G290 FAT II
Bright Blue Burst
Two humbuckers and a five-way switch — far more sounds than the layout suggests
Amazon rating
5.0 (1)Price band
$500 - $1,000
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The short version
The interesting specification here is not the wood, it is the switch. A pair of humbuckers would normally give three sounds; Cort wires these VTH77 pickups through a five-way super switch that splits and recombines the coils, so you get single-coil positions with genuine Stratocaster-style quack alongside the full humbucker voices. That is the difference between a two-pickup rock guitar and something that can cover most of a set. Everything supporting it is well chosen: roasted maple neck and board, which resists humidity movement and needs no finish, a compound 12-to-15.75-inch radius that curves for chords and flattens for bends, and staggered locking tuners that remove the need for string trees.
Score profile
Six axes, scored 1-10. These are editorial judgements about what this instrument delivers for the money — not measurements, and not anyone else’s ratings.
- Build
- 9.0
- Tone
- 8.0
- Versatility
- 9.0
- Comfort
- 9.0
- Hardware
- 9.0
- Value
- 9.0
Scores are Fretline editorial ratings on a 1-10 scale. They are our own assessment and are not supplied or endorsed by Amazon or by any manufacturer.
Full specifications
| Brand | Cort |
|---|---|
| Model | G290 FAT IIBright Blue Burst |
| Body | |
| Body | G-series double-cutaway |
| Body wood | Alder |
| Top | Flamed maple veneer |
| Neck & fingerboard | |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Neck wood | Roasted maple |
| Neck profile | Ergo-V |
| Scale length | 25.5" (648 mm) |
| Fingerboard | Roasted maple |
| Radius | 12"-15.75" compound (R305-R400) |
| Frets | 22 |
| Fret size | Medium-jumbo, nickel silver |
| Nut | Graph Tech Black TUSQ |
| Nut width | 1.65" (42 mm) |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Cort CFA-III tremolo |
| Tuners | Cort staggered locking |
| Hardware finish | Chrome |
| Electronics | |
| Neck pickup | Cort Voiced Tone VTH77 humbucker |
| Bridge pickup | Cort Voiced Tone VTH77 humbucker |
| Configuration | HH |
| Electronics | Passive |
| Controls | Volume, tone |
| Switching | Five-way super switch |
| General | |
| Type | Solidbody electric guitar |
| Strings | D'Addario EXL120 (.009-.042) |
| Finish | Bright Blue Burst |
| Orientation | Right-handed |
28 verified fields. Specifications come from the manufacturer first, then the Amazon listing, then authorised dealers — sources are listed at the foot of this page. Fields the manufacturer does not publish are omitted rather than estimated.
The good and the bad
What we like
- Five-way super switch extracts single-coil sounds from a humbucker pair, not just three positions
- Roasted maple neck and fingerboard are stable, fast and unfinished in the best sense
- Compound 12-to-15.75-inch radius suits chording and lead playing equally
- Staggered locking tuners and a Graph Tech nut come as standard
What we do not
- House-brand pickups rather than a name-brand set at this price point
- Tremolo suits gentle vibrato rather than aggressive use
- Little brand recognition, which affects resale
Who it is for
Skill level
Styles it suits
What owners and reviewers report
Patterns we found across published reviews and owner feedback. These are summaries of recurring themes — we do not reproduce or invent individual testimonials.
What comes up most
- Too few published owner reviews on this listing to establish a reliable pattern
Frequent complaints
- Too few published owner reviews on this listing to establish a reliable pattern
Recognised strengths
- The specification list is unusually complete for the price, particularly the roasted neck and locking tuners
Recognised weaknesses
- Owner feedback volume is currently too low to judge unit-to-unit consistency
The verdict
Cort builds guitars for a lot of other brands, and models like this are where they keep the margin for themselves — the specification is simply better than Fender or Gibson offer at the same money. The roasted maple neck feels excellent and stays stable, the compound radius genuinely helps, and the coil-splitting makes it one of the more versatile HH guitars you can buy. What you are not paying for is name recognition or resale value, and the Voiced Tone pickups, while good, are house-brand rather than the Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio set some players will want. The two-point tremolo is fine for gentle vibrato, not for dive bombs.
Sources
Amazon rating captured 2026-08-26. ASIN B09YYN25K2.
Strings for this guitar
All stringsIt ships with D'Addario EXL120 (.009-.042). Staying at that gauge keeps the setup and the neck relief as the factory left them; going a step lighter makes bending easier, a step heavier gives more volume and tension. Anything more than one step either way usually needs the truss rod and the intonation adjusted.
- 8.3/10
Elixir · Strings
NANOWEB Nickel Plated Steel Electric
Standard .010s that survive a summer of gigs instead of a fortnight
- 7.8/10
D'Addario · Strings
NYXL1046 Nickel Wound Electric
The same gauge as an EXL110, with the tuning problem actually solved
- 7.7/10
D'Addario · Strings
EXL110 XL Nickel Wound Electric
The electric string most guitars leave the factory wearing
What else you need
All accessoriesThe highest-scoring option in each category that suits this instrument. If you have never owned a guitar before, the starter guide explains what each of these is for and what you can safely skip.
- 6.6/10
New Bee · Cables
The cable an electric guitar needs on day one, at the price of a coffee
- 7.8/10
Fender · Tuners
FCT-2 Professional Clip-On Tuner
The tuner to buy first, before strings, before a strap, before anything
- 8.2/10
Dunlop · Picks
The Delrin pick that replaced tortoiseshell, in the gauge most people settle on
- 7.4/10
GLEAM · Stands
The accessory that decides whether the guitar gets played at all
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