X-rated Bob wrote:
What I've read says the Tak has maple back and sides and the Cort has rosewood. This should mean that the tak is a much brighter sounding guitar. Personally I find maple back and sides too bright, but that's a matter of taste. You may find the tops hard to tame in a live, plugged in situation.
The Tak also has a jumbo body though, which will alleviate the brightness of the maple somewhat.
Looking at those two models they both look really nice. As an upgrade I doubt you'd be disappointed with either of them. That said, on a budget of R7000 I reckon there are better deals to be had.
If I were you I would hunt for a Japanese Takamine at that price. The G series is generally great, but the Japanese stuff is phenomenal.
A buddy of mine picked up a second hand Takamine Santa fe for R6k a year and a bit back. That was at music connection. That would be my suggestion.
You could even save another few k (I know it's hard, but possibly worth it) and get a nice Japanese Tak brand new. I know the ETN10's were selling for around 10k at Marshalls all over the country for their sale (this suggests they have a few of them and non sale price could be talked down to sale price). Those are stunning guitars. Plus you get a solid wood back rather than just the top.
http://www.takamineguitars.jp/guitars/model.php?series_id=1&model_id=24
At seven grand you will be buying at the top end of the "solid top/ laminate back and sides" ranges. If I were you I'd save an extra bit (or hunt second hand) and find an acoustic with a solid back as well, at the very least.
So in summary, both look very nice guitars, but 7grand you are so close to being able to afford one of the simpler, which is to say less ornate, professional acoustics. That's what I would do.
Oh I just see now that both models are actually still significantly below the 7k mark...that changes things a bit. Although if you can bear to play your Ibanez for a few more months, I still stand by my suggestion.
