The CORT Club (Part 2)

[Yahboy]

I thought the distributor are joking with me when he told me the set of VTB-ST sold to me are the last Alnico V hum cancelling version made by Cort. The alnico V VTB J pup on GB line already change to ceramic in earlier 2020.

I found this news from Cort website and it is no joking.

Cort Voiced Tone Pickups (2) – for Electric Basses

Thats mean all the GB74/75 after 2020 are using GB54/55 ceramic J pup........

Check this. The reviewer also forgot to mention that the VTB-ST Alnico V pup are Split coil design.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Why i sell this nice bass ? Unstable neck !!!!!

Do you mean the neck pocket is too wide or deep, or that you constantly have to work the truss rod to set up neck relief?

 

[Yahboy]

Do you mean the neck pocket is too wide or deep, or that you constantly have to work the truss rod to set up neck relief?

I mean neck profile are round D shape like Squier CV50P has.

I am familiar with bass setup. My previous DLX V has serious unstable neck issue, even my Cort GB74JJ too. Problem solve after neck exchange under warranty (Cort 74JJ), but still not as rock steady as the cheapo Bacchuss BJBRSM with Roasted Maple neck !

Here you are, Squier CV bass killer, absolutely game changer !!!

 

[Yahboy]

Let go my GB74JJ yesterday...... No regret, the Bacchus has alnico V VTB-ST inside, similar tone but fuller, plus great roasted maple neck and awesome fretwork.

 

[LowEndLobster]

Hey everyone! Here's my latest vid revisiting the Cort GB64JJ. I initially reviewed this bass in early 2020 but the playing field has changed significantly since then. Does the GB64JJ still hold up as a good value in 2021? Let's find out

 

[Stinga1990]

I could have joined this club last year but totally forgot it was a thing. Here is my 1991 Artisan B5. I got a free fret job as part of the warranty for used instruments (a shim was throwing the whole thing off). The stock mitey mite pups and pre had to go, so replaced the whole lot with EMG 40jxs and the 2 band BTS preamp. She now plays like butter and sings with her true voice.

 

[Stinga1990]

I'm of the opinion that whatever the year, the woods, construction, and hardware of artisans are first rate, and the electronics and pickups are bargain bin and should be upgraded asap to get the best from the bass. The mighty mites in the old corts are simultaneously muddy, yet lacking depth and the preamp was very noisy. I felt the mite stuff got in the way of the basses true voice. From the ones I tried when shopping, the Bartolini MK1s in new artisans are not much better, but hey, it says Bartolini on the covers!! On the other hand the EMG JXs might just be the most acoustically faithful EMG pickups have ever been, clean yes, but faithful, that wenge growl comes though loud and clear.

 

[Frengel]

Hello,
Is this a real cort or a fake cort?
Thank,
Toon

 

[Aidil]

Hello,
Is this a real cort or a fake cort?
Thank,
Toon

It's one of Cort T series which has been discontinued, IIRC, roughly 5 years ago.

 

[Shlafenflarst]

May I join the club ? Here is my new Cort Action V Plus !

​

And first, a question : what the hell is this bass made of ? Styrofoam ? Cause it's lighter than a goddamn Steinberger !

It doesn't sound like it's made of styrofoam tho. It sounds pretty good ! I've been wanting to try a JJ pickup configuration for a while, and I'm not disappointed. Cleaner and clearer than my other basses (PJ and humbuckers), even with an agressive playing style or distorted sound. Now I can't wait to hear what it sounds like once I've modified it to put the pickups in series.

As I feared, those pickups are designed to work with the preamp, if I bypass it the output level is too low. If it doesn't use too much batteries I might leave it as such, if it does I'll replace everything (I'm thinking about Nordstrand Big J-Blades). That might also solve the humming issue, tho it's not that bad, as long as I'm playing at home.

And here it is with the family. All that is beginning to take a lot of room...

​

 

[David Carl]

I don't find the pre-amp to be that big a deal although I'm just a casual bass player. I just leave it on "high" and tune around it (treble up a bit, bias 3/4 neck to brighten up the Barts). If you don't leave a cable plugged in the battery lasts quite a while. I have a couple of rechargeable 9vs that work great. I understand that some desire a pre-upgrade but, like I said, I get a really good sound bone stock.

 

[Shlafenflarst]

I always prefer having passive basses. Plus I have a Sire on which the original preamp used a LOT of batteries, fortunately the pickups work well in passive mode so I could remove it. But since here that's not the case, I hope it will be more economical. But the Cort preamp seems much smaller and simpler than the Sire one, so I'm not that worried.

 

[ElBecko59]

May I join the club ? Here is my new Cort Action V Plus !

View attachment 4495706 View attachment 4495707 View attachment 4495708​

And first, a question : what the hell is this bass made of ? Styrofoam ? Cause it's lighter than a goddamn Steinberger !

It doesn't sound like it's made of styrofoam tho. It sounds pretty good ! I've been wanting to try a JJ pickup configuration for a while, and I'm not disappointed. Cleaner and clearer than my other basses (PJ and humbuckers), even with an agressive playing style or distorted sound. Now I can't wait to hear what it sounds like once I've modified it to put the pickups in series.

As I feared, those pickups are designed to work with the preamp, if I bypass it the output level is too low. If it doesn't use too much batteries I might leave it as such, if it does I'll replace everything (I'm thinking about Nordstrand Big J-Blades). That might also solve the humming issue, tho it's not that bad, as long as I'm playing at home.

And here it is with the family. All that is beginning to take a lot of room...

View attachment 4495709 View attachment 4495713​

from Cort website: Poplar wood Cort Action Bass V Plus | Action Series Electric Bass

 

[oldNewbie]

Cort- Hive
Have a fretless B5 Artisan with two questions :
1.) Changing strings , the post on the D tuning machine came unscrewed. Looks like there are about 4-5 threads on a post in the bottom of the machine. I can get those to engage but comes unscrewed again when any string tension is on the post. This tuner assembly is dead and not just in need of a little loctite , yes ? Then do I find one replacement or time to change out all of them ? Favorite sources ?

2.) Pickups/preamp upgrades ? Looking for maybe a richer sound. I'm 90% DB and play electric only occasionally w/o drums.
Please point me to a thread somewhere.

Thanks !

 

[Aidil]

Cort- Hive
Have a fretless B5 Artisan with two questions :
1.) Changing strings , the post on the D tuning machine came unscrewed. Looks like there are about 4-5 threads on a post in the bottom of the machine. I can get those to engage but comes unscrewed again when any string tension is on the post. This tuner assembly is dead and not just in need of a little loctite , yes ? Then do I find one replacement or time to change out all of them ? Favorite sources ?

2.) Pickups/preamp upgrades ? Looking for maybe a richer sound. I'm 90% DB and play electric only occasionally w/o drums.
Please point me to a thread somewhere.

Thanks !

Most likely your B5FL is using Gotoh GB7 (knock off) tuning machines. They are available online quite cheap. You can search on eBay with a query such as "Ibanez closed gear tuning machines"

But, B5 fretless has been out of production for years. Now, Cort is only selling the 4 string B4FL. If you are enjoying yours so much and keeping it for many more years to come, you could opt for more robust and lighter weight tuners which Cort uses on current production of B4FL, which are the Ultralite tuners from Hipshot, the licensed version so they aren't as expensive as the USA version.

 

[oldNewbie]

But, B5 fretless has been out of production for years. Now, Cort is only selling the 4 string B4FL. If you are enjoying yours so much and keeping it for many more years to come, you could opt for more robust and lighter weight tuners which Cort uses on current production of B4FL, which are the Ultralite tuners from Hipshot, the licensed version so they aren't as expensive as the USA version.

Thank you @Aidil , very helpful. Hipshot ultralight licensed set of five in black it is .

 

[bowiebass]

I'm going to buy Cort B5 (with Mark Bass pream) Ash for my 30th birthday as my first bass (after years of playing guitar mostly causally). I'm into pop-rock/funk music, I really like the feel of this bass. What can I expect?

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

You can expect a good bass in sound, ergonomics and build quality that could be your workhorse for years to come.

 

[David Carl]

I'm going to buy Cort B5 (with Mark Bass pream) Ash for my 30th birthday as my first bass (after years of playing guitar mostly causally). I'm into pop-rock/funk music, I really like the feel of this bass. What can I expect?

Corts are great basses and an outstanding value for the money. I bought mine as a beginner rig thinking I would "upgrade" to a Fender when I got serious. Well, I got pretty good and tried out a J Bass at GC. Didn't feel any better than my A4 so I just stayed with it. I now have two and will likely never change.

 

[incommunicado]

Bartolini has quite a few in-house USA factory MK size pickup models which are aimed as the direct upgrades for the MK1 pickups. You could opt for P2 size pickups as well, which are only a tad barely noticeable smaller than the MK size pickups.

Inside of the MK1 is a reverse P split coil. Most who upgraded their MK1 would choose Bartolini MK?CBC model (for a 5 string bass it would be MK5CBC), which is a dual coil pickup. Other options are MK5P (P split coil), MK5J (in-line J split coil), MK5S (in-line single coil), MK5C (Bart's original dual coil which aren't as hifi as the CBC model), MK5-2J (a pair of in-line J split coils).

I do own a pair of MK5CBC and a pair of MK6CBC which were used on my 5 string and 6 string basses as replacements for the factory equipped MK1 pickups. I've never noticed whether the USA made ones have higher gains than the outsourced ones. But, they do sound thicker.[/QUOT

Have you adjusted the pickup height?

Wow...I never new there was such a variety of MK5s...Now I'm even more confused about the replacement of my MK1s...The difference between active/passive input level apparently will remain, but as long as the tone of the MK-5CBC is thicker, I'll be fine...(hope they match well with the onboard MarkBass preamp on my Cort C5 Plus)