Since its introduction to the market in 2022, the Modern Black acoustic guitar has quickly become popular for its innovative design and craftsmanship. Along with all the accolades received from customers and the media about how well the guitar plays, looks, and sounds; Acoustic Guitar magazine’s recent review sparked interest in how such a guitar is made.
The first thing you notices about this guitar is the body. Inspired by the popular Grand Concert body shape, Cort's proprietary Modern Concert shape is incorporated into the Modern Black, taking small-bodied guitar design to a new level. This design offers a compact feel without sacrificing tone or performance. But it is the sound hole that creates the greatest interest. In fact, it is the lack of a sound hole that is of greatest concern. It’s not there! Contrary to traditional design, where the sound hole is cut into the top of the guitar, we eliminated it from the soundboard and replaced it with two ports on the side of the guitar. By doing so, we allow the sound board to vibrate naturally, without obstruction, delivering a richer tone. Instead, our engineers designed a dual port system on the side of the guitar directing the sound of the instrument towards your ears when playing. This is something you need to experience for yourself. With the sound directed toward you, you now hear every nuance in your style and technique. This immediately takes your playing to the next level.
As Acoustic Guitar said in the review,
“The soundports do give you a wider picture of the sonic spectrum, especially the bass and low midrange. Harmonics really jump off the guitar.”
Another notable feature of the Modern Black body is a modern variation on the traditional Venetian cutaway. This sloping cutaway makes playing in the upper register easy and comfortable. But another feature that is less obvious is the beveled edge on the lower bout. This slight change makes a substantial difference in playing comfort. It’s almost like playing an electric guitar. By simply removing that hard edge, your arm becomes more agile, and the added comfort makes longer playing sessions easier. But, while we have pushed the boundaries on aesthetics and innovation, we stayed true to the use of traditional tonewoods and construction. To keep the integrity of what an acoustic guitar should sound like, we use solid mahogany for the back and sides, a Master Grade solid European spruce top with hand scalloped X-bracing, and walnut body binding. All finished in a translucent black gloss finish.
We didn’t stop there. While not as obvious at first glance, the neck received some innovations as well. Constructed with a dovetail neck joint, the 25.5” scale neck is made of walnut reinforced with mahogany. The 20 fret, ebony fretboard has a 15.75” radius with maple and walnut block inlays. A dual action truss rod allows you to easily adjust the neck to any playing style and environment. Walnut binding completes this beautiful work of art. But, as we did with the body, there is innovation in our neck design. The Modern Black neck implements what we call an Ergo-A Asymmetric Neck Profile. While you may not see it, you will feel it. This ergonomic profile changes as you play higher up the fretboard enhancing fret access and comfort. The shaping and treatment of the guitar’s frets also enhance playability. For the Modern Black, we incorporate a highly complex and time consuming technique of hand rolling each fret edge. There is no easy way to do this and requires the skilled workmanship of experienced craftsmen. Add the generous string spacing, and this combination of small but major details reduces hand fatigue drastically.
While this guitar is stunning to look at and easy to play, it is also equipped to be played anywhere your music might take you. The Modern Black includes the Fishman® Matrix Infinity VT pickup and preamp system letting you play this guitar on any stage, no matter how big. The volume and tone controls are tucked inside the upper sound hole for easy access, allowing you to shape your volume and tone quickly for any playing environment. The preamp also includes a voicing switch allowing you to easily adjust to amplification choices, playing styles, and performance situations.
Last but not least are some of the finishing details. The bridge and bridge pins are made of high-density ebony. This keeps the fundamental acoustic sound focused and tight, transferring directly to the soundboard. The nut and saddle are Graph Tech’s Black TUSQ®, an advanced polymer specifically designed to transfer string vibration more efficiently, equal to and more durable than bone, and far better than the plastic pieces most often used in mass production guitars.
To summarize the closing paragraph from Acoustic Guitar’s review,
“The Modern Black is an unconventional yet practical guitar.” “The build quality is exceptional.” “Add a very comfortable neck and compact body that sounds bigger than it is, and the Modern Black is very appealing indeed!”
