# Cort and ibanez...?



## soliloquy (Dec 22, 2009)

the new ibanez RG whatever they are called look kinda like the EBMM guitars. just more pointy.

then i came across the cort guitars, and they look almost identical to that of ibanez.


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## mlp187 (Dec 22, 2009)

I really like that black one. 

Not sure about the manufacturing though. The following was taken from wikipedia. Aparently Cort manufactures some of the Ibanezes.

*Korean Ibanez Serial Numbers*
C = Cor-Tek (Cort), S = Samick(1990-1995), S/SQ = Saehan(Sunghan), P = Peerless (Iida), Y = Yoojin, A = Sae-In.

YYMMXXXX format
YY = year (03=2003)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)
XXXX = production number
E = Sung-Eum

YMMXXXX format
Y = year (9=1999)
MM = month (01=Jan..12=Dec)
XXXX = production number
W = World

MYXXXX format
M=month (1=Jan .. 9=Sep, X=Oct..Z=Dec)
Y=year (3=2003)
XXXX = production number


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## Customisbetter (Dec 22, 2009)

I don't think that bevel looks the same as the RGD at all.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 22, 2009)

The only thing they have in common is they have beveled bodies. Guitar companies have been doing that for decades. 

Ibanez stopped having Cort build it's lower level Korean made guitars back at the end of 08'. 

Here's the RGD:




Here's the Cort:





The differences are pickups, controls, bridge, scale, etc. The only thing they have in common is that they are both bevel bodied super strats.

Just for shits and giggles here's the JP:





Still not sure why everyone thinks they are so similar. They share a few design features such as bevels, but that's it.


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## soliloquy (Dec 22, 2009)

mlp187 said:


> I really like that black one.
> 
> Not sure about the manufacturing though. The following was taken from wikipedia. Aparently Cort manufactures some of the Ibanezes.
> 
> ...



yup, cort makes a lot of other guitars. but thats only limited to korea. outside of korea, i dont know who makes ibanez. 

i just made this thread coz i found it intersting.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 22, 2009)

soliloquy said:


> yup, cort makes a lot of other guitars. but thats only limited to korea. outside of korea, i dont know who makes ibanez.
> 
> i just made this thread coz i found it intersting.



Japanese made Ibanez guitars from 1985 onwards have been made by Fuji-Gen Gakki. Before that they were made by either Terada or a few other smaller Japanese shops. 

I forget who makes the current Indonesian Ibanez guitars, it might even be a Cort sub like World.


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## alecisonfire (Dec 23, 2009)

they also look slightly similar to some fenders, jacksons, esps, charvels, etc. 

superstrat aint nothing new. 

thanks for posting the cort pics though. i like the white one minus the headstock


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## 6o66er (Dec 23, 2009)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Just for shits and giggles here's the JP:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I didn't see it either....


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## norrin radcliff (Dec 23, 2009)

My MAB1 has nice bevels as well. Bevels are the new deal.


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## lateralus819 (Dec 23, 2009)

So is there like an ibanez factory or are they all done by shops that they sub out to? Not really sure how these type of things work.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 23, 2009)

lateralus819 said:


> So is there like an ibanez factory or are they all done by shops that they sub out to? Not really sure how these type of things work.



The only shop owned by Ibanez (or, Ibanez's parent company Hoshino Gakki) is the Los Angeles Custom Shop, or LACS. 

Besides that they've pretty much kept with Fuji-Gen for their high quality Japanese made guitars for the last three or four decades. 

Many companies utilize this kind of set-up to some degree. For instance all the Diamond Series Schecters are made by Cort in Korea. Most sub $1500 guitars are made by contractors, opposed to the company that appears on the headstock.


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## lateralus819 (Dec 23, 2009)

That's really odd to say the least lol.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 23, 2009)

lateralus819 said:


> That's really odd to say the least lol.



Not really, it lets companies such as ESP (LTD), Schecter, Ibanez, Gibson (Epiphone), and others sell their products at more competitive prices, while still retaining a decent amount of quality. 

Imagine if there were no more LTD, Epiphone, Diamond Series Schecters, or non-LACS Ibanez. Close to 90% of the guitars on this very forum would not exist, including your RG7620.


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## thesimo (Dec 24, 2009)

i think some of the guys have a point, its not THAT close, but the headsock looks the same as an ibanez, but wth the end cut reversed.


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## Ravelle17 (Dec 24, 2009)

norrin radcliff said:


> My MAB1 has nice bevels as well. Bevels are the new deal.



When I saw those Corts the first thing that came to mind was Dean's MAB model.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 24, 2009)

Ravelle17 said:


> When I saw those Corts the first thing that came to mind was Dean's MAB model.



I guess that proves how lazy Dean's "design staff" are, and how much they rely on Cort's production might.  

I always thought MAB and Dean were jokes, and this just solidifies it. Good eye!


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## Randy (Dec 24, 2009)

The Cort version looks 1,000x better, too, IMO


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 24, 2009)

Randy said:


> The Cort version looks 1,000x better, too, IMO



+1

When I was 12 I probably would have liked the flame graphic, by 13 I probably wouldn't.


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## AzzMan (Dec 24, 2009)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Not really, it lets companies such as ESP (LTD), Schecter, Ibanez, Gibson (Epiphone), and others sell their products at more competitive prices, while still retaining a decent amount of quality.
> 
> Imagine if there were no more LTD, Epiphone, Diamond Series Schecters, or non-LACS Ibanez. Close to 90% of the guitars on this very forum would not exist, including your RG7620.



I'll say this- I definitely didn't know Cort was the Diamond Series subsidiary, but I swear by the Diamond Series guitars and God knows if things like those didn't exist, I certainly couldn't afford a Blackmachine, or custom shop Ibby, or probably any guitar for that matter. There is obviously a level of quality control put into effect that stops things like $800 Diamond Series guitars from playing like hundred dollar Walmart First Acts, even if they may not play like $2,000 ESPs... they're not.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 24, 2009)

AzzMan said:


> I'll say this- I definitely didn't know Cort was the Diamond Series subsidiary, but I swear by the Diamond Series guitars and God knows if things like those didn't exist, I certainly couldn't afford a Blackmachine, or custom shop Ibby, or probably any guitar for that matter. There is obviously a level of quality control put into effect that stops things like $800 Diamond Series guitars from playing like hundred dollar Walmart First Acts, even if they may not play like $2,000 ESPs... they're not.



Like I said, there's nothing wrong with subsidizing guitar production to outside companies. It keeps the standards high, and the costs low. It's good for everyone. Well, not the guys that can afford the ultra expensive guitars, but at that point, it certainly doesn't negatively effect them. 

For what it's worth, I don't believe Cort makes those Walmart guitars.


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## jacksonplayer (Dec 24, 2009)

The design house/contracted manufacturing setup seems to have started as a uniquely Japanese thing. Even the more expensive Ibanezes, Caparisons and ESPs are built under contract in Japan. The "brands" are really just design studios.

AFAIK, the only company that owns its Asian manufacturing facility is Gibson. The Chinese Epiphones are made in a Gibson plant over there, as I recall.


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## MaxOfMetal (Dec 24, 2009)

jacksonplayer said:


> The design house/contracted manufacturing setup seems to have started as a uniquely Japanese thing. Even the more expensive Ibanezes, Caparisons and ESPs are built under contract in Japan. The "brands" are really just design studios.
> 
> AFAIK, the only company that owns its Asian manufacturing facility is Gibson. The Chinese Epiphones are made in a Gibson plant over there, as I recall.



Actually ESP owns it's own facility in Japan, from which is produces much of the ESP (not LTD) branded guitars, as well as the CS stuff. 

Gibson has only has it's Qingdao (Chinese) facility since 02', so before that Epiphones were mostly made by Samick in Korea. The Elitist where made by Fuji-Gen in Japan (where high end Ibanez and I believe some Caparison guitars are made).


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## noob_pwn (Jan 2, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> Actually ESP owns it's own facility in Japan, from which is produces much of the ESP (not LTD) branded guitars, as well as the CS stuff.
> 
> Gibson has only has it's Qingdao (Chinese) facility since 02', so before that Epiphones were mostly made by Samick in Korea. The Elitist where made by Fuji-Gen in Japan (where high end Ibanez and I believe some Caparison guitars are made).



i thought all caparisons were made in itaru's shop?


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## I_infect (Jan 2, 2010)

I used to work in a factory, as a supervisor in fact. We had contracts to make plastics for large companies... Rubbermaid, Domino's Pizza, and American Airlines etc. Different companies had different levels of QC that must be adhered to, or they wouldn't accept the product. Rubbermaid was the strictest. They came in and showed us what they needed, how to do it, what was not acceptable etc. American Airlines just sent us a sample and sent 'make this'. Before we were offered a job, we had to send out samples that met their guidelines. If they liked it, and our price, we got the job. If not, we were told to do it again a certain way, or they moved on to another factory. If we did a run of product and they ended up not liking it, they either sent it back to be destroyed and start all over, or didn't renew the contract after that.

With that said, I feel the same is true with outsourcing guitars... some companies give a shit and won't accept garbage, and have strict specs and QC. Some may even have representatives in the factories making sure QC is tight and consistent. Others just say 'make this'. I think it can be obvious what level of care(and lack there of) goes into these guitars at times; but ultimately it all starts with a good design and good materials, and I would say it's the parent company's responsibility to set the QC and spec guidelines.


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## Randy (Jan 2, 2010)

^
While that's true, when you're dealing with something as "hands on" as building a guitar, I'm sure a significant part of the QC is reliant on the constancy of the people working on them. If my job is to trim fret ends, I'm going to trim them the same regardless of which brand I'm making that day. Yeah, I might have to spend more time or attention to detail on some more than others but my technique and my abilities wouldn't waver much from item-to-item.

I mention that because I had a lot of indepth talk with my father who used to manage a factory making women's suits. They made cheapers stuff, to high end stuff. There was a lot of variation in the materials and features on an expensive suit versus the cheaper one, but the overall build quality was almost identical. Some companies are/were more anal, though... so you definitely knew to check some of your batch over once or twice more than others.


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## I_infect (Jan 2, 2010)

Randy said:


> ^
> While that's true, when you're dealing with something as "hands on" as building a guitar, I'm sure a significant part of the QC is reliant on the constancy of the people working on them.
> 
> I mention that because I had a lot of indepth talk with my father who used to manage a factory making women's suits. They made cheapers stuff, to high end stuff. There was a lot of variation in the materials and features on an expensive suit versus the cheaper one, but the overall build quality was almost identical. Some companies are/were more anal, though... so you definitely knew to check some of your batch over once or twice more than others.



Both very true. Being a supervisor some guys on my shift were good at making one product; others were good at another station. Some guys couldn't keep up with a 45 second machine, so you either slowed the machine to get better attention to detail and less product, or put a faster person on it. Sometimes it was our responsibility to supply the materials(usually the cheapest available and recycled half the time, honestly) and others who were more anal supplied the raw plastics and told us we had to use it or else. And they knew if is it was theirs or not.

With guitars, you have them being setup and inspected in the states alot of times, so that is another level of QC.


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## tekkadon d (Jan 5, 2010)

he is right i think may be mentioned in the next few pages but the top wing bevel is similar, and the headstock is similar along with the hand cutout things for higher fret access (horns my bad) >.> but thats just what i see


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