Cort Bass Guitars

(Originally written by motteherbeuse/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Bass guitar made in Korea with two great Bartolini pickups, passive/active operation, five controls (master volume, tone, low, mid, high) and active/passive switch. Great natural wood finish considering its price range. Accurate machine heads. Slim exotic wood neck. UTILIZATION Ergonomic neck and good access to the upper frets. A real delight! Weight and playability are very subjective things depending on the bassist. Given that I'm small, I carry the bass quite high with a short and very wide strap to avoid any backbone problems. That way I can easily carry the bass for three or four hours straight without getting tired (I haven't tried to play longer). The bass sounds good in active mode with the following EQ settings: few highs and mids and more lows. At first you'll have to play around with the controls and memorize their layout (from right to left: lows, mids, highs). Once you've done that you'll get the sound you're looking for, if you have a good amp (which doesn't necessarily mean an expensive one). SOUNDS It's perfect for me because I play Breton folk music. I play it with a 35-watt Hartke DE (used for monitoring). It allows me to play a lot of glissandi like with a double bass. I also use it with another band as support bass to play country music with an Ampeg B50 (for monitoring), though I usually play my US Jazz Bass. The NB4FL is good enough on its own and it doesn't need an effect pedal for the music styles I play. The only pedal I own is a Boss TU2 tuner I always take with me, especially when I tune double flat (DGDG) to play country music, which would normally require a 5-string bass. It sounds great like a double bass. I get a deep, round and clear low D sound when I set the low control to max. OVERALL OPINION I've been using it a lot for eight months and I didn't try out any other fretless bass guitars. I only read several forums and I don't regret my purchase, especially because the value for money is very good! I recommend fretless beginners to learn by heart all intervals from one point to another (points are placed on the neck) to avoid pitch problems. More so considering that notes are not always exactly between two points. With a fretted neck, frets are always narrower so use your ears. There have been times at the end of live gigs when people come to me and ask about my bass, even people who are not musicians. And it looks wonderful. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again and I recommend it to every bassist. Have musical fun!

It was my first bass and I've still got it today. I must say that choosing this bass was really a no-brainer because it is great value for the money. The PJ pickup configuration is imho the best to begin with the bass as you get the punch of a Precision Bass and the honkyness of a Jazz Bass. I gigged a lot with it plugged in good amps and I can say that I was not ashamed of its sound. The playability is great and having 24 frets is nice at this price. Of course, do not expect to have a boutique instrument and very clear sounding pickups - they can sound quite muddy sometimes - but it is a very good sounding bass to start with. I often recommend it to people who want to learn how to play. The only thing I find a bit deceiving is the knobs. They're not very precise and it can be a hassle to mix and match the different configuration you want - especially the tone knob. But a lot of bass players leave everything full on so it's not a problem for them.

mail order 2001, $350, Mar Music The sound of this bass is great, it has a strong tone, deep bass,and nice mids. Mighty Mite Pick, before Bartolini Pick-up the neck is thin and fast Body to small for tall players, hard to play sitting down cause of the short lower hook. The weight is to light, and body is to thin 1-1/2 inch thick, Man-Made wood or plastic body. Drink up battery juice fast chip when turn all the way up. Plastic paint on body can crack if dropped, fret broad made of plastic. The bass is great for a beginner, or studio work. Or back up Bass. Not for live show. Too light to play live. To small body for tall players. love the neck, But not the fret broad. Make the bass sound light ended. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Gene Simmons is one of the most famous bass players around. He is the bassplayer and one of the frontmen for Kiss. He is known for his unique axe shaped basses. He also plays some more traditionally shaped basses. This is one of the more tradtional basses. The specs other than the shape are pretty much the same. With this bass you get a mahogany body. The neck is made from maple with a rosewood fretboard with 24 frets. The inlays on the neck are a cool diamond shape. The neck has a medium profile to it and has a 34 inch scale. The bass has a covered bridge which some people may not like. Up top you get 4 heavy duty tuners. The body is a pretty small double cut shape. It is painted black with a white pinstripe around the body to break it up. The controls are simple with 1 volume and 1 tone. The switch is a 3 way toggle. UTILIZATION This bass has an alright feel to it. The factory setup on the bass was garbage though. This bass was Indonesia so by the time it go here it had to travel half way around the world. We had to really crank on the truss rod to get the action down. The neck had way to much relief in it. Once setup you can get a decent action on the strings. The bridge cover means its kind of difficult to adjust the bridge but you can remove it. After major truss rod adjustment and some minor adjustments on the bridge the action can be pretty good. The body is pretty light. This means the bass likes to neck dive. You will need a good strap for this bass. SOUNDS The factory sound of this bass is not that good either just like the setup. The bridge pickup w the jazz pickup was way to high and gave a way too harsh sound. You can do a good bit to improve the sound by lowering both pickups a bit. Once you do that you can get a good typical bass sound. You can go from a really high end funk sound to a more traditional super low end sound. Having passive electronics and simple controls limits the amount of tone shaping you can do on this bass. But if you are looking for a simple bass to get the basic tones this can do it. OVERALL OPINION I figure most likely Gene Simmons fans will go for this bass. Otherwise there are better basses out there for the money. especially used. From the factory this bass played horribly and sounded just as bad. You need a major setup to get this bass in a playable condition. If you are able to do this you wont mind picking up a bass like this. If you are looking for a good out of box bass at a good price then you should look elsewhere.

Bought it second hand from a friend, used for a few years and sold it. It's a good bass I just have others that I prefer, just my personal feel, this could be your dream bass. Very playable, 24 frets and and extra few frets and the lower strings, which adds more timbrel options for playing a few notes on the highest frets. Although I think I would prefer having three extra frets on the G string to add more tonal range to the bass. Tone is solid, and has a quite a few knobs to adjust that with that all work well. Most features are good but nothing fancy, but that is the price range. Spacing and action are okay, neck thickness is okay, etc. For the price range, its a good bass. Need to try one out for yourself. The cut into the body that adds extra playability to the highest frets also creates a strange looking small hook, visual aesthetics or non-aesthetics depending on your tastes aside, it makes it very uncomfortable to hold it on your lap and play. If you only play standing up that wont be an issue, but if you want to sit down and play it can be uncomfortable unless you have a small thigh. From what I have seen using it I never had any issues with it, but I only used it for a few years and do not know the long term durability of it. A good bass, pick it up and play it at music store and see if the feel is right for you. If you like it go for it, you wont be disappointed. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have been playing blues, punk and funk for 20 odd years. I retired from paid work 5 years ago after having a kid but still love to play. I played it a dozen times in the music shop and basically fell in love. It felt and sounded better than the Fenders and Spectors in there that cost twice as much.It even out-performed the Cort Masterpiece which is the Rolls Royce of the Artisan series. Great tones, flexibility, playability. Extremely quiet pups, stunning looks. Endless sustain, fast neck, excellent craftmanship. Low action with no fretbuzz, perfect intonation, very fast neck. It is easy to get an array of bright, modern, punchy tones out of this bass, but more retro boofy tones are harder to achieve.After replacing the strings with Ultra-Lights, I had to adjust the truss rod, action and intonation, no big deal. Brilliant! The guys at Cort have put a lot of care into the Artisan series, those Koreans can make superb bass guitars! Well, I was looking at basses that cost a lot more than this, but I kept coming back to it because it feels SO good and sounds great and looks stunning. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

$219 US at Adirondack Strings, Albany NY. I was in the shop for another reason and they just INSISTED that I check out their new arrivals from Cort. They weren't kidding and I wound up playing for 45min just because it played well and sounded really good, and I kept finding more new voices from 3 very simple controls. It plays easy, reasonable weight, really good tone and variety of voices, simple controls and traditional styling. Also price is low, it seems decently made and has respected name-brand electronics. Has a PU balancer knob instead of two seperate PU gain knobs . The neck PU exhibits typical single-coil susceptibility to external noise sources. The knobs are on the pickguard instead of a seperate metal plate . Bass-treble knobs are stacked, something I always find annoying. Opaque metalic finish over not-too-heavy body . One-piece maple neck with rosewood board. Fender style head and tuners. Front routed but rear battery holder , stacked bass and treble knobs plus single gain knob and PU balancer. Battery door marked "Fishman" which must be the active EQ because the pickups are Mighty-Mites, Humbucking at bridge plus a jazz toward the neck. Setup was factory, shop hadn't touched it: A bit more neck relief than most players use, but not extreme, action only slightly high . Was pretty easy to play in as-shipped condition. It's really a very non-descript economy bass but the electronics package puts out like no other entry level bass I've ever played. It's more like next step after entry level, saving one step along the trade-in chain for the owner as he grows. The neck PU can sound huge & deep but not all muddy, and the humbucker can roar or twang without sounding tinny or pingy. Obviously a $219 Cort has almost no resale value, but that's OK because it's more than good enough to keep as a back-up to whatever next steals your heart & dollars. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I am saving for this bass. Im getting at Alligator Music, where it costs £199 It is in some beautiful colours, blue and green are my favourite. It has a comftable neck and is light. It has a great sound! It's a great bass to begin with, it is good enough to keep playing if you enjoy it, and is easy to sell on. pass! SOunds great, and is a great quality bass Beautiful bass. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is my first bass but ive played an extansive range of other basses. I bought this bass for $900 australian dollars in 2002, from custom music albury. I didnt no anything about basses when i bought it, but it turns out that this bass is a little to good for a beginner. I love my cort C4. I played a warwick thumb thru-neck 4 string at the bass centre in melbourne and i hated it. i thought my C4 was better. I love the feel of the bass and my colour is a wood walnut finish. The bass has 2 active mightymite soap-bar pickups on an active pre-amp. The bridge is a fortress bridge which is ment to increase sustain and create more of an acoustic vibe. I dont like the bridge because it has some fuzzyness about it. I dont enjoy playing the D string on the bridge pickup because it is very tence and is hard to make a good sound. Other than that, its a great bass. The bass was made in korea, and the contruction is outstanding. The fretboard is very usable and fast to play. Ive had it for 2 yrs and its holding up beautifully. 24 frets, rosewood fretboard, active electronics what more could you want? I love this bass. I think its beta than the warwick thumbs. I feel more at home on my bass. For $900 aussie dollars this is sexy, punchy bass. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I've had a fretless A4 bass for a few years and have always enjoyed it so when I thought it was time to get back into playing guitar I did think of the A6. Seeing one in a sale at £559 I picked it up and it felt and sounded great. So out came the plastic and I haven't regretted it for a moment. It's very versatile, can sound like an acoustic but it also plays and can sound like an electric with a clear sweet tone. You can make it very jazzy if you want. With an efects pedal or two you can sound as dirty as you like. It's light and easy to play. It looks great. I just love the absence of visible pick-ups and the finish is wonderful. I also like the fact that you can practice without an amp and sound good but without waking up the whole building. I haven't found anything negative to say at all. First rate construction and quality. A great guitar with an amazing versatility. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

My "learner" bass (unknown name - dodgy quality) was stolen and precipitated the purchase af a new guitar. I had been thinking about replacing it and this gave me the ideal(!) oppertunity. I am still a learner on the bass but I have been playing instruments of one sort or another for about 25 years so I had a good idea in my head as to what sound I wanted. I paid AU$1,300 (which is about US$650) from JR Musicin Adelaide which is a brilliant price. I had two requiments - a smooth clear low end and a sharp high attack high end for good slap and more driving sound. I thought it was a pipe dream - not so. I played this unit in the shop and was blown away at its clarity and varied range of sounds. The controls include volume, pickup balance, bass, mid and trebel tone controls. Because it is an active equaliser thge controls not only alter the level but the timbre as well. Tugether with the pickup balance it can turn this guitar from a smooth jazz instrument into a funky slap bass. The low end is exceptionally clear - none of that cloudiness that is common in many basses. I have a home made quad box with very high quality drivers and so I know that the speaker is capable of excellent clarity at the low end - and this is the first bass that has produced this clarity. The look. Just tkae a look at the pictures at the Cort site and tell me that you would not be proud to hang this around your neck. Mine is the light woodgrain and looks fantastic. My son has designes on it. He plays lead and I think that this may convert him into a bass player. He was playing it last noght at his band practice. The weight. It is heavy - even for a bass. But I suppost that that is the sacrifice for such a resonant instrument. The US site says that htis is an active/passive unit - however there is no swithc on the Australian model. Not sure why but that is realy no big deal. First class. Good mounting hardware. All recesses are well shielded and earthed so that there is little to no hum. Some of the guitars I looked at hummed straight up - not his one though. However - Under the cover the wiring is a mess. No neatly tied and run wiring and some wires twisted with a slip cover. I was surprised when I removed the cover the reveal a rats nest. Also the battery is secured with a screw on cover. For a few extra dollars they could have providid a well constructed clip. And not the dodgy plastic things you see on even the most expensive acoustics. Screws have a tendency to strip. The through neck looks good and enhances the resonant quality of the body. The laminated neck also adds to the ridgidity of the consrtuction. Like so many guitars the overall consrtuction is excellent but falls down in the electronic construction. Value for money - excelent. Construction - Excelent - with a few misgivings. Sound - brilliant. If you are looking to upgrade from your first insrtument and you want a clear sounding bass then you could do a lot worse (believe me a LOT worse) than buy this guitar. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

-my cort action-a was made in Indonesia, i dont know is it good or bad place for guitars to be manufactured. -24 frets, Power Sound P & Jazz pickups, bolt on construction. -bridge EB7(4) -it has 2volume, 2-band active EQ -neck Maple, Modern "C" Shape UTILIZATION Neck is nice to feel, easy to slide through all length. it's also easy to access last frets. it has great design, it is not very heavy and has beautiful shape, also extremely comfortable to play. i think that its not hard to get a nice sound from it. SOUNDS -it suits any style of music, metal, rock, jazz, anything. i use Crate gt65 guitar amp. its suposed to be an electric guitar amp, but it has no dificulties coping with low, bassy sounds if i dont play too loud. when playing i really like clean bass sounds, no distortion... amp is used only to control volume. cort 2vol, 2-band active EQ contols is all i need to modify sounds... OVERALL OPINION I own my cort action-a bass for about a month by now, first i had "jolana" one old bass made in Checoslovakia and i can say that Cort bass is much beter than jolana. what i like about cort is that you get a nice, high quality instrument for a reasonable price. really worth the money you pay.