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Can someone explain Cort basses to me?

FenderBender82

FenderBender82

Aug 29, 2010
148
5
South county, RI
#1
I usually spot good deals on them on ebay though Ive never played or seen one in person. They appear to be very well built using good materials and electronics. I'm interested in the curbow 51 and the GW five strings. I have never cared for any fender made five strings and am looking to introduce a new make into the fold. I'm specifically interested in a 5 string fretless 35 inch scale preferably such as a ibanez BTB, Gary Willis or the Portamento. but then I started to notice MTD Kingstons and Corts. Where Are Corts made? why are they so affordable? Why cant I find a dealer online that carries them?
 
#3
Cort are made in Soth Korea.
Its a pretty well known brand, but they mostly do production work for other companies(squier, ibanez++). If you ever owned a cheap guitar from some of the bigger companies, its a good chance they are made by Cort, or cor-tek as they are also called.
They are affordable because they are located in a low cost production country.
If you want one i recomend you check out amazon.
 
#4
I recommend anything from the GB series. I own 2 (a gb54 and a gb44) and both are top notch after being setup properly. I paid $75 for the GB54 on ebay and $150 for the GB44 in a private sale.

A GB75 or higher can be had for $500-$600 on ebay any day of the week, even less if you look for a while. The GB series are great instruments, basically a jazz bass crossed with a stingray.
 
#5
Cort basses are generally well built (I've heard of some issues with the older luthite Curbow models - but I don't know...). They work indeed for a lot of the big names in the industry and that's why they can afford keeping their prices low. Their basses have a nasal note in their tone - you either love it or hate it. Overall they're good instruments.

Now may I suggest an Arona 5er? Afaik they don't have fretless, but this line is well worth checking ;) IMO possibly their best ;)
 
#8
I've the Cort Curbow with the Luthite body and Ebonol Fretboard. Very well built bass,
got a great neck, single pickup with good range of sounds. Great value for money too.

Thing you hear about Curbows is " Oh you can't play seated ". Never had that problem
and I play mine's daily. In fact I like Curbows so much I'm considering the 5 String one.

No about qualms recommending Cort Basses at all.
 
#10
Cort is one of the largest manufacturer of guitars and basses in the world. Yes, one wouldn't really be aware of that as they manufacture instruments for Ibanez, Squier, G&L Tribute amongst others. If the bass is made in Korea, you can almost guarantee it was made by Cort. That being said, they have made basses of their own design under their own Cort brand. The Curbow is one of their more popular ones. I've had 5 Curbow basses (the older Luthite ones) and they were well made instruments. I'm actually GASsing for one right now. :)
 
#12
This is my Cort A5 (going on the market real soon, have to cover the cost of my Valenti a bit).

It was my first venture into 5'ers and is a very well built, good sounding/playing bass. Exceptional value IMHO.

DSC_2522_zpse28c6986.jpg
 
#13
Maxdusty said:
Cort is one of the largest manufacturer of guitars and basses in the world. Yes, one wouldn't really be aware of that as they manufacture instruments for Ibanez, Squier, G&L Tribute amongst others. If the bass is made in Korea, you can almost guarantee it was made by Cort.
Click to expand...

How much of Cort production is made in SKorea these days? I was under the impression that high wages in SKorea motivated Cort to move a lot of production to Indonesia and China.
 
#14
I had a Curbow, and while it served me well for the time I used it, I wouldn't buy another. I wouldn't buy another luthite bass for that matter. I'm in the camp that thinks it was difficult to play seated, and it always smelled like paint thinner or xylene or something. I would consider getting a GB or A5, and I'd like to try one of the new 2 pickup wood Curbows
 
#15
There's been quite some controversy about Cort a couple years ago. Invalid Link Removed thread over at sevenstring.org seems to cover the entire thing pretty thoroughly.

Incidentally, I was at Frankfurt Musikmesse when the protest by former Cort workers took place. Nobody really took them seriously, it was a damn shame.
 

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