Luxe II Frank Gambale Signature
Natural Gloss
A fusion player's acoustic: small body, light strings, and electronics built for a stage
Amazon rating
No ratings yet
Price band
$1,000 - $2,000
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The short version
Frank Gambale is a fusion electric player, and this instrument is designed by someone who thinks like one. The Grand Concert body is small — a 372 mm lower bout — which keeps it comfortable and controlled rather than loud, and it ships with unusually light .010 gauge strings, closer to an electric set than a typical acoustic .012. Together those choices make it fast under the hand and forgiving on bends, at the cost of the raw volume a dreadnought gives. The tonewoods are the serious part: Adirondack spruce, denser and stronger than Sitka, holds together at high volume where Sitka compresses, and flamed blackwood adds mahogany's low mids with maple's brightness and rosewood's overtones.
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
- 9.0
- Versatility
- 9.0
- Comfort
- 10.0
- Hardware
- 9.0
- Value
- 8.0
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 | Luxe II Frank Gambale SignatureNatural Gloss |
| Body | |
| Body | Grand Concert |
| Body wood | Flamed blackwood back and sides |
| Top | Solid Adirondack spruce |
| Neck & fingerboard | |
| Neck joint | Dovetail joint at the 14th fret |
| Neck wood | Walnut-reinforced mahogany |
| Neck profile | LUXE custom shape, satin finish |
| Scale length | 25.3" (643 mm) |
| Fingerboard | Ebony |
| Radius | 15.75" (R400) |
| Frets | 20 |
| Nut | Graph Tech Black TUSQ |
| Nut width | 1.6875" (43 mm) |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Ebony |
| Tuners | Die-cast |
| Electronics | |
| Electronics | Fishman Flex Blend with built-in tuner (volume, tone, phase, blend) |
| General | |
| Type | Acoustic-electric guitar |
| Strings | D'Addario custom gauge (.010-.047) |
| Finish | Gloss with sonically enhanced UV treatment |
| Orientation | Right-handed |
| Case | Hardshell case |
22 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
- Small Grand Concert body and 25.3-inch scale make it unusually easy for electric players
- Adirondack spruce holds together at volume where Sitka compresses
- Fishman Flex Blend with phase, blend and built-in tuner is a genuine stage system
- Hardshell case included, plus ebony fingerboard and bridge
What we do not
- Small body means less unamplified volume and low-end than a dreadnought
- Light .010 factory strings will feel thin to players used to .012 sets
- No published owner reviews yet
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
- No published owner reviews on this listing yet
Frequent complaints
- No published owner reviews on this listing yet
Recognised strengths
- Specification and artist involvement are consistent throughout: every choice points at the same kind of player
Recognised weaknesses
- Without owner feedback there is no way to judge unit-to-unit consistency
The verdict
This is a specialist instrument and the better for being honest about it. If you come from electric guitar and find most acoustics stiff and unwieldy, the short 25.3-inch scale, light strings and small body remove exactly those obstacles, and the Fishman Flex Blend with its phase control and blend between pickup and microphone is genuinely stage-ready rather than an afterthought. If you want a big strumming acoustic that fills a room unamplified, this is the wrong guitar — the Grand Concert body is not built for that. A hardshell case is included, which at this price it should be, and there is no published owner feedback yet.
Sources
Amazon rating captured —. ASIN B0B2M6JY7V.
Strings for this guitar
All stringsIt ships with D'Addario custom gauge (.010-.047). 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.
- 7.7/10
Elixir · Strings
Same gauge this guitar ships with — a straight swap, no setup changes.
- 8.0/10
Elixir · Strings
NANOWEB Phosphor Bronze Acoustic
The same coated string as the light set, a step easier under the fingers
- 8.2/10
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.
- 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
- 7.8/10
CAHAYA · Bags and cases
Six pockets, which is five more than most bags and the reason to pick this one
Compared with
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