can be greatly built. This case seems so :) Epiphones sometimes are, I would not say all o them are crap: I have one and is great! But in the last years many of them are not greatly made and some of them are really bad. Anyway if you try out the guitar before buy it's better. But i think i would buy this cort without trying it.

[@jwguitar]

The new Cort CR300 is where its at. It is a true "Les Paul Killer."

[@SnakeRiverFishing]

Like to see the thickness of them tops shown with the pups out, I've seen everything from the full bookmatched 5/8" top on my Korean Tradition S2002 LP built by ex-Gibson luthiers (thickest) to the damn gorgeous top is actually a photo of maple sticker. I quit comparing guitars by make years ago, each one is as unique as women are and some of my finest sounding and playing axes were won under 100 bucks shipped MIOverseas unknowns.

[@search895]

Also there is the Cort 280 which has similar price to the 250 and must be better.

[@david-eler]

The Cort has a cleaner sound when void. And with distortion is the same thing. It is best to Cort because it is cheaper, with a sound very similar to Gibson, who with a clean sound like a Memphis Mg35!

[@search895]

Are them mahogany? if not, try mahogany (buy second hand cheaper). If yes, try a non-mahogany guitar or different pick ups. If your guitars are confortable to you and you only wanna change the sound, perhaps you could change the pick ups. That's what I do. I find many pick ups interesting. Cheaper and strong are the Wilkinson, Entwistle, GFS or Dragonfire. Better are the seymour duncans. Interesting are the SD P-Rails: check them out.

[@b44styreraug]

Wow, the my speakers can't handle the high gain distortion! They are peaking \m/ Btw, I feel that all 3 guitars sounded kinda the same. Just that the Cort sounded a little thinner than the LP custom. However, if you were to let the Cort stand alone, I suppose it will be a great sounding one. Personally, as someone with nearly 4 years guitar experience. I feel that a good guitar is more about its handling and feel, rather than the sound. Sound can be subjective to individuals.

[@PlaYnPause25]

I own this Cort and can say that this video is far from reality. Cort is great guitar for value, but it definitely is far from those Gibsons. Sure the sound is quite close to Gibsons, but every thing apart that reviels lack of quality. Tuners, jack, switch were total shit, had to change them. Fret job is bad, the high E string tends to catch behind fret wire. The pickups came with some dirty coating. All that said, I still love my Cort CR250 after giving it some upgrades and properly setting it up.

[@blackwolfgypsies]

The custom LP sounded a little brighter than the two. The standard LP and Cort 250.... just about the same... the Cort CR280 and CR250 just about the same. People who own a Gibson LP should be proud, it sounds great and costs a fortune. I own 2 Corts and I'm happy to get that very LP Gibson sound for a very affordable price... most Epiphones i tried didn't match the Cort CR250. in playability, sound and smoothness of craftsmanship... why? i have no idea.

[@urimeba]

I'm going to buy a new guitar, and I want a Cort CR 280 or a Ephiphone Les Paul. Which of these two would you recommend? Thanks for reading.

[@ManGobio]

At first glance, it would sound ridiculous to compare a Gibson guitar to a Cort guitar. But hearing the sounds that come from the three pieces...they are very similar except the little differences only noticed by profesional guitar players. But I want to ask you something, please...what do you think about Cort guitars? Are they good instruments for beginers only? Are they good instruments for pro players? Are they just like battle horses? What would you say about Cort Guitars? I am looking for a guitar, and saw in a store exactly that model you played at a very affordable price. Would you buy it? Thank you

[@CartecayRiver]

+GobioMan I have a Cort X-2, which I bought for $200 from a friend, it is like brand new, I had no idea what they cost, and he did not either since he bought it from someone else for $250, Ifrom the quality of this guitar, I thought it probably cost around $800, I had played it at his house before, and he wanted to sell it and get an acoustic, the first time I played it I could not believe the quality, it is very good. It is a beautiful guitar, and plays unbelievably well. I am not a professional player, although I have been playing on and off for 30 years, however my son is a professional guitarist and drummer, and he has played my Court in many of his gigs, and loves it. He thought the Cort was a much more expensive guitar because of the quality workmanship, playability, and sound out of the double humbuckers. If I were getting another guitar to play, and not thinking of collectors value down the road, I would get a Cort, and since I have a Gibson Acoustic, Alvarez Yairi acoustic, a Fender Telecaster, a Ovation Pinnacle, and have had others, although I love all of my guitars, my two favorites and most played are the Alvarez and the Cort.

[@mechmat12345]

@whoobibi The fact that anyone saying Gibson isn't a big pile of crap means their a "brand snob" proves my point. People bash for no reason, because they want to believe the cheap crap is the same as the real deal. Well it's not. Period. They do their best to put together a good copy with cheap parts, and some do a pretty good job. That doesn't mean they're not using cheap, crappy parts, because they are. They'd tell you that if you asked.

[@TheGreyshack]

I'm not sure wheter I should get a Vintage V100 or Cort CR250, which one is better in your opinion?

[@marcodado7473]

i never understood how you can test or compare guitars with such a high gain amps.

[@Bensidhe]

@sicdude07 I have seen the CR250 ( TS250 in their catalog) for $350 , and thats Canadian pricing . I want the Vintage burst !

[@madsally4]

I have loved gibson les pauls all my life have 3. I also own 24 guitars of other brands, If a guitar plays and sounds great.could care less if it was made on mars Thanks tk 3 really cool axes ranging from 400 to 3000. How much do you wanna spend?

[@trevinor3]

i usually keep my gain at max 6. To my ears - dont like sound of gibson custom, LP standard sounds better, wow cort sounds badass! go figure!!! Imagine the coin you save . . .geez! And, I wouldnt have a problem if the name on the headstock says cort either!

[@lucascucu8449]

what gear do you use? pedals and amps, config? someone can help me? your guitars sound amazing.

[@MELONenSURPRISE]

CR 250 rocks , its an amazing guitar ..in every way

[@mechmat12345]

@kamaboko1 You're right, I'm sure they use the same number of parts.

[@andresespinoza6967]

Harley Benton SC 550 OR CORT CR250?

[@Indieguitarist85]

you should do a review of the Epiphone les paul custom.