by Doc Dosco
http://www.docdosco.com

Affordable Jazz Guitars: Cort Larry Coryell LCS-1

This week I want to feature the Cort Larry Coryell model LCS-1. This is a big jazz box, a 17″ deep body Korean made guitar. The one I have is blonde and was hand signed by Larry Coryell on the pick guard.

I bought this baby on Ebay. The seller had replaced the stock pick-ups with 2 Gibson PAF 57s. He also had a bone nut specially made for it. The original tuners and the electronics are OK. It has maple sides and back with a laminate spruce top. The finish is good, no flaws I could see and it is built like a tank. All in all, it is a very solid piece of work.

I am not as fond of this guitar now that I have several new ones, but for a long time it was my living room practice guitar. It has a nice amplified tone, however the acoustic tone is weak. Of course, most guitars with cut-in pick-ups don’t have the rich acoustic tone I like in a jazz guitar. But once it goes through the amp, it sounds fine.

This guitar plays wonderfully though. The neck is roomy and I managed to drop the action really low. As the pick-ups were replaced I can’t attest to the originals, however I don’t believe that the Gibson pick-ups really make that much of a difference in the case of this particular guitar.

I bought the Cort LCS-1 off Ebay for 00, a steal really. The buyer (a very nice guitar player from Florida) didn’t get his reserve so I emailed him. I had bid 50 or so, and we agreed that for 00 he would let it go. Coincidentally, the seller was flying out to LA that next week on business, so he hand delivered the guitar to me at no extra cost. The seller had managed to get Larry Coryell to sign the guitar for him, so it came to me that way.

Harmony Central has mostly positive reviews, however I can see where the negative review is coming from if one wants the guitar to project more when not amplified and perhaps wants a crisper tone. The others all seem to love the guitar and I can’t argue with that.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data4/Cort/LC_1_Larry_Coryell_Model-1.html

You can see this guitar at:

http://www.cort.com/endorse/coryell/index.html

I posted the pictures of mine at:

http://www.docdosco.com/cort.html

The list price is 795, but I will bet that one could grind a dealer down to close to 000 if you waved cash.

The used price is anywhere from 00 to 00.

In conclusion, not a bad guitar. I like the others I have recently reviewed better personally, but they are floating pick-up models and I prefer those. I will feature the Stromberg floater that I just got next week and I must say, it looks very promising from just the few days I’ve had it.

Doc Dosco is a jazz guitarist, composer and audio consultant living in Los Angeles, CA. His website is located at http://www.docdosco.com, where you can find more information on the ‘What’s Hot with Jazz Guitar’ columns, audio clips of Doc’s playing, and many additional features. Doc endorses Heritage Guitars and is featured artist on their website. He also endorses the new Pignose Valve Tube Amps — great for jazz (and anything else!)