NBD: Cort is kinda incredible now?

[neuman]

My wife and I relocated for jobs last summer and all of my music gear was being shipped. Once the estimated arrival date moved from weeks to months I picked up the Cort Action PJ to tide me over with full intent on passing it along once my stuff arrived.

Turns out it sounds good, plays well and is a fun change of pace from my Schecter.

Glad I found Cort and tried it out!

 

[Jon Moody]

I saw Jeff Berlin at NAMM and he did a little seminar on bass playing. The thing that really impressed me was he didn't bring a bass with him. He is sponsored by Cort and he just sat down, turned around and grabbed a Cort bass that was hanging on the wall.
No special setup, no high end bass, just him and a Cort bass and he was amazing.
That really changed my opinion on Cort basses!

To be fair, every single instrument at NAMM is dialed in as good as they can get it. They're trying to sell dealers instruments; nothing is going to have a high fret or a trussrod that could use a turn. Every morning, people are checking every instrument for intonation, setup, etc.. It's not Guitar Center

The Cort/ Curbow designed basses were excellent.

I have a very small list of basses I regret selling. My 5st fretless Cort Curbow is one of them. It was just a great bass that was fun to play.

 

[Greycode]

I bought a Cort B4 LH a couple of years ago.
It is well made, nice tone and plays well.
Factory set up not the best, but spend a little time getting the action right and it is a nice little bass, and well done them making bass guitars for us lefties, that is more than some manufacturers can be arsed to do!

 

[BAG]

I keep reading this, and I dunno, it's gonna take quite a bit to shake the bad associations I have in my mind in relation to Cort. They were like the Harley Benton brand of the early '90s, but they didn't do it well. A whole slew of my friends played horrible Cort stuff starting out, like my buddy's "Cort Reed Smith" that never stayed in tune and weighed a ton.

I never saw that side of Cort.
I've always thought that Cort were great value for money in the Acoustic guitar market and assumed that their basses were similar. I've owned three of their electro-acoustics and still have one.

 

[foolforthecity]

I had a guitar buddy of mine ask me for help in finding a “budget“ bass for his 15 year old daughter for Christmas. $200 was the max. I stopped by Clawsons Music in Corpus Christi and they had about a dozen low-priced Indonesian “open pore” (Cort Action PJ) basses at $169 each. I tried out a few was blown away by their feel and sound. I bought one, took it home, tweaked it up and had a hard time giving it to my buddy... wow! I’m going back to get me one for a knock-around for sure.

 

[andruca]

NIce Jazz! I had a 2003 Cort Curbow 5er and it was GREAT (just not my thing sonically). Every Cort I've played was fine, playable and good sounding. They manufacture the (also great) Tribute G&L line amongst many other big brands' entry level endeavors.

 

[2F/2F]

Don’t they make Squiers? A great bang for the buck. Often better build than MIM, in my recent experience.

 

[Dincrest]

I was thinking the same thing as others: Because Cort makes guitars for so many brands (and there's a going joke on TalkBass that Cort probably makes a lion's share of its profits from Ibanez alone), they can offer their house-brand basses with Cadillac specs at Chevy prices. It's kinda like this article I read somewhere where people pay a premium for Ocean Spray cranberry juice when Costco's cranberry juice is the exact same stuff from the same facility.

Still, yeah, after the Cort fiasco that happened in Korea (I think it started back in 2007), I can definitely see why the brand would have a negative connotation in people's minds by way of, "I don't want to support a company that stomps on workers' rights."

 

[HubbardsFate]

Been wanting to get my hands on some Cort models for awhile now. If they play/sound as good as they look - and their rep these days is such that I'm pretty sure they do - I doubt I'll be disappointed

 

[Valvehead]

Bridge placement looks off. Should be a couple mm more to the right in the photo.
This is how they do it at the $500 price point.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Cort has been making a lot of those other imports people love for decades. Yes, even while they were selling junkers using their own name. My understanding is they made those Korean Spectors that were so cool at the same time they were selling the entry level cheap stuff. They were definitely making the Korean Ibanez, etc.

Cheaper when a good bass comes from them instead of getting a name and branding from someone else who needs a profit.

Cort will still sell you a piece of crap, too, if that’s what you’re in the market for.

 

[Yahboy]

Congratulations.

Here is mine, but she is GB74JJ which has better hardware but no sexy roasted maple neck.

The CORT Club (Part 2)

If you guys who love/play mexico Fender Jazz bass, should try those GB54JJ/55JJ , 64JJ , 74JJ/JH and 35 scale 75JJ/JH bass.
Honestly, those bass has lot improvement on bass body design compare to Fender MIM Jazz. The sculpted neck joints and deeper horn cut just make you smile. Humcanceling j pup sound pretty close to single coil jazz pup but a bit brighter. They has no Fender slim j neck, but still smooth and comfort on hand.

 

[Yahboy]

Bridge placement looks off. Should be a couple mm more to the right in the photo.
This is how they do it at the $500 price point.

The bridge look fine for me, but the bridge pickups height setup cause the bridge look crook which offen happened on Fender bass.

 

[HubbardsFate]

Never much cared for the look of roasted maple necks, not even on "bigger" names like EBMM...then this Cort came along on the 'verb, and I can't get it out of my mind

 

[Hummergeist]

I've never owned a 'Cort' but I've definitely owned guitars and basses made by Cort, so it'd be snobbish to reject them out of hand. Not being able to try them anywhere is an issue, but these days in the UK at least there are very few places to try any instrument! Quite fancy their single-cut 5 string.

 

[Meaculpa]

Cort Artisan line is amazing.
Check out their website guys.
Woods, hardware and electronics. Great basses!!!

 

[Bass V]

I keep reading this, and I dunno, it's gonna take quite a bit to shake the bad associations I have in my mind in relation to Cort. They were like the Harley Benton brand of the early '90s, but they didn't do it well. A whole slew of my friends played horrible Cort stuff starting out, like my buddy's "Cort Reed Smith" that never stayed in tune and weighed a ton.

you missed the good stuff then cos they've made great basses inexpensively since c1980
I'm pming a seller now for a stunning piece from that early period and all my other Corts are favorites as well. I never have a problem gambling on an online Cort bass and really regret a few misses.

 

[DanAdams]

I wonder how many "never Cort-ers" unknowingly have a Cort manufactured bass in their arsenal.
It reminds me of the "no Ibanez-ers" who proudly rock the MIJ Fenders, made at the same Ibanez factory.
Even old Corts are ok. Often no one thought it was worth setting them up and putting on new strings.

 

[Ostie]

Never seen black blocks on such a dark fingerboard - almost invisible. Cool! Where can you buy Cort guitars? Honestly if the don't show up at the big stores I probably won't see them. Enjoy your new bass!

Roger that. I missed them. Had to go back and look again.

 

[soundsupport1]

Cort make the Lakland Skyline basses.
The Jazz basses are excellent - I´m not surprised that the own-brand J-style instruments are top notch.

Peace,
SoundSupport