NBD + Review: Cort B6 Plus AS

[Funky Maple]

I bought this bass new few weeks ago but I wanted to wait before posting an NBD so that I can also review it since you don't see many of these around here.

Ordered from Woodbrass for 700 euros (778$), shipped from France to Romania.

Out of the box setup
Perfectly flat neck, spot on intonation, decent string height at bridge, but a bit too high for my liking - I lowered it without issues and the subsequent intonation adjustment went easily and quickly.

Tuners
Not sure if proper Hipshot Ultralites or just Hipshot licensed, but they are very stable and reliable. The bass is neck heavy but I have a nice wide strap and it seems to solve the issue.

Neck & Fretboard

• Fret edges are really nice and smooth. I couldn't find any fret buzz except the whole length of the B string, but that's due a combination of the string gauge, neck relief and my poor technique.
• The neck playability resembles an Ibanez Soundgear, but it's not quite that thin. The bass is still nice and easy to play, though. It's a 5-ply panga panga-walnut combination.
• The fretboard is panga panga which has a very pretty coffee color (the wood is also called coffeewood, I believe) and some really nice streaks complimenting the streaks of the body. It looks a bit soft, but the wood has a pretty low hardness and I'm used to maple and ebony.
• I like that the dot inlays are offset so I don't have to tilt the bass that much to see them if necessary, but because they are abalone they can be harder to spot.
• The nut is plastic. I have never had issues with the nut on any of my basses, so I don't mind.

Pickups & Pre-amp

• Bartolini MK-1's. Can get nice tones from them but I'm a single coil guy and will probably change them with Nordstrand Big Singles or Big Splits.
• The Markbass MB-1 pre-amp is pretty simple. You can bypass it with a switch, but I prefer the active tone of this bass (even though I usually prefer passive basses). The layout is a basic Volume - Blend - Bass - Mids - Treble

Body, Bridge & Finish

• The body wood is Swamp Ash - really nice stripes, some dark spots here and there. It is obviously heavier than most 4 string basses, but for a sixer it's actually pretty light! But a wide, comfortable strap will still help a lot.
• The finish is a very thin 'open pore' that feels like bare wood. It very well may be bare wood, since the bass gets kinda grayish on the areas where it touches the torso when standing and the leg when sitting. I like the mojo, but I am anxious it will get much worse.
• The bridge is not branded, but seems to emulate the Hipshot bridges. You can also adjust string spacing a bit with this bridge and it seems sturdy enough, so I don't see a replacement in the future.
• String spacing is around 16mm, so pretty narrow, but that's what I like.

Strings

• It came from the factory equipped with a set of D'Addario EXL165-6. They died quite fast and swapped them with Elixirs. But I don't know how much they sat on the bass. Hate D'Addarios anyway.

Hopefully this helped those of you who might be interested in Cort basses.

 

[Meaculpa]

Thank you so much for your review!
I own a Cort C6 and I love it so much that i will get another 6 string Cort in the future.
I got my eyes on this one the B6. Looks really nice! My C6 has the same preamp and mics, and if I get my hands on one of these surely I will put Nordstrand Big Singles on it for a different vibe and sound.

 

[A9X]

Nice bass and review.
I very nearly bought a used A6 in the new year, but the description was "excellent" and the one pic seemed to confirm it, but when I arrived it looked like it had been ridden hard and put away wet for years. Price was low, but the work needed to get it to my standard would be too much. As I knew what they cost new, and having played this one, it's very high on my list for the next 6 banger.

 

[getBAK]

Great to hear you like it.

esembles an Ibanez Soundgear

guess who contract manufactures most of the Ibanez line

 

[Meaculpa]

guess who contract manufactures most of the Ibanez line

Also Schecter.

 

[Grueber]

Nice bass! I really wanted one of these last year but a few reverb sellers told me they were no longer in production. I hope I see one pop up eventually. I love narrow string 34 scale 6ers.

 

[A9X]

^^ I inquired locally a few months back and they said they could get it in a few days, meaning distributor had stock and there was no mention of being OOP as I'm sure I would have been give a hurry up sales pitch.

 

[Funky Maple]

One thing I observed later was that the pangapanga neck, while gorgeous visually, is pretty soft and:
1. It squashed like a play-doh at the edge of the fretboard, on the spots where my fingers would press on it while playing the lower strings;
2. It is VERY porous, to the point where I'm not sure if that's just the grain of the wood or if it's so dry it has a million tiny cracks

 

[AcousticJuz]

Hi - saw this thread - thanks Funky Maple! Thought I’d share my Cort B6 experience too.
There was a super-cheap deal on it so I thought I’d splurge in this Covid-19 period. Plus I was reading about the ash shortage, so this made me jump at it.
Really happy so far.
The single-piece swamp ash body is quite beautiful. Ibanez-size and has a good feel in lap and shoulder - I've attached a photo compared to my J. The natural finish is quite smooth; the initial impression I had of "open pore" was a more rustic one, but there aren't any unwanted cracks in this and I'm loving the grain and natural hue of the wood. Great weight, balance is good given the compact headstock and hipshot tuners.
My neck was listed as Wenge. Five piece with what I think is walnut with a wenge board. I've liked the natural finish and thinness of the neck - it plays comfy and fast. I've found the hardness under fingers good so far.
I get an all-purpose rounded sound flat out of the bart MK1s and MarkBass pre that I'm happy with. Liking the back pup as I can get some Jaco-like sounds with a few eq tweaks. I wouldn't mind a pup upgrade but another bass is first in line. I don't tend to play too much with neck only pup: here's it's quite close to the back in the Ibanez style due to lack of real estate with the neck joining - will some players get enough difference for their liking? It's suits me though. Yes string spacing is a little narrower than "standard" - at least narrower than my Alien 6 - but it suits my preferred finger style plus I'm exploring more chordal work; I have to do more target practice if I'm to slap, but it's not why I got an electric 6 so I'll go back to my J for that. So happy with the sounds.
Very hard to give points off in this price range, but: finish is a little patchy, with some unfinished sanding of the veneer at the headstock, a few odd irregularities on the back of the neck and a couple glue streaks on the board; there is a little chorus happening on the D and A string fretted notes that's more pronounced in the phones than when through a head and cab - but this could be anything and I'm troubleshooting; could do with a treble roll-off when in passive mode, so a later mod might be to replace the toggle switch with a push-pull knob.
But hey - at this price point the specs for a 6 are huge and I'm happy with things so far. Need to take it to my guy for a proper setup post-lockdown and will update after that and as I get more familiar with this latest addition to the family.