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Cort’s new X500 Menace dials up the aggression
Suited for extreme music of all kinds.
Image: Cort
Cort has introduced a new electric guitar, the X500 Menace. As its model name implies, it’s an aggressively designed instrument, packed to the brim with shred-ready features.
The core construction of the guitar consists of the familiar combination of a mahogany body with a maple top. Slightly less familiar is the seven-piece through-neck, made of maple, purple heart and panga-panga, the stripes of which proceed down the back of the guitar for some contrast to the body’s satin-black finish.
On top of this neck is an ebony fretboard, with a 12-16-inch radius and 24 frets. All 24 frets are easily accessed thanks to the dramatic, bevelled lower cutaway. The guitar has a 25.5-inch scale, meaning that low tunings should remain stable and punchy. For extreme death metal solos (or subtle chord modulation, if that’s more your thing), there’s a Floyd Rose 1000 vibrato, paired with a locking nut for extra stability.
Electronics consist of a Seymour Duncan Nazgûl in the bridge and a Sentient in the neck. The Sentient is a mid-output pickup voiced for metal, aiming to retain clarity while still offering a full sound – perfect for clean, dynamic sections or lead playing. The Nazgûl, on the other hand, is more aggressively voiced, with a ceramic magnet and high output for retaining a tight bass response across crushing fast-paced riffs.
These pickups are controlled by a simple, stripped-back set of controls: a three-way blade switch, a volume control, and a tone control.
The X500 menace lists for $849.99. Find out more at cortguitars.com.