Cort Action Bass

Was given this Cort Action-A Bass as a gift. When I plugged it in, the active pickups blew everyone away. This is a fine instrument, the company has come quite a long way. I wouldn't touch one of their instruments in the 1990's, but I certain will now. The Action Series has some of the most aggressive tone I've ever heard, I play Alembic, Pedulla, Fender American and a few other highend select brands. I can honest say that this bass easily compares to many of them. I have recorded with this instrument and many people think it's an Alembic as soon as they hear iut. This series also resembles Alembic in their body shape and contouring. I wouldn't hesittate to take this bass on the road, it's truly passed all our tests with flying colors. I'm amazed that it is under $500 as well.
It's a pretty sturdy instrument, and after setting it up to my specifications, which are funk/heavy rock, I totally enjoyed it. I would definitely buy another one, they are great basses. A sold 8 out of 10, and coming from me, that's quite a rating.

There was nothing I actually disliked about this instrument. The variety of sounds is staggering, you can go from a warm Blues tone to a heavy Pantera crunch to a John Paul Jones/Led Zeppelin tone with minimal movement. I was very impressed with the versatility opf this instrument and have played for over 40 years. This company has come a long way, I've had some very fine moments playing this bass live.

Their active pickups are extremely sensitive and easy on battery life too.

I do my own set ups regardless of the instrument I play, but it was very set up when it arrived. I have zero complaints about it.

I would easily play this bass without a backup, it's built like a tank. Functions great in a live setting, my audience was quite thrilled with my wide array of tones and sounds.

Never had to deal with cusotmer support, but I've heard they are very good at the Cort head office.

Been playing for over four decades, own many other basses.

This is an entry level bass which comes with 24 medium frets. Body is Agathis, neck is 34" maple with a rosewood fingerboard. It also features a matched headstock with diecast tuners 2L/2R.

The shaping is modern with an asymmetric design like Jazzers, but all in all relatively small and light, so that it is easy to carry. Also, the bass is very well ballanced. The neck is slim designed and is untreated natural, plays and feels good.

The pickups are passive. On J-Style in bridge position and one P-Style in neck position. For each pickup there are separate controls for volume and treble.

Conclusion: The list of features is OK for an entry level bass like this. Nothing extraordinary, but that should not be expected.

The pickup configuration and the Agathis should be able to produce a wide variety of sounds. However, my Action 4 at least is limited. You can produce a nice growling sound, which will be OK for Rock, if you turn all knobs at "full speed". But trying to vary from that is hard without sounding to bright or "muffled".

It sounds OK as long as you play alone over the amp. But together with a band, at least my bass won't come across clearly. You know that there is some bass down there, but you are not able to tell what it's playing exactly.

I have tried it over my Acoustic 360 with a 4x10 cabinet and also through an Eden Traveller - but the impression stays the same, though the Eden manages to improve the bass a bit.

Maybe this is all due to the finish ... see below.

I bought this bass used. It has a black polished finish and looks good to me. The finish is flawless.

It seems that the pickups were not touched by the first owner. So I tried to adjust them. This did not change the sound significantly. Other than that, all settings were OK, the mechanics and frets look good, the electrics are well done.

The only thing which is really poor is that the bridge does not fit the body shaping. At the lower end, where the strings are inserted, there is about 1mm air between the ground plate and the wood, which negatively impacts the sustain. Also, it seems that the screws were tightend using too much torque, perhaps to try to make the bridge fit. I know that the previous owner did not touch the bridge so I must assume that this is a factory fault.

Therefore, at least for my bass, the rating of this category is rather negative.

The finish seems durable. Also, the electronics work well. The diecast tuners do a good job. So except for the bridge issue, there is nothing to complain about, especially at this price level.

There was no reason trying to complain as I bought the instrument used. So I can't rate CS here.

Before buying a Cort again, I would check it from head to toes for flaws like the bridge fitting. I use this one for rehearsal at home and it is OK for this. But I would not play it with my band or at stage. The sound is too limited.

However, I still think it has potential. If it had a flawless brigde and better Pickups, this bass might have been a better choice. I really like the body shaping and the overall looks. It is comfortable to play, even for hours.

By the way, if I got things right, the new Actions feature active electronics - they might sound better.

Late 1980's model
4 string, 24 frets
2 volume 1 tone
open coil P and J style-a bit different to new cort action basses
usual construction, satin red/brown finish
bolt on neck
really heavy (rusty) old srings im not sure of the guage
a rather standard configuration for a bass i'd say

i've played the guitar for 9 years and mucked around a bit on the bass, and last year i found this bass at a second hand shop and decided to buy it. its my first bass and i love it, proabably cause ive only played other people's samicks and that. to me it sounds great, i play both passive and active, mainly punk/ska/reggae, hardcore/metal and jazzy bluesy stuff, and it works for me. i have a 65W Laney bass amp and the low end sounds very warm and deep (great for jazz), and the high end is nice for active stuff.

my cort was pretty broken when i got it, the tuning knobs were loose, the strings, pickups and bridge were a bit rusty (they still are...oops! i HAVE to get new strings...) the pickups were loose and needed re-aligning. also the electronics were shot, but after taking it into the music shop, its great and i personally think the rust gives it a 'worn in' feel...*snicker* it feels great to play, its light and smaller than other basses i've played with. the terribly high action makes it a bit slow, but when i figure out how to fix this it will be better, although it makes slapping and popping easy in my view.

well considering all the above, and the fact that it's a late 80s model and its previous owners were not very nice to it, i'd think its pretty solid. it works ok for garage bands ive been in, although im sure people that play in real bands could use it.

i dealt with them once, when asking about what year it was made in. they seemed nice enough

i've never owned any other basses, so i can't compare it. i would be very angry if it was stolen, not only because its my only bass and i payed for it myself, but because it's so old and has loads of character. saying that if it was stolen i wouldn't buy a new action bass, i'd probably shop around a bit more now i'm wiser as far as basses go. (i was originally after an ibanez anyway). i love it becasue its mine. the action needs adjusting though when i figure out how to do it, but i think it's a great bass for the price.

I'm reviewing a Cort left-handed Walnut finish Action bass. Four strings, two volumes one tone. The body style remindes me of an entry level Alembic. The walnut finish is really sharp and looks great under the lights. The action was high and the nut needed adjustment. Once I got it adjusted, this guy hammered! The fit and finish is awesome. I was surprised, because, guess what- the box it came in was identical to my Ibanez GSR200 pearl white bass! Wha?! The satin finish really pissed off my brother because it's nicer than his Ibanez GSR200. Nice to beat him out sometimes! The feel of this bass, which cost 200 is easily four times the price. I couldn't believe how well it was built.

I was always using Ibanez but this one is passive and has a growl that I never got from my other basses! I love it! The tone is very solid and bottomy, with a sweet high end. I used a Behringer with 1 15" and it fills the stage with great sound. There is good variety from mixing volumes on the front/back pickups but I'm having one of the volume controls switched out for a blend control, like my Ibanez Roadstar with center click. But sound, wow, excellent for the money.

The action was high and the neck needed to be tweaked with the truss rod but once that was done this thing sings! There are some small blemishes on the walnut finish where it was put on too thick but I don't care--still looks great. The neck is silky soft and the frets are so perfectly dressed that I don't even feel them while performing.

I already dropped this guy but it didn't even dent thanks to the satin finish. The strap buttons are solid, and the hardware is well made. The string tuners are odd, though. Half chrome and half black. I had to tighten the tuners because the bass was going out of tune but other than that I can tell this bass is going to last. Of course I'm older so I don't slam it around, I treat it with respect.

The bass uses a graphite string nut and I called half a dozen places and couldn't find a 40mm nut. I called Cort USA and found out it's owned by Mighty Mite parts! Cool. I was on hold for less than a minute and got on the phone with a great tech. When I told him my problem he shipped out the replacement nut immediately. 800 number too!

I've been playing for 30 plus years. I've had a variety of basses and I wanted one that I wouldn't mind getting lost or stolen. Well, guess what, I'm guarding this one because I love it too much to lose it! The Roadstar is going into retirement, I love this one more. I tried Fender and Ibanez as well as Ernie Ball but for the sweet spot price point this can't be beat!

i think it's a 2004 model, 4 string, 24 frets, natural finish, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, pickups aren't the best either, but there's two different volume knobs for each pickup, and a knob for tone.

I play drop C tuning usually, and if you want to play in dropped tuning at all, I'd suggest getting larger gauge strings for it. I play it through a 200 watt peavey and the tone is pretty good, but sometimes there is a little buzzing, depending on the knob settings on the bass.

the action isn't good at all, but I've seen worse, the only real flaw I eventually found was one of the screws that holds a strap button on got stripped, but it was an easy fix.

It can stand up to a live performance, but then again I haven't seen anyone use it other than myself. The hardware seems like it's holding up good to me, I haven't had to make any major adjustments.

I've been playing for about 4 years, this is the first bass I ever had and I think it's good for a beginner, but once I figured things out about tone and sound I really wanted something else, but for the price you can't beat it, especially compared to other "beginner basses" this ones probably cheaper and has better features than most of them.

simple passive bass with jazz and precision styled pickups, each with separate volume controls. One tone control. Satin finish

I am new to playing bass but I have played guitar for years. It plays extremely well. I can't compare it to a pricey bass, but I think it's the best low-buck one out there.

The finish was flawless, action is great, it is light and has nice contours.

The closest comparison is the Ibanez SD series, but this cort has heavier duty hardware, less fret buzz, and a more solid feel

this is my second one. I had one a couple of years ago, that I bought new at Music-go-round for $250. I was in a financial bind and had to sell my bass and amp (Crate BX50). I just saw a new one on Ebay for $119 + $30 shipping, so I am replacing it. At $150, you can't get even close with a new Squire or SD Ibanez.24

This bass is pretty simple when you really get down to it. It's got both P and J bass styled pickups, two volume controls, and a tone control. Gorgeous satin walnut stain, 24 fret neck with a nice smooth satin finish, but it's biggest feature is the sound. It gets a 9 for the fact that it's an inexpensive bass, but what you get for the money is excellent!

The sound you get from this bass is nice and balanced. You can tweak the volumes for each of the pickups, add in a little tone control, and you'll get just about any sound you're looking for. My only gripe is that it doesn't have active electronics. Ever since I got my first bass with active pickups, that's all I ever think about. They make your sound so much better. This bass gives a nice sound for what it has to offer. I'm running it through a Pandora PX-3B bass effect processor, straight into the PA system for practices. For a gig, it runs through my Hartke HA-3500, into a Hartke VX 4x10 cab. It sound great either way. I play a mix of classic rock, blues, country/pop, and it handles all that fine. Another 9 for great value, but no active electronics.

I got it new off eBay, so it was in excellent shape when I took it out of the box. Most guitars, whether new or used, need some work, and this one was no exception. The string height was higher than I prefer, and the nut needed to be notched a little better. Other than that, all else was good to go. The finish is beautiful, and with the satin exterior, you don't have a lot of glare or reflections to take away from it. I've gotten many complements on it, and when someone plays it, they can't stop talking about how well it plays, and how nice it feels. A good job from the folks at Cort. Points off for the nut, (the string height is just my personal thing).

In the almost 3 years that I've had this bass, it has never given me a lick of trouble. No scratchy pots, bad wiring, neck warpage, fret wire issues.......NUTHIN'!!!!!! That's almost unheard of for a bass that sells for under 2 bills! Sure, it had to get some minor work done in the beginning, but since then......she's been good to me. Another factor is that it doesn't get abused. Early on it saw monthly gigs, but now, it sees more practices than anything. Still a trooper, though. This is the kind of bass that will last well into my later years, and will probably end up looking like Jaco Pastorius' battle scarred piece. I'm not fortunate enough to have a backup, but with my style of playing, it shouldn't be a factor. A definite 10 here.

Never dealt with them....and I think its a testament to this bass' quality.

I started playing guitar 15 years ago, and reluctantly moved to bass about 5 years ago. Since then, I've gotten pretty good at it. I have a couple other basses, both with active eletronics, so I tend to go back and forth on which one I want to play. This bass has a good feel, nice balance, and sounds great.....pretty much like the others, except they have that added little edge in the sound dept. with the active stuff. I would most likely buy this again should it fall victim to some miscreant of society, who has no respect for other people's property. There's a lot to love about it, and not much to hate.....depending on what your expectations were when you bought it. I came out on the good end, considering I bought this sight unseen, and unplayed. A great deal for the money!

Pretty basic, p and j styly passive pickups, diecast tuners, 24 fret, EB7 bridge, very light and well styled. Agathis body, and rockhard maple 4-bolt on neck. It has the transparent blue finish which looks pretty cheap but still very nice for the price.

I play through a Peavey TKO 115 amp for practice, as this is my usual practice bass. It is very noisy, but still can produce rich bass, high-end and mid-range are lacking but with passive electronics it is expected. I do love the sustain on this bass though, it is very nice with a graphite nut, and a great bridge it does well. Almost as good as an active bass, but not quite.

From the factory the strings were set real high, it took a bit of tinkering with the bridge and it was fine., didn't even need to shim the neck bracing. The electronics were wonderful for open pole passive, truly amazing. I am disappointed with the finish though, it is transparent blue, but mostly blue. Very hard to see the wood grain you have to look very closely, as you should not have to.
I do love the finish on the neck though, cort claims it is unfinished, but it is slightly finished, but is not glossy, which makes for a very sticky neck that is easy to hold on to.

I've had this bass for 2 years, and it has held up wonderfully. The neck has stayed straight up untill recently. The body has not suffered any damage. I have not had to tighten the truss, bridge, strap snaps, or neck bracing. I did need to tighten the tuners to the head, b/c they had come a little loose. But the tuners still work great, and it stays in tune for a very long time. The frets have some wear on them, but have not become pitted, or gnarly in any way.
Please keep in mind that this is just a practice bass, and has never been gigged.

Never had to call

For the two years I've been playing with this bass it has proved its functional, as a practice bass. I would not recommend this to anyone looking to gig with it. Although, i would highly recommend it to a beginner, or someone that needs either a backup or a practice bass. This was the first bass I have owned, and is still one of my favorites for practice. So, go ahead, buy it you will love it!

Same as all the above really, Transparent Red finish.

Sound was good and versatile, simply turning a knob changed tone from nice and deep tone to good trebely slap bass tone

Action was very poor, not balanced at all. If I wanted to put it any lower i'd have to have the frets shaved. The finish was beautiful, Cort make good looking guitars, not good playing ones. The neck also felt nice in my hand and the bass was well balanced weight wise, maybe a bit too light. But the action ruined it.

Pathetic, after 3 practices with it the input connection needed soldering, putting on a new string split a tuning head in half as well. I took very good care of this bass as well, it wasn't thrown around or anything.

Well didn't deal with Cort, but guy in Marcus Music gladly took it back and gave me the money against a new bass.

Nice to look at, very dissapointing to play.
Get an ESP B-50 instead for the same price, so much nicer.

Go to the site I can't be bothered. www.cort.com

My music style is mostly rock or blues or anything except pop *shudder*. The sound from this bass is pretty good for its price and brand, not as good as a fender or musicman maybe but thats fair enough, if you wanna choose this bass I would really only recommend it for someone just starting instead of getting a squier or encore or some other crap, unless you're rich then just get a real fender or pedulla. theres alot of tone you can change thru, to real deep-not great but its deep- or real treble-also not wonderfull but its cool. i use alot of overdrive and fuzz effects with it and its not bad but I really wana progress to a better bass with better tone.

Action is pretty good - it is called action bass! Going away up to the 17th or 24th fret areas are nasty and out of tune sounding it needs a bit of screwdriver work down at the bridge which will take a long time. The finish is great except it gets tiny tiny surface scratches easily as its black-tho all black finishes, even cars, do. Excellently designed and built bass.

If you're gonna smack this bass around- i've dropped it about 6/8 times pretty hard- the control knobs will be quite loose and the sound might suffer a little. Finish is ok but if its gonna hit concrete or other rough hard surfaces it will wreck. strap buttons are solid!Its a little too heavy for me cos I just wana jump around more,but it is relatively light. again Not bad for its price.

Never delt with

I've been playing over two years, I own a 300watt 4x10 Trace Elliot, a Boss GT6B effects board, audio technica wireless transmitter and a Boss mega distortion pedal. if it was stolen I would probably get something new and better, but this is a great bass to start on.