Cort’s history is based around the work of Jack Westheimer. Westheimer was one of the earliest promoters of Japanese and South Korean-made guitars. The Cort name was a shortened form of Cortez, a brand of mostly acoustic guitars made in Japan under contract from Westheimer. Westheimer founded the company Yoo-Ah with partner Young H. Park in 1973.  The Cort brand was used as far back as the 1960s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the brand started gaining attention on its own.  In total, Cort’s guitar output routinely exceeds 1,000,000 guitars annually.

Cort does not have a model of guitar that could be called their “signature,” instead, Cort produces a very large line of guitars to fit different guitarists and genres of music. Cort produces a wide variety of electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and electric basses, with the main emphasis being on producing a good product at a competitive price.