I believe Jack Westheimer, the man behind Cortez guitars, is the same man behind Cortley guitars. Westheimer is known as the “Pioneer of Global Guitar Making.” Rick Clymer has interviewed Westheimer and stated that Westheimer did not remember Cortley in particular, but the former sales manager at Southland Music in Greensboro, NC, stated that they purchased through Westheimer. Michael Wright states in his article on Cortez guitars, “Among the brands associated with Westheimer’s activities are Kingston, Teisco, Teisco Del Rey, Silvertone, Emperador, Cortez, and Cort, not to mention a host of other monikers that have graced guitars coming from the Cort factory. Even if you haven't played one of these guitars, there's a good chance that if you've ever played a decent-quality beginner import, you've played a guitar associated with Westheimer.”¹
Just the Facts…
1. Cortley guitars were identical to Cortez guitars and even shared model numbers in the beginning. Among the ones I know of are the J6000, J6500, and the 860. Later, Cortley would adapt the CF prefix for their models, and the J6000 was changed to CF95, the J6500 to a CF75, and the 860 to a CF100. At this time, Cortley may have produced models other than Cortez models. We have picture comparisons of the J6000 and J6500 on the site.
2. The Cortley and Cortez names on the headstocks that were mother of pearl inlays are identical Fonts. We have pictures on the homepage that clearly show this to be true.
3. Cortley and Cortez used the same label design. The labels contained exactly the same information: the manufacturer, serial number and the “Made in Japan” inscription. Click here for pictures.
Although Mr. Westheimer can’t remember the Cortley brand name in particular, I am of the opinion that the evidence is overwhelming that the man behind Cortley Guitars is the same man behind Cortez guitars; Jack Westheimer. I am inclined to believe that Cortley guitars were produced in the same factory by the same craftsmen using the same model specifications. Exactly why Cortez models were produced with the Cortley name is a mystery. One hypothesis of mine is that they wanted to test market these guitars under a name that wasn’t Spanish, and therefore labeled their guitars as such. Quoting again from Michael Wright’s article, he states “Guitars were still called Spanish guitars in those days, an appellation that has fallen by the wayside; hence, the "Spanish" names like Cortez and del Rey.” ¹ My theory is that they probably didn’t want to do away with the Cortez name that was building in reputation, so they modified it and maybe even distributed Cortley guitars in different locations to “test the waters.” Later, the Cortez name was discontinued, and Cort has been used ever since.
Footnotes:
1. Michael Wright, Vintage Guitar Magazine - What is a Cortez guitar? WikiAnswers. Click here.
