Cort Curbow 4 Review

History:

Purchase: i bought this bass from Mark's Music Center (forgot what state) via eBay. i kind of bought it on impulse for $380 (list price is $700)

What I Like About This Unit: first off; it has very low noise as in background hum. i caught a peak at the inside of the electronics, and it is shielded well. it gives plenty of output, and the active 3 band EQ for its single bartolini mk-1 humbucker pickup makes it easy to control the sound. i changed the strings after 3 months, and found it to sound much better. the factory strings they put on the bass were too flat/dull sounding for my taste. when slappin', the E-string gives a nice subtle(?) growl. the neck is super thin for comfort-playing! when i recieved the bass, the action was low and comfortable, and the intonation was right on, except for the E-string, which was slightly flat) I like the bridge, too. when stringing, i never have trouble fitting the string in. on my ibanez gsr205, one has to lide the strings through little holes in the bridge, and the B string was always hard fitting through the small hole. that problem couldnt be possible even on the 5string version of the curbow.

What I Do NOT Like About The Cort Curbow 4: probably the same complaint from everyone else on this bass; the lower horn is a bit short, making it a little awkward to play sitting down. i understand the low cutaway and upper frets blah blah, but the horn itself could stand to be extended an inch. still, this all amounts to a minor inconvenience i soon became used to. this bass gives a little too much output. enough where it clips(on the amp) like crazy when the volume knobs at full, even w/ the EQ all set at 0db normal spot. plus the slap switch mode is still loud compared to the EQ mode. (maybe this is how most active basses are). the cort website has no real specs on their guitars, which would be helpful since i recieved no instruction manual w/ it. one more thing, i think they could have ended w/ 25 frets. the extra 2 on the E string make it a little less friendly to slap, cuz it sounds better when u dont slap on the neck.

Curbow 4 Quality: for the most part its good. 5 bolts hold on the neck nicely. problem w/ the neck seam on the front though. the neck actually reaches to the pickup, and part is painted to match the body. on mine, the paint wasnt matched too well. theres a little glue popping out the side too, but nothing major.

Summary: all in all, a nice bass. w/ the right set of strings, it gives me the sound/tone i want. wish i could do something to level out all the volume problems, though.

Rating of this product: 4

This Cort Bass Guitars Review Submitted By: jim windzigl

Date: 2001-11-23