I really appreciate that you do in-depth reviews on basses that are in the "average joe" price range. Really show viewers how to get the best bang for their buck. Thank you and keep up the great work🦞🦞🦞
Glad to see you reviewing Cort. They make great quality instruments at really good price points, often much lower than many name brands. Seriously under rated and reviews like yours helps get the name out to the masses
Really glad to see you checking out Cort. There's rarely any buzz around them, but they really do make solid instruments for players on a budget. Also, glad you've been looking at Schecters. They're another brand that lets you get a lot of bang for your buck.
LOL at the intro! :-) I was curious about this bass and was happy to discover that you had reviewed it. Sure sounds nice. I wish there was a choice of body finishes and a truss rod heel adjustment wheel.
Lobster, don’t forget to review the Cort Modern 4 or 5. They’re nice except my E string buzzes. But fixable (I hope). 4 string that is in grey. Once again your video is crushing. Excellent as always! 👍
“...but Lavern, he’s very dark...” Cort makes great stuff. I’m glad to see you reviewing this. I think, in a way, you got a unique color scheme, in something that otherwise would have been (tho nice) ordinary. But that’s me...life gives you lemons....now you have ammunition. Cheers Lobster, thank you for sharing. Have a great week.
Been looking forward to this! This bass is very similar to my first bass that I bought 6 months ago - GB74JJ. Mine is in an amber finish with a clear pickguard and it looks amazing IMO. When I went to get my first bass I did my research beforehand and honestly thought I'd be walking out with a Squier or Ibanez, since they were regarded as some of the best in my price range. None of the basses I picked up really grabbed me, so my friend who was with me encouraged me to try the Cort as he owns a Cort guitar and loves it. After I spent 15+ minutes happily noodling away and playing it he said "I think that might be the one dude". It just felt exactly right in my hands! I love it, I think its a great first bass to be learning on.
Loved the demo, Cort doesn’t seem to get any love from other reviewers. I love my GB74jh. There is a lot of underrated basses out there so keep the great reviews coming, so I can enlarge my bass collection!
Hi lobster 🦞, I've use to own 2 cort basses. They are well made basses in my opinion. The only issue I had with them was string spacing. Apart from that, don't sleep on Cort.
Two suggestions: give a holler about what strings you're rockin' (if known), and sometimes let us know the instrument weight (if its near 9 or under). Thanks and keep doing what you are doing, good stuff.
Thank you! Strings are in the description, MJC Ironworks Nickel Plated Stainless Steel 45-105. I usually don't mention weight unless something is exceptionally light or heavy. Weight can vary a lot from example to example of the same instrument. My buddy Kevin has a Ray34 that weighs in the mid 9 lbs, mine weighed 11. Welcome aboard my friend :)
Man I am digging the NEW Fort with the mixed MM p/u....needs to investigate further!!!!!.... Another great review of this one though my bass brethren!!!!!!
🤣 Excellent intro! That bass looks and sounds great. Dang! I agree that the top end is a little too harsh when boosted but the bass otherwise sounds like a great Jazz bass. Probably would benefit tremendously from dropping in an Aguilar OBP-2. Great review, Lobster!
I have to agree about the possibility of an Aggy preamp in this bass! I think it would make it an absolute monster, & overall even more extremely capable, for sure of beating basses 3 times as expensive in the tone depo.
Roasted maple makes the wood harder and reduces the moisture content so the instrument is less affected by temperature change (capillary air pockets in the wood exert less hydrostatic pressure on the wood fibers than water, water also expands as it becomes ice as well as steam/vapor if hot enough) and once the neck is treated/sealed it's even harder for moisture to affect the overall rigidity or lack of sponginess of the neck itself (it's the physically thinnest part of the instrument exposed to the air, headstock to heel pocket) as the air is only displaced from the outside in (if it can penetrate at all) so there's a crispy dryness to its core that you'd really have to soak the neck in a tub of water for a while to get it to fully rehydrate. Hard maple is "diffused porous" which in common terms means the pores are spread out amongst the wood in no particular pattern rather than ring or ulmiform types, but I'm not sure exactly how much that matters in how quickly a wood pulls in moisture but it might make sense to someone here. Roasting also makes the wood more brittle (similar outcome as tempering metal but mostly different process internally) but my observation is that the same instrument designs that have issues with easily broken headstocks will suffer the same misery regardless of the neck wood(s).
Since Warmoth is offering roasted ash bodies now, I've been itching to roast a few types of walnut bodies to varying degrees of roastedness and see what happens...as long as your fingerboard is hard, especially if you are using frets, I haven't noticed much different in finger tone - good finger tone is good finger tone. But the bodies affect signal regeneration as a function of material resonance and propagation delays through the physical properties of the body itself, unless you're using a particularly sterile set of electronics.
Cort has really made an effort at improving their basses; definitely a value instrument that gives you a lot for relatively little money. I really liked my Cort A5
In my opinion, this is one of the best sounding bass guitars in your reviews. A little suggestion: maybe download two or three backing tracks for next reviews? I think it's always informative to hear and compare basses in a context of a full mix. Great review, as always. Cheers! :)
Thank you my friend! It's hard to play along with backing tracks with how I do my reviews (kind of spontaneous) BUT I did snag this "Beat Buddy 2" pedal that will lay down all sorts of drum beats for me to play along with. That'll be featured in MANY upcoming videos to provide more of that "in the mix" feel.
Thanks Lobster, great review and a great bass. I bought a Cort C5 Plus recently, which has Bartolini pickups, a Mark Bass pre-amp and sounds amazing. It’s so good I prefer it to my USA Jazz, and the Cort only cost £299 new. Do try one if you get the chance, I’d love to hear what you think of it.
Had the pleasure of trying on of these and I NEED one lol. Too bad they're 600 USD here in Guatemala and I'm not sure where to find one back in the states
Finally got my hands on one of these. Found a used one for just $250 and am over the moon with it. Mine doesn’t have the overcooked neck and a much better grain.
That's a great bass for the money. Sounds great and the roasted maple probably feels wonderful. Interesting that you stated that the neck was probably over roasted because of the dark color. Over roasting seems to be a common problem. My Ibanez EHB1005MS has a very dark neck too. It is much darker than any of the Ibanez images online.
The EHB is also made by Cort. I wonder what's going on there. My EHB1005 neck is what you'd expect color wise, right in line with all my other roasties. Even the Cort's neck is fine, just the fingerboard is dark dark dark
@@LowEndLobster Thanks for your reply. I thought the neck on your EHB1005MS looked much lighter in color than mine. Mine is so dark that the small walnut strips on the back of the neck are much lighter than the maple. I’m still very happy with the bass, even with the almost black looking neck it looks great with the sea foam green body.
wait no tell me more about the AMD..... You knew how long i had been waiting for this review! haha! but damn i'm actually impressed and yeah that grain on the ash ins't as nice but it dosen't look particularly bad to me. But that sounds incredible! you did a great job as always and mmmm that Mr experience snuck in between
That bass looks identical to the Fender my brother used to have in the 80's except for the roasted maple neck. It looks like you got one of the back end models.
Wow Cort is a much better company than it used to be. This is a great bass for under $500. If you needed an active J in the arsenal this will do just fine. Has the 70’s bite.
I’d agree with you regarding the overly dark roasted maple fretboard. It’s almost as dark as Harley Benton’s “Roseacer” which they describe as being a ‘thermally treated maple’ (which I guess means it’s been roasted). I and my daughter disagree with ‘Lobsterman’ regarding the wood grain on the body. We both think it’s great!! I’d love to hear it with the (very harsh) treble at about 40% and the bass at around 75%
Thanks Rev! Yep, rolling back the treble would smooth things out quite a bit. I was going to do more combos but the video was getting a bit long ;P. I lent this to my guitar player friend, so we'll have to do a follow up down the line :).
You would be surprised how many more popular manufacturers ' import models are made by Cort. Most Korean made imports are or at least they used to be--- Cort and Samick were making most basses out of Korea. Cort has gotten good at it,too. Their Artisan basses are on par with my Korean Spector and that bass is a demon.
@@LowEndLobster that's a stroke of luck 😅 Cool! Fretless! I have a 5 string in tobacco sunburst, .......oh yea, as you can see in my profile pic ( kinda forgot about that 😅). Looking forward to that review!! In particular I love the satin neck and the 70s pickup spacing, making the bridge pickup extra "honky/punchy". Plus I'm a passive fan at heart.
I didn’t read all 163 comments, so I don’t know if it was mentioned - but it looks like that bass has 70’s pickup spacing - a very hot topic when it comes to Jazz basses... Off topic, but I had a Cort Performer Soloist guitar some time around 1987 or ‘88, looked like a Jackson shred-guitar. I really wish I remembered what the hell happened to it...I really can’t remember... But today, a Cort A5 Plus SC is an awesome bass, better than its Ibanez Cerro cousin because it has all Hipshot Hardware. Anyway...
Thank you Dwarde! You are correct, this has 70's spacing (just like the Sires). I have really been eyeing those A series basses (especially with the fishman guts!).
Very nice bass and review as always. Question I have is it possible that the pre amp make the g string especially sound very bright? In the end of the presentation that clicking sound is almost gone. I don't know🤔😁
Cort makes so many great instruments and usually affordable - especially second hand. That wood grain has a bit of the fuglys going on though. Slap tone was surprisingly tasty. Lobster have you ever considered covering your bass influences or discussing bass musicians/albums we ought to know/check out? I know you like putting channel content out there and that might be some simple filler material between reviews.
Thanks Iggy! I agree :). That's a great suggestion! I've been trying to cover that kind of stuff for other people in the bass chats, but never really talk about myself in regards to my history too much. I dig that idea and will definitely do that :)
Wow I would’ve guessed that was a rosewood neck with no inlays. Sounds really nice though. My only proper bass is a MIM jazz deluxe that I got used for around $550 and it’s interesting to see some new alternatives. Definitely some nice options but I think I’d still have my fender, but I think the cort is my second favorite
A more honest comparison between the j neck pickup and the pbass would have been to use a true %50 bass boost-meaning half way between centered and max. And then cut the treble a little.
Thanks Snake! Yep, I kinda fly by the seat of my pants here and thought "hrm... this sounds a little P-bassy, why not". Not a lot of planning going on here ;P. I'll definitely do a follow up of this down the line where we play with the preamp a bit more considering how well it did, didn't want this vid to get too long.
I own a Cort Curbow Fretless and now happy with it after the chemical smell finally went away. It's a composite body and it smelled for at least 5 years. One thing I would suggest to Cort. Lose the gold "Cort" print on the headstock. It looks cheap. Go with just the"C" and use a better looking print or maybe a mounted emblem.
Thanks David! Always been curious about those Curbows... specifically the smell now that you mention it. The Ergodyne that I had still smelled as pungent as when they were new. Perhaps the clear coat helps a bit with the Corts. I completely agree. Just a classy C would make this appear a bit more up-market. Just the name "Cort" has a certain ring to it that is kinda meh like "Cork" hahaha
@@LowEndLobster My Curbow doesn’t appear to have a clear coat..It’s a unique reddish brown with simulated knotty wood and flat finish, no gloss at all. The pickup even matches the body color. The Cort name was printed on the neck adjustment cover and I easily rubbed it off with solvent cleaner. Now it only has “Conklin Curbow Bass” on the headstock that is the same simulated knotty wood as the body. It’s a cool looking bass especially with that glossy black ebonol fretless neck. In addition to the previous smell I mentioned it had a small hum problem. I had a guitar repair shop make some adjustments in the control cavity and the hum was completely eliminated. I really enjoy your show. You do a great job of showcasing so many unique basses. Also you have very good playing technique and evidently an excellent recording setup that makes it easy to hear the true sound of each bass. Keep up the good work!!!
@@davidpost4216 Oh snap! I remember those! I forgot they did the "simulated wood" ones! That's really awesome man! Thank you for the compliments as well :)
70s spacing I hear it right away. Are the pickups noise cancelling? Sounds as good as my modded 74 jazz. What a nice bass. If I didn't have so many nice basses already.....
Great sounding bass. Does the roasted neck feel any different. Idk if i believe it has tonal benefits but perhaps it is more stable to humidity changes?
@@LowEndLobster I'd choose the Sire preamp because of its versatility. I've watched Marcus Miller explain how to use the preamp, as he would, and I was really impressed how useful it was!
Cor-Tek has made quality instruments forever - however unlike FGN they've had some human rights controversy. I had forgotten about that... Does World Musical Instrument Corporation have any house brands? Every major brand guitar I've ever picked up made by them has been pretty darn great feeling. Trying to think of which basses that might map to. I've only become super focused on bass again in the past few months...would love to see if WMI instruments hold up to FGN - THE BATTLE OF FACTORY HOUSE BRANDS lol
Thanks Russel! HOLY CRAP- 13 year labor dispute that ended in 2019. WOW. Also had no idea WMIC manufactured so many brands- ESP LTD, Schecter, Dean, BRIAN MAY. An OEM battle is a GREAT idea!
@@LowEndLobster good ideas is why I keep getting kicked from discord, twitch, and YT channels. Well that, and I tend to destroy echo chambers with my big Russzilla clumsy feet stomping all around. Thanks for not having an ego lol
@@LowEndLobster Your meshell ndegeocello bass was made by Mirr Music, also in SK. The owner is a third or fifth gen luthier, IIRC. Just like we found out the whole "MIJ is cheap crap" myth, there are luthiers tucked in all over the world. I need to check with agencies to see if Mirr or WMIC has any strikes on it. I mean a guy at Cort literally immolated themselves on the factory floor, which is the same shit that happened at Foxconn, just that a LOT more suicides happened at Foxconn ostensibly because Apple was making a LOT more money and pushing a LOT more units. I'm not in anyone's personal chat rooms so I don't care about how shitty my opinion is received - I'm not buying/recommending/reviewing/testing any more Cor-Tek instruments. I avoid supporting human rights violators and Cort hasn't seemed to have straightened their worker treatment shit out yet. WMIC is good to go so far, PRS was one of the first high end notable manufacturers that I saw getting instruments built there.
The sound range on this bass is Hugh!, The neck feels a little Ibanez, it has a baseball bat thick neck which i like because i wanted an active jazz bass for rock. The tone on pickups is mid scooped, you may need to dial down your normal mid setting on your EQ for this one to balance correctly in the mix. You also forgot to mention the body is solid swamp ash which makes this a very heavy 4 string bass at 11lbs. The balance is not great because the body is so heavy but this would be an awesome studio bass for the tonal range. Gigging this one would probably break your back in a hurry if you are an older cat in his 40's like me but for home or studio this is a very unique bass and i find myself picking it up more than my other basses lately. I don't want to compare it on tone but it sounds like it has a little bit of most classic basses like the jazz bass basic tone punch, precision grouliness and music man mid scoop.
If the thing is that heavy it's not swamp ash. Swamp ash is not it's own species, it's just a term luthiers use for ash that is abnormally lightweight as regular black ash or white ash can be pretty heavy. I'd call that false advertising.
I did press like, honestly. The thing just won't register that I've pressed it. It won't turn blue or add me to the numbers.....that being said. That bass my look bad but it sounds beautiful.....seems like any bass with GB in its title sounds really good like the LTD ESP GB4
Thanks Paul! No worries on the like, it doesnt relklky mattrlkj... wait why cnn't i tylklkajdlkfjl... NOO LOBSTER HAND RETURNED... HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. ;P
Would have the bass recieved five claws had the appearance been more beautiful? I admit that I did not catch every one of your comments as I was distracted at times by outside stimuli. P.S. bring on the stingray 24!
Nah, I think 4 is where this one resides regardless of the wood aesthetic. having one of the eq controls double as a tone control in passive mode would have been one of the things to elevate this.
Random question Lobster: is that just wallpaper over drywall behind you? Reason I ask is I want to hang my basses from wall mounts like yours but wondering if the drywall can handle the weight of them. You seem to have quite a lot hanging there without issue!
Haha, yes it is! Some cheap Vinyl from amazon. The "wood" is on drywall, and the "brick" is on concrete. Without it, it just looks like I'm trying to lure you folks into my basement for.... reasons. The key is to get quality drywall anchors. The ones that come with the wall hangers are usually not great, but you can snag a pack at your local hardware store that are heavy duty. The ones I use have a 50 lb carrying capacity and have had no issues!
I actually prefer this body shape alot, more so & overall design/layout better than some of the other Jazz copies you've reviewedfairly recently but it does seem like the pickups are spaced a bit too far apart but I'm sure that helps the tone get deeper when the pickup balance knob is centered? And although I love jazz copies with some sleeker improvements they all kind of suffer from almost sounding the same overall at that 4 to $700 price point. That said, I really don't care bc I think this bass fits in the worth changing or upgrading some basic parts. Actually I love that type platform for a beefier bridge, maybe better pickups/or preamp. It's kind of not fair because you can do so much to these jazzed out instruments and you have so many choices of parts at various price points that all personalized upgrades that don't have to end up costing you as much as the bass goes for originally. Put some nicer tuners on it one day, and call it ready for most any gig IMHO. and actually I personally kind of like that over roasted maple look against the light shade natural Ash body, but I do agree with you the wood grain could be prettier. Cool review on a base that I had not seen, & not popped up on my affordable, but capable radar, awesome man!
Thanks Seth! So glad you enjoyed this one. I agree with all your points, out of the box this is a really solid foundation and doesn't necessarily 'need' anything but would definitely benefit from some upgrades to elevate it further. You're definitely right about the plethora of parts available, and I definitely appreciate when an instrument uses standard mounting patterns for the hardware (LOOKING AT YOU SIRE >:| ).
I'm digging that cort being a cort player gb75 jh yes they sound great and if anyone wants to check them out I highly recommend it, thanks for the review Mr Lobster
@@LowEndLobster Hi Sean You need to talk to David first. Send him a message on the forum. He sets up all the authorized builders. Once I get a go from him, I'll set you up a wholesale account. Thanks! Leland
@@klaymeister Yep, passive tone would have helped a lot. Honestly, I WISH more basses with active preamps had a PTC. The treble control on this helps mellow it out a bit when you cut it. It is a bit harsh centered, but a slight cut would probably be the sweet spot here.
Well Lobster, I've got 2 Sire's, 1 Jack Casady, 2 Squier CV's and 2 Harley Bentons, but the best bass in buildquality, sound and playability -yes, the Sire's are short after it at number 2- is my Cort A6 Plus FMMH, de rest get's no where near this bass, I love it and often I think about getting a 5 and 4 string Cort too, but that's a bit overdone..... Thnx for your review!! Great as ever!
low end lobster, i forgot the part where i asked you what ur favorite jazz is cuz im genuinely curious. i dont think your blue fgn counts as an OG jb btw
Hey Ricardo! Oooh that's a good question... I love Geddyzilla, but I also see that bass as a somewhat niche instrument compared to other jazzes (just being Rush/Geddy focused). My daily driver for the last decade up until last year was a Frankenjazz with a J-retro preamp and delano pickups, that was a super nice bass. I have a Sire V5 coming today (supposed to arrive yesterday >:| ) which I'm excited to check out! Snagged the fretless :) We shall see!
@@LowEndLobster ive been trying out a bunch of fretless bases at stores lately to see if i ever actually like one. Ill keep my eyes open for that review. Youre the best man!
Just got this bass today, thanks to this review. Its a lot of fun and sounds great!
How much it weigh?
I really appreciate that you do in-depth reviews on basses that are in the "average joe" price range. Really show viewers how to get the best bang for their buck. Thank you and keep up the great work🦞🦞🦞
Thank you for watching :). Glad you're enjoying the content!
Glad to see you reviewing Cort. They make great quality instruments at really good price points, often much lower than many name brands. Seriously under rated and reviews like yours helps get the name out to the masses
Hey nice Donny Benet "Mr Experience" bassline! Hidden gem
Thank you and absolutely! Huge Donny fan here :)
Really glad to see you checking out Cort. There's rarely any buzz around them, but they really do make solid instruments for players on a budget. Also, glad you've been looking at Schecters. They're another brand that lets you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Thanks Ryan! Definitely enjoying the offerings from both brands. More of both coming :)
Finally you checked out the Cort basses :D
I did :) There will be more!
LOL at the intro! :-) I was curious about this bass and was happy to discover that you had reviewed it. Sure sounds nice. I wish there was a choice of body finishes and a truss rod heel adjustment wheel.
Agreed! A solid color (or even burst) on the body as an option would be nice... and I am ALWAYS pro truss rod wheel! :)
@@LowEndLobster Yep, it ought to be the industry standard.
Lobster, don’t forget to review the Cort Modern 4 or 5. They’re nice except my E string buzzes. But fixable (I hope). 4 string that is in grey. Once again your video is crushing. Excellent as always! 👍
I've been after a Cort Jazz for a while! Such an underrated company. Siiiiiick review!
Thank you my friend! This is my first one too, really dug it! I think the GB74GIG is gonna be up next :)
@@LowEndLobster NOICE. I'm tempted by a blue GB55JJ 💙
That's a great sounding bass that I would like to own! Thanks for another good demo/review LowEndLobster!!!
Thanks Guy!
@@LowEndLobster it would be great if you could review the Cort GB74JJ in a near future, thanks in advance!
@@guy5359 I'll definitely look into one of those :)
@@LowEndLobster I've also discover that Cort model GB74GIG I think it's my favorite!
Cort bass current product line is crazy now and it will be welcome if there are more about Cort basses reviews, thanks for sharing!
“...but Lavern, he’s very dark...”
Cort makes great stuff. I’m glad to see you reviewing this. I think, in a way, you got a unique color scheme, in something that otherwise would have been (tho nice) ordinary. But that’s me...life gives you lemons....now you have ammunition. Cheers Lobster, thank you for sharing. Have a great week.
Thanks Tommy! You too my friend :)
Been looking forward to this! This bass is very similar to my first bass that I bought 6 months ago - GB74JJ. Mine is in an amber finish with a clear pickguard and it looks amazing IMO.
When I went to get my first bass I did my research beforehand and honestly thought I'd be walking out with a Squier or Ibanez, since they were regarded as some of the best in my price range.
None of the basses I picked up really grabbed me, so my friend who was with me encouraged me to try the Cort as he owns a Cort guitar and loves it. After I spent 15+ minutes happily noodling away and playing it he said "I think that might be the one dude". It just felt exactly right in my hands! I love it, I think its a great first bass to be learning on.
That's awesome! I was very surprised with how this thing felt... it was very solid! Will be checking out more in the future :)
I love my Cort GB74JJ. However I purchased the blue one. Still thinking about the Amber! The Swamp Ash really pops.
Loved the demo, Cort doesn’t seem to get any love from other reviewers. I love my GB74jh. There is a lot of underrated basses out there so keep the great reviews coming, so I can enlarge my bass collection!
Thank you Andrew! Glad you enjoyed the vid :). I'll be checking out more soon!
Hi lobster 🦞, I've use to own 2 cort basses. They are well made basses in my opinion. The only issue I had with them was string spacing. Apart from that, don't sleep on Cort.
Thanks Dalton! I will def be checking out more :)
Two suggestions: give a holler about what strings you're rockin' (if known), and sometimes let us know the instrument weight (if its near 9 or under). Thanks and keep doing what you are doing, good stuff.
Thank you! Strings are in the description, MJC Ironworks Nickel Plated Stainless Steel 45-105. I usually don't mention weight unless something is exceptionally light or heavy. Weight can vary a lot from example to example of the same instrument. My buddy Kevin has a Ray34 that weighs in the mid 9 lbs, mine weighed 11. Welcome aboard my friend :)
Man I am digging the NEW Fort with the mixed MM p/u....needs to investigate further!!!!!.... Another great review of this one though my bass brethren!!!!!!
That one's coming up!
Impressive sound and quiet pickups. I don't prefer the dark block inlays (not enough contrast), but that's just me.
Thanks John! I agree, the black blocks are kind of an odd choice given the darkness of the neck/fingerboard.
🤣 Excellent intro! That bass looks and sounds great. Dang! I agree that the top end is a little too harsh when boosted but the bass otherwise sounds like a great Jazz bass. Probably would benefit tremendously from dropping in an Aguilar OBP-2. Great review, Lobster!
Thanks Taconeko!
I have to agree about the possibility of an Aggy preamp in this bass!
I think it would make it an absolute monster, & overall even more extremely capable, for sure of beating basses 3 times as expensive in the tone depo.
Roasted maple makes the wood harder and reduces the moisture content so the instrument is less affected by temperature change (capillary air pockets in the wood exert less hydrostatic pressure on the wood fibers than water, water also expands as it becomes ice as well as steam/vapor if hot enough) and once the neck is treated/sealed it's even harder for moisture to affect the overall rigidity or lack of sponginess of the neck itself (it's the physically thinnest part of the instrument exposed to the air, headstock to heel pocket) as the air is only displaced from the outside in (if it can penetrate at all) so there's a crispy dryness to its core that you'd really have to soak the neck in a tub of water for a while to get it to fully rehydrate. Hard maple is "diffused porous" which in common terms means the pores are spread out amongst the wood in no particular pattern rather than ring or ulmiform types, but I'm not sure exactly how much that matters in how quickly a wood pulls in moisture but it might make sense to someone here.
Roasting also makes the wood more brittle (similar outcome as tempering metal but mostly different process internally) but my observation is that the same instrument designs that have issues with easily broken headstocks will suffer the same misery regardless of the neck wood(s).
Since Warmoth is offering roasted ash bodies now, I've been itching to roast a few types of walnut bodies to varying degrees of roastedness and see what happens...as long as your fingerboard is hard, especially if you are using frets, I haven't noticed much different in finger tone - good finger tone is good finger tone. But the bodies affect signal regeneration as a function of material resonance and propagation delays through the physical properties of the body itself, unless you're using a particularly sterile set of electronics.
.... SCIENCE! ;P Thanks for all the killer info my man!
Cort has really made an effort at improving their basses; definitely a value instrument that gives you a lot for relatively little money. I really liked my Cort A5
Thanks Keith! I definitely want to check out those as well, especially with the Fishman setup
@@LowEndLobster Those Fishman pickups are very impressive.
amazing they can get this sound and noise cancelling at this price point. i had to listen to your review in the car, candy for my ears lobster
In my opinion, this is one of the best sounding bass guitars in your reviews.
A little suggestion: maybe download two or three backing tracks for next reviews? I think it's always informative to hear and compare basses in a context of a full mix.
Great review, as always. Cheers! :)
Thank you my friend! It's hard to play along with backing tracks with how I do my reviews (kind of spontaneous) BUT I did snag this "Beat Buddy 2" pedal that will lay down all sorts of drum beats for me to play along with. That'll be featured in MANY upcoming videos to provide more of that "in the mix" feel.
🦞 your playing improves each video. I have a Cort 5-string, very under appreciated brand. High end features at a reasonable price.
Thank you my friend! I agree, they benefit so much as an OEM and can leverage that tech to produce quality in house instruments at a reasonable price.
The local guitar shop in El paso which shares a parking lot with GC carries the cort line. I haven't tried one yet but I do believe I will soon.
:) I too plan on checking more out.
@@LowEndLobster maybe the ones with markbass pre?
Nice review! Been thinking on the
Cort Action Dlx Ash V... seems to be a good cost/benefit in my country.
Thanks! That's a great suggestion, been thinking about looking at some of those corts.
Sounds great! I have two cort basses, one Cort Arona and one Cort GB74 Gig. Both souds good.
Thanks Tomas! The Gig is one that's on my list to test very soon! I've been very curious about those!
Would love to hear that GB74 Gig.
Tell me more about yours @Tomas
Also, I believe the GB74 gig has a Sandberg pre in it. According to Corts schematics on their web page.
@@blawhorn883 Yes it has the Sandberg pre. Nice to play with a lot of sound options. Much more quality than a Sire bass.
Thanks Lobster, great review and a great bass. I bought a Cort C5 Plus recently, which has Bartolini pickups, a Mark Bass pre-amp and sounds amazing. It’s so good I prefer it to my USA Jazz, and the Cort only cost £299 new. Do try one if you get the chance, I’d love to hear what you think of it.
Thanks Andy! Will definitely be checking out some other Cort models soon :)
Had the pleasure of trying on of these and I NEED one lol. Too bad they're 600 USD here in Guatemala and I'm not sure where to find one back in the states
Thanks Lucy! It seems that these models are still somewhat difficult to come by. I only see a couple shops in the states with these in stock.
Finally got my hands on one of these. Found a used one for just $250 and am over the moon with it. Mine doesn’t have the overcooked neck and a much better grain.
That's a great bass for the money. Sounds great and the roasted maple probably feels wonderful. Interesting that you stated that the neck was probably over roasted because of the dark color. Over roasting seems to be a common problem. My Ibanez EHB1005MS has a very dark neck too. It is much darker than any of the Ibanez images online.
The EHB is also made by Cort. I wonder what's going on there. My EHB1005 neck is what you'd expect color wise, right in line with all my other roasties. Even the Cort's neck is fine, just the fingerboard is dark dark dark
@@LowEndLobster Thanks for your reply. I thought the neck on your EHB1005MS looked much lighter in color than mine. Mine is so dark that the small walnut strips on the back of the neck are much lighter than the maple. I’m still very happy with the bass, even with the almost black looking neck it looks great with the sea foam green body.
Wow!! Cort stepped up! Has the Marcus tone some what. Nice!🤨👍🏾
Thanks! I agree, this thing has great tone for the price plus it's silent!
Well one on it's way. I'm more than convinced.
wait no tell me more about the AMD..... You knew how long i had been waiting for this review! haha! but damn i'm actually impressed and yeah that grain on the ash ins't as nice but it dosen't look particularly bad to me. But that sounds incredible! you did a great job as always and mmmm that Mr experience snuck in between
Thank you my friend!
@@LowEndLobster :)
Very cool as always. Special thanks for Donny Benét))
Thanks Eugene :)
Hi. Would you consider doing a review on the Cort GB74 please. It has a unique pick up config. I just wonder what the overall quality of it is like?
I just got one the other week! Review is coming :)
That bass looks identical to the Fender my brother used to have in the 80's except for the roasted maple neck. It looks like you got one of the back end models.
Wow Cort is a much better company than it used to be. This is a great bass for under $500. If you needed an active J in the arsenal this will do just fine. Has the 70’s bite.
Thanks Rick! I agree! The name "Cort" IMO still carries a bit of a cheapy stigma, but this bass felt anything but.
I’d agree with you regarding the overly dark roasted maple fretboard. It’s almost as dark as Harley Benton’s “Roseacer” which they describe as being a ‘thermally treated maple’ (which I guess means it’s been roasted). I and my daughter disagree with ‘Lobsterman’ regarding the wood grain on the body. We both think it’s great!! I’d love to hear it with the (very harsh) treble at about 40% and the bass at around 75%
Thanks Rev! Yep, rolling back the treble would smooth things out quite a bit. I was going to do more combos but the video was getting a bit long ;P. I lent this to my guitar player friend, so we'll have to do a follow up down the line :).
You would be surprised how many more popular manufacturers ' import models are made by Cort. Most Korean made imports are or at least they used to be--- Cort and Samick were making most basses out of Korea. Cort has gotten good at it,too. Their Artisan basses are on par with my Korean Spector and that bass is a demon.
Thanks Sucka! Indeed, Cort is everywhere whether folks know it or not.
Love your videos man 👍 do you think you'll review the V5? Really interested in what you think!
I have a V5 fretless 4 that's supposed to be delivered today :)
@@LowEndLobster that's a stroke of luck 😅 Cool! Fretless!
I have a 5 string in tobacco sunburst, .......oh yea, as you can see in my profile pic ( kinda forgot about that 😅).
Looking forward to that review!!
In particular I love the satin neck and the 70s pickup spacing, making the bridge pickup extra "honky/punchy".
Plus I'm a passive fan at heart.
I didn’t read all 163 comments, so I don’t know if it was mentioned - but it looks like that bass has 70’s pickup spacing - a very hot topic when it comes to Jazz basses...
Off topic, but I had a Cort Performer Soloist guitar some time around 1987 or ‘88, looked like a Jackson shred-guitar. I really wish I remembered what the hell happened to it...I really can’t remember...
But today, a Cort A5 Plus SC is an awesome bass, better than its Ibanez Cerro cousin because it has all Hipshot Hardware.
Anyway...
Thank you Dwarde! You are correct, this has 70's spacing (just like the Sires). I have really been eyeing those A series basses (especially with the fishman guts!).
Thanks for the review! Was there a part where you've played it in passive mode? Is it an off-switch or simply the EQ rolled off?
It's just a preamp bypass, no passive tone from what I remember
@@LowEndLobster but then ..what engages the bypass? A switch or..?
Very nice bass and review as always. Question I have is it possible that the pre amp make the g string especially sound very bright?
In the end of the presentation that clicking sound is almost gone. I don't know🤔😁
I will be doing a revisit of this :)
Wow! Sounded great! I actually kinda like that the body.
Thanks Julian :)
Cort makes so many great instruments and usually affordable - especially second hand. That wood grain has a bit of the fuglys going on though. Slap tone was surprisingly tasty. Lobster have you ever considered covering your bass influences or discussing bass musicians/albums we ought to know/check out? I know you like putting channel content out there and that might be some simple filler material between reviews.
Thanks Iggy! I agree :). That's a great suggestion! I've been trying to cover that kind of stuff for other people in the bass chats, but never really talk about myself in regards to my history too much. I dig that idea and will definitely do that :)
@@LowEndLobster Cool beans. Glad to know you read what's in the suggestion box.
It's so nice Michael from Vsauce is now making in depth bass reviews
Wow I would’ve guessed that was a rosewood neck with no inlays. Sounds really nice though. My only proper bass is a MIM jazz deluxe that I got used for around $550 and it’s interesting to see some new alternatives. Definitely some nice options but I think I’d still have my fender, but I think the cort is my second favorite
Thanks! Right? The fingerboard is well done, I prefer medium rare ;P.
@@LowEndLobster ikr my fender is the same color/wood combo but not burnt to a crisp
A more honest comparison between the j neck pickup and the pbass would have been to use a true %50 bass boost-meaning half way between centered and max. And then cut the treble a little.
Thanks Snake! Yep, I kinda fly by the seat of my pants here and thought "hrm... this sounds a little P-bassy, why not". Not a lot of planning going on here ;P. I'll definitely do a follow up of this down the line where we play with the preamp a bit more considering how well it did, didn't want this vid to get too long.
👀Seen what you did there...well disguised though! Won't tell 🤫 I got 14 copy wright claims covering a Spice Girls song 🤣 Dig the tone on that bass! 👋🦞
LOL Thanks Boomer!
I own a Cort Curbow Fretless and now happy with it after the chemical smell finally went away. It's a composite body and it smelled for at least 5 years. One thing I would suggest to Cort. Lose the gold "Cort" print on the headstock. It looks cheap. Go with just the"C" and use a better looking print or maybe a mounted emblem.
Thanks David! Always been curious about those Curbows... specifically the smell now that you mention it. The Ergodyne that I had still smelled as pungent as when they were new. Perhaps the clear coat helps a bit with the Corts. I completely agree. Just a classy C would make this appear a bit more up-market. Just the name "Cort" has a certain ring to it that is kinda meh like "Cork" hahaha
@@LowEndLobster My Curbow doesn’t appear to have a clear coat..It’s a unique reddish brown with simulated knotty wood and flat finish, no gloss at all. The pickup even matches the body color. The Cort name was printed on the neck adjustment cover and I easily rubbed it off with solvent cleaner. Now it only has “Conklin Curbow Bass” on the headstock that is the same simulated knotty wood as the body. It’s a cool looking bass especially with that glossy black ebonol fretless neck. In addition to the previous smell I mentioned it had a small hum problem. I had a guitar repair shop make some adjustments in the control cavity and the hum was completely eliminated.
I really enjoy your show. You do a great job of showcasing so many unique basses. Also you have very good playing technique and evidently an excellent recording setup that makes it easy to hear the true sound of each bass. Keep up the good work!!!
@@davidpost4216 Oh snap! I remember those! I forgot they did the "simulated wood" ones! That's really awesome man! Thank you for the compliments as well :)
That intro is the best
Thanks!
70s spacing I hear it right away. Are the pickups noise cancelling? Sounds as good as my modded 74 jazz. What a nice bass. If I didn't have so many nice basses already.....
Yes they are! Very surprised to see noise cancelling pickups in a bass this cheap!
@@LowEndLobster So all the bass needs is a D tuner and a hipshot quick release bridge. Amazing. If I was in the market for a bass would get that one.
I’ve ordered one based (bass’d) on this review. Thank you 🙏
Awesome! Thanks Mike :)
You should check out the Cort Artisan B4!
this video gets the froge seal of approval
:)
Great sounding bass. Does the roasted neck feel any different. Idk if i believe it has tonal benefits but perhaps it is more stable to humidity changes?
It doesn't feel that different, but it supposedly is much more stable and not as prone to changes from temp/humidity.
That’s some fine pickin on that fine pickin machine
Awesome review! Love your style. You might have mentioned it somewhere already, but what amp are you using for this?
Great bass with great price! I'd still choose the one with the better preamp, though. The Sire V3 would still be my choice over this one.
Thanks EspadaYdaga! What factors make the Sire V3 preamp better for you?
@@LowEndLobster I'd choose the Sire preamp because of its versatility. I've watched Marcus Miller explain how to use the preamp, as he would, and I was really impressed how useful it was!
is that the preamp I hear clipping or is it the compression you used?
Hey Lobster.
Thx for the review.
Does it have the 60's or 70's spacing.
By the name i'd guess 60's, but i'm not sure.
Thx in advance
That tune at 4:00 min is Mr experience...
Cor-Tek has made quality instruments forever - however unlike FGN they've had some human rights controversy. I had forgotten about that...
Does World Musical Instrument Corporation have any house brands? Every major brand guitar I've ever picked up made by them has been pretty darn great feeling. Trying to think of which basses that might map to. I've only become super focused on bass again in the past few months...would love to see if WMI instruments hold up to FGN - THE BATTLE OF FACTORY HOUSE BRANDS lol
Thanks Russel! HOLY CRAP- 13 year labor dispute that ended in 2019. WOW. Also had no idea WMIC manufactured so many brands- ESP LTD, Schecter, Dean, BRIAN MAY. An OEM battle is a GREAT idea!
@@LowEndLobster good ideas is why I keep getting kicked from discord, twitch, and YT channels. Well that, and I tend to destroy echo chambers with my big Russzilla clumsy feet stomping all around. Thanks for not having an ego lol
@@LowEndLobster Your meshell ndegeocello bass was made by Mirr Music, also in SK. The owner is a third or fifth gen luthier, IIRC. Just like we found out the whole "MIJ is cheap crap" myth, there are luthiers tucked in all over the world. I need to check with agencies to see if Mirr or WMIC has any strikes on it. I mean a guy at Cort literally immolated themselves on the factory floor, which is the same shit that happened at Foxconn, just that a LOT more suicides happened at Foxconn ostensibly because Apple was making a LOT more money and pushing a LOT more units.
I'm not in anyone's personal chat rooms so I don't care about how shitty my opinion is received - I'm not buying/recommending/reviewing/testing any more Cor-Tek instruments. I avoid supporting human rights violators and Cort hasn't seemed to have straightened their worker treatment shit out yet.
WMIC is good to go so far, PRS was one of the first high end notable manufacturers that I saw getting instruments built there.
The sound range on this bass is Hugh!, The neck feels a little Ibanez, it has a baseball bat thick neck which i like because i wanted an active jazz bass for rock. The tone on pickups is mid scooped, you may need to dial down your normal mid setting on your EQ for this one to balance correctly in the mix. You also forgot to mention the body is solid swamp ash which makes this a very heavy 4 string bass at 11lbs. The balance is not great because the body is so heavy but this would be an awesome studio bass for the tonal range. Gigging this one would probably break your back in a hurry if you are an older cat in his 40's like me but for home or studio this is a very unique bass and i find myself picking it up more than my other basses lately. I don't want to compare it on tone but it sounds like it has a little bit of most classic basses like the jazz bass basic tone punch, precision grouliness and music man mid scoop.
Thanks Chen!
If the thing is that heavy it's not swamp ash.
Swamp ash is not it's own species, it's just a term luthiers use for ash that is abnormally lightweight as regular black ash or white ash can be pretty heavy.
I'd call that false advertising.
I did press like, honestly. The thing just won't register that I've pressed it. It won't turn blue or add me to the numbers.....that being said. That bass my look bad but it sounds beautiful.....seems like any bass with GB in its title sounds really good like the LTD ESP GB4
Thanks Paul! No worries on the like, it doesnt relklky mattrlkj... wait why cnn't i tylklkajdlkfjl... NOO LOBSTER HAND RETURNED... HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. ;P
Would have the bass recieved five claws had the appearance been more beautiful?
I admit that I did not catch every one of your comments as I was distracted at times by outside stimuli.
P.S. bring on the stingray 24!
Nah, I think 4 is where this one resides regardless of the wood aesthetic. having one of the eq controls double as a tone control in passive mode would have been one of the things to elevate this.
Man love that tone, so Marcus Miller like.
Thanks Marco!
Yes I was thinking the same thing 😍
Wrong channel🤣🤣Hey where is HighTechLobster, I need it NOW
;P I was legit thinking about starting a tech channel before starting the bass channel.
@@LowEndLobster I think you made the right choice! Great channel!
Toasted maple, @4:20 I think he likes it
LOL excellent time stamp ;)
@@LowEndLobster I feel like me and your other half have something in common now 🤣
Another great review. Funny it has 70s spacing with a 64 name.
Thank you! HA! I never made that connection, that is funny
The video, like the roasted maple neck was "well done". Sorry I couldn't resist!
LOL thank you!
I like the Cory,looks good and sounds good for not much$$
Wow that bass is pretty damn good for what it cost. Good looks and sounds. Thanks lobster!
Thanks Ross! It really is a solid value (especially if you don't get an ugly one hahaha).
@@LowEndLobster ya ugly is never good. And wood grain even nice stuff can be ugly. There are some ugly trees hahaha
Random question Lobster: is that just wallpaper over drywall behind you? Reason I ask is I want to hang my basses from wall mounts like yours but wondering if the drywall can handle the weight of them. You seem to have quite a lot hanging there without issue!
Haha, yes it is! Some cheap Vinyl from amazon. The "wood" is on drywall, and the "brick" is on concrete. Without it, it just looks like I'm trying to lure you folks into my basement for.... reasons. The key is to get quality drywall anchors. The ones that come with the wall hangers are usually not great, but you can snag a pack at your local hardware store that are heavy duty. The ones I use have a 50 lb carrying capacity and have had no issues!
@@LowEndLobster 🤣
Thanks for the reply mate, I will do that!
I'm gonna buy this bass
Suhweet!
I'm a big fan of Donny Benet too.🍻
Suhweet! I'm super pumped for the live experience in 8 days!
I actually prefer this body shape alot, more so & overall design/layout better than some of the other Jazz copies you've reviewedfairly recently but it does seem like the pickups are spaced a bit too far apart but I'm sure that helps the tone get deeper when the pickup balance knob is centered?
And although I love jazz copies with some sleeker improvements they all kind of suffer from almost sounding the same overall at that 4 to $700 price point.
That said, I really don't care bc I think this bass fits in the worth changing or upgrading some basic parts.
Actually I love that type platform for a beefier bridge, maybe better pickups/or preamp. It's kind of not fair because you can do so much to these jazzed out instruments and you have so many choices of parts at various price points that all personalized upgrades that don't have to end up costing you as much as the bass goes for originally.
Put some nicer tuners on it one day, and call it ready for most any gig IMHO.
and actually I personally kind of like that over roasted maple look against the light shade natural Ash body, but I do agree with you the wood grain could be prettier.
Cool review on a base that I had not seen, & not popped up on my affordable, but capable radar, awesome man!
Thanks Seth! So glad you enjoyed this one. I agree with all your points, out of the box this is a really solid foundation and doesn't necessarily 'need' anything but would definitely benefit from some upgrades to elevate it further. You're definitely right about the plethora of parts available, and I definitely appreciate when an instrument uses standard mounting patterns for the hardware (LOOKING AT YOU SIRE >:| ).
Hi Lobster! Would you prefer this Cort compared to Sire V3 (or V7) and Squier Modern Jazz?
Would the GB54JJ sound anything like this 64? It has the same pickups but passive controls. Can't find any reviews of the 54 online.
Nice,,I have the GB35JJ
Nice! Def going to be checking out more Corts
Reverb under$300 2010 model new
I'm digging that cort being a cort player gb75 jh yes they sound great and if anyone wants to check them out I highly recommend it, thanks for the review Mr Lobster
Thanks Jonathan! Definitely will be checking out more Corts :)
Nice. I'd get one!
Thanks Ross :)
Mr. Experience ! 😎
He will deliver it!
can you review the yamaha BB 235
Sure, I actually have a 735 here now that will have a video soon :)
I would rather put an audere in a squire. Thanks for the review!
Thanks Sean! I just got an Audere in the mail yesterday for... another project ;)
@@LowEndLobster I’m an audere customer for life.
@@LowEndLobster wish me luck. Here’s an email I got from the most successful speaker supply company in the US.
@@LowEndLobster
Hi Sean
You need to talk to David first. Send him a message on the forum. He sets up all the authorized builders. Once I get a go from him, I'll set you up a wholesale account.
Thanks!
Leland
Do they have s 5-string in this series?
They do not, only in the series above and below currently.
Could you test the cort gb74?
That'll be coming :)
Imagine if this bass using hipshot ultralite tuning machine, hipshot bridge, and pearl block inlay🙄
YUP! YUP! YUP! That would be nice!
2:20 okay Jeff Kiesel lol
LOL
Does anyone know the weight of this bass. I know it varies but I've only heard it was "heavy" and I want a more objective measurement
This bass vs G&L, what do you think is better?
Like comparing the tribute J bass? I'd go for this.
@@LowEndLobster you 'll go for the Cort?
And it slapps well!! :-)
That it does! Thank you my friend :)
No passive mode example? Sadness
I forgot :(... it does sound exactly like the preamp centered though. I think it's just a "oh shit my battery died" measure.
@@LowEndLobster Gotcha, yeah the only thing this bass is missing is passive tone, because centered preamp was a little harsh to me.
@@klaymeister Yep, passive tone would have helped a lot. Honestly, I WISH more basses with active preamps had a PTC. The treble control on this helps mellow it out a bit when you cut it. It is a bit harsh centered, but a slight cut would probably be the sweet spot here.
How much does it weight?
I think this was in the high 8's or low 9's from what I remember. I long term lent this to one of my friends, don't think he has a bathroom scale.
Whats the weight of the bass?
This one was in the mid 9 lb range. Not a heavy instrument, but not super light.
Well Lobster, I've got 2 Sire's, 1 Jack Casady, 2 Squier CV's and 2 Harley Bentons, but the best bass in buildquality, sound and playability -yes, the Sire's are short after it at number 2- is my Cort A6 Plus FMMH, de rest get's no where near this bass, I love it and often I think about getting a 5 and 4 string Cort too, but that's a bit overdone..... Thnx for your review!! Great as ever!
Thank you my friend :)
Dreadlock Steve plays bass!
WAIT FOR THE BENCHMARKS
I'm thinking that needs pickups.
What would you toss in here?
@@LowEndLobster new follower here, your videos and reviews are great. I would put in a Dimarzio ultra jazz set.
jazz ultra best jazz all time
low end lobster, i forgot the part where i asked you what ur favorite jazz is cuz im
genuinely curious. i dont think your blue fgn counts as an OG jb btw
Hey Ricardo! Oooh that's a good question... I love Geddyzilla, but I also see that bass as a somewhat niche instrument compared to other jazzes (just being Rush/Geddy focused). My daily driver for the last decade up until last year was a Frankenjazz with a J-retro preamp and delano pickups, that was a super nice bass. I have a Sire V5 coming today (supposed to arrive yesterday >:| ) which I'm excited to check out! Snagged the fretless :) We shall see!
@@LowEndLobster ive been trying out a bunch of fretless bases at stores lately to see if i ever actually like one. Ill keep my eyes open for that review. Youre the best man!