- An excellent step-up acoustic guitar with an onboard preamp/tuner
- Cutaway desing allows accessing higher registers
- Top-notch build quality and value for the money
- Very affordable and aims for beginner/intermediate players
- Even though QC is top for the price, you may still want to test before you buy
Hello there, back again with another article for you. This time we will be looking at the Cort AD880CE acoustic-electric guitar. As I will be repeating the details about how we would test guitars, both in terms of the functional and cosmetic aspects, in upcoming reviews, I’m not going to tell you how much time and effort would go into instrument testing in this article during my service at MyDukkan.com.
Table of Contents
If you want to know what kind of long-term experience I have been providing here, I highly recommend that you have a look at my solid reasons in “Why Should You Trust My Reviews Article?“. I’m sure you will trust my word and will be convinced that I’m not reviewing these guitars just because I have seen them online!
Cort AD880CE
According to over 13 years of data, the Cort AD880CE was the best-selling acoustic guitar with a preamp & tuner on it! I was not just making it up; Cort had been one of the most successful guitar brands in Turkey, and everyone knows this. 
Most people don’t like the image of the brand, as the guitars they make are not always the best in terms of quality. However, when you consider the price you pay and the performance you get, it’s unbeatable! First, please watch the video below in which I am playing the actual guitar! It is right out of the box, without any adjustment except tuning. 
Nylon string Cort AC-10 played by Selçuk Uzunhasanoğlu. Here you will hear the guitar in action, recorded with a Rode VideoMic Stereo Pro.
Cort AD880CE and Cort AC10 Sound Demo (no talking)
My personal thoughts on this guitar: I think it’s unbeatable for the price! According to tests applied to dozens of Cort AD880CE sold over more than two years, there were a few problematic ones. And I must say these problems were the least important ones, such as truss rod adjustment out of the box, preamp failures, and some buzzing on a single fret or so. Most of the time, you can just go for it without hesitation. 
I will be giving you more details about the Cort AD880CE acoustic guitar. But first, let’s hear the guitar in action (played by Selçuk Uzunhasanoğlu).
Sound Demo (no talking)
It’s not really easy to find this guitar online. I have searched for it on my websites but rarely could find it. It comes with a spruce top, which has been a very popular top wood for acoustic guitars recently. It offers balance and strength, and produces versatile tones that work in many genres without hesitation.
As you can see, one of the best tonewoods, mahogany, is used in the back and sides of this guitar, resulting in bright, strong, and warm midrange tones. This wood is an industry standard for backs and sides for decades!
Cort AD88CE also features a Tiger-design acrylic rosette and purfling. This actually separates this guitar from the very entry-level and provides a unique look.
“What type of factory strings do these come with?” is one of the most asked questions in any discussion about guitars. Cort AD880CE comes with a coated D’Addario EXP 80/20 bronze light set and is ready to rock out of the box!
As can be seen in the image, the bridge has an exclusive scoop that enhances sustain with an improved string angle from the saddle to the body. This also reduces overall tension, thus less finger fatigue and improving playability for acoustic players. 
The guitar comes with a 3-band EQ by Cort, model number CE304T. Operating on a 9-Volt battery, this preamp also features a single-digit LED tuner, so you will never have to worry about a guitar tuner. Obviously, this is a step-up model and features an onboard preamp and tuner.
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This will not only save you money on a separate tuner, but also will allow you to directly record your acoustic guitar tones into a recording console. In case you are interested in the sounds, please refer to the review video above.
And finally, the Cort AD880CE has a unique neck joint called a “Dovetail” joint. This enables all the vibrations and resonance to transfer through the body without degradation in the guitar’s tone.
Tech Specs
| Cort AD880CE | Tech Specs |
|---|---|
| Construction | Dovetail Neck Joint |
| Cutaway | Venetian Cutaway |
| Body | Dreadnought Cutaway Body |
| Top | Spruce Top |
| Back & Sides | Mahogany Back & Sides |
| Neck | Mahogany Neck |
| Binding | Ivory Binding w/ Tiger Acryl Purfling |
| Fretboard | Rosewood or Merbau* |
| Frets | 20 Frets |
| Inlay | Dot Inlay |
| Rosette | Multiple Tiger Acryl Rosette |
| Bridge | Rosewood or Merbau |
| Pickups | Ceramic Pickup |
| Electronics | Cort CE304T Preamp |
| Strings | D'addario EXP 80/20 (Now called EXP36) |
| Bracing | Advanced X-Bracing |
It is obviously a big step up from its entry-level sibling, the Cort AD810 Acoustic Guitar. If you have a tight budget but definitely want to go for an acoustic-electric guitar with a cutaway, this is one of your best options. For the price, you can not go wrong, and I’m telling you after having tested, played, unboxed and adjusted dozens of Cort AD880CEs in 2 and a half years.
By the way, I have recently published the “25 Best-Selling Acoustic Guitars For Beginners and Intermediate Players” review, which you may find alternative models and brands to the Cort AD880CE as well. I highly suggest you check out my review before you decide 🙂 
Pricing & Availability
Although it’s getting more difficult to find these on every corner and every music store online these days, don’t worry! 🙂 According to the official Cort website, these are still in production. These used to be widely available on Thomann’s website, but these days, they are not always in stock. You may still want to check out Thomann’s website.
Check out the Cort AD880CE acoustic guitars on Thomann here
You may also want to check out Reverb, as there are many brand new and used ones listed across many locations.
Check out the Cort AD880CE acoustic guitars on Reverb here
Last but not least, you may want to check out Cort’s Amazon stores, as you may find these guitars unexpectedly.
Check out the Cort acoustic guitars on Amazon here
I hope it has been a helpful and honest review for you. If you have any questions, comments or feedback, do not hesitate to contact me. I am willing to help anyone about to choose their instrument. Thanks for visiting my blog, and I will hopefully see you in the next piece of content here. 🙂
