RatingsPros:A good jumbo with easy playability and retro flair. Cons: Laminated construction. Unplugged sound could be more powerful. Case not included. Street: $299 Cort Guitars CJ Jumbo cortguitars.com | Tones:  Playability:  Build/Design:  Value: |
High-end guitar makers like Bourgeois, Collings/Waterloo, Martin, and Santa Cruz have mined the potential of old-school designs for years. And it’s nice for retro-minded, budget-conscious players that companies at the other end of the price spectrum are following their lead. A good case in point is the South Korean company Cort, which has been a major player in the affordable guitar market for decades, making instruments under its own name and for others, like Ibanez and ESP.
Cort’s new CJ Retro Jumbo is an unabashedly retro acoustic-electric—at least outwardly. There’s more than a little influence from Gibson’s legendary, category-defining J-200. The top-mounted knobs also nod to the Gibson J-160 that the Beatles made famous. But unlike either of those iconic guitars, the CJ Retro Jumbo sells for a song at about $300 and offers a lot of bang for very few bucks.
Retro Vibes
There was a time when wallet-friendly acoustic guitars tended to have uninspired designs. But the CJ Retro Jumbo is emblematic of a trend toward stylishness at the most accessible prices. The guitar is made from the time-honored combination of a spruce top and mahogany back and sides—though all of the tonewood that makes up the body is laminated. (Before you scoff, keep in mind that Lennon and Harrison’s J-160s also had laminated tops, which didn’t keep them from featuring prominently on more than a few zillion-selling records). The neck, the fretboard, and bridge are fashioned out of merbau, a rosewood alternative. The fretboard sports snazzy overlapping parallelogram inlays that pay stylized homage to Gibson’s split parallelogram inlays and look very similar to those found on the Deluxe versions of Collings’ thinline electric guitars.
Overall, the CJ Retro Jumbo is well built, with a nicely set neck, decent fretwork, and cleanly cut nut and saddle slots. Things are clean inside the box, too, and the satin finish is a refreshing change from the thick, glossy polyurethane commonly seen on guitars in this class. The build quality is not perfect. There are areas were the binding/purfling could have been more attentively scraped, and the bridge feels a bit rough to the touch. Small finishing irregularities like these are not uncommon on guitars in this price class, however, and none of them affect playability.
Slim ‘n’ Fat
Like many modern inexpensive guitars, the CJ Retro Jumbo’s playability is worlds better than the budget offerings of yesteryear. The action is low, intonation is excellent, and it’s a breeze to play up and down the fretboard. The relatively narrow 1 11/16" nut width and the slim, shallow C-shaped neck will feel comfortable to electric players, too. It feels equally hospitable to pick or fingerstyle play.
Typically, jumbos possess power that can be heard and felt. Power wasn’t necessarily the first thing that came to mind when I initially strummed the CJ Retro Jumbo, which may be due to some extent to the laminated construction. That’s not to say that the guitar is without sonic merits, however. While it might lack the typical jumbo explosiveness, there are no dead spots on the neck, and balance between registers and from string to string is excellent, which make it extra nice for open tunings. Whether I played country-blues-style patterns, strummed vigorously like Pete Townshend, or performed classical right-hand studies or chord-melody style jazz, I appreciated the CJ Retro Jumbo’s clear, uncluttered sound—and the fact that it’s easy to discern the individual notes of complex and closely voiced chords.
The CJ Retro Jumbo is fitted with Fishman’s Neo D magnetic humbucking soundhole pickup (a value-priced take on Fishman’s acclaimed Rare Earth pickup) and Fishman’s VTB active electronics. The system feels well paired with the instrument. Plugged into a Fender Acoustasonic with the tone controls on both the guitar and the amp set flat, the CJ Retro Jumbo retained its balance between strings, but also sounded a bit more, well, Jumbo. The pickup adds body and shimmer and is very noise-free, to boot—a big plus for recording or performing.
The Verdict
Cort’s CJ Retro Jumbo might not win over any hardcore acoustic aficionados. But it would be a smart companion for a rock-oriented singer-songwriter, roots, or country player. And it’s not only gig-ready with its Fishman electronics—it’s also relatively feedback resistant, which makes it a working proposition for a loud band that likes an acoustic in the mix. Heck, it probably even works great as a rhythm guitar with a Twin Reverb. Stylish and inexpensive, the CJ Jumbo is a cool way to break out of the same old affordable acoustic box.
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
