Evertune is no longer some mysterious piece of hardware spoken about in hushed tones of reverence and rarely seen. The bridge system offering remarkably stable tuning has truly arrived with more brands adopting it for more electric guitars, and at ever-evolving competitive prices. We're not surprised to see Cort amongst them and its new KX707 seven-string guitar is true to the South Korean brand's commitment to value and solid, dare we say pro, spec.
At $1,349.99 it's hardly undercutting the liked of LTD, but the devil is always in the detail and as the follow-up to its well-appointed KX700 model, the brand has the potential benefit of refinement.
In addition to the Evertune bridge, the pickups are the first indication this is a seriously spec'd offering: Seymour Duncan Sentient and Nazgûl 7-string humbuckers are a proven force in extended-range circles. The KX700 featured a Seymour Duncan Pegasus in the bridge and Sentient in the neck.
A three-way pickup selector is paired with single volume and tone pots to keep things streamlined, but controlled. Tuning isn't much of a concern here with the Evertune technology but Cort's locking tuners will make string changes even less of s distraction from the main event of playing the thing.
We'd probably add on some time for just looking at it – those deep contours in the Open Pore Black finish have us giddy. But let's sober up for a moment and consider something.
Apart from the Nazgul humbucker, what's actually different about this 25.5-inch scale guitar from the previous KX700? Not much. But Cort largely got it right with the specs first time around and we'd wager this model will replace it, so it might be worth looking out for deals on the KX700 that'll gradually disappear from retailers – it's available to order from Thomann at £899, for example.
Both guitars have a mahogany body (though the KX700 is listed as having an ash top), five-piece maple and walnut bolt-on neck, 24 stainless steel frets, 15.75" radius ebony fretboard and spoke nut truss rod adjustment. Both even have Luminlay side dots.
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So not much has changed, and 25.5-inch scale length seven-string aren't for all heavy tastes, but this looks to be a compellingly pro-spec'd seven-string model in its price range.
More info at Cort Guitars.
Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.