Cort Curbow 5 Fretless

OK FOLKS HERE WE GO!I BOUGHT THIS A WEEK AGO AND IT IS MY FIRST FRETLESS.AFTER 1 REHEARSAL I WAS COMPLETELY HOOKED!I CAN NOT PUT IT DOWN.IT HAS A FANTASTIC SOUND AND FEEL,AS IF I HAVE PLAYED FRETLESS
ALL MY LIFE.THE NECK IS THINNER THAN I'M USED TO {I USE AN '83 FENDER P-BASS }AND WIDER{ BEING 5 STRINGS }BUT AFTER A SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT THE
ACTION IS LIKE "BUTTER" AND IS SO COMFORTABLE! 1-MIGHTYMITE P/U,FAKE BURLED WALNUT {SMELLS A LITTLE,BUT WHO CARES}ALL BLACK HARDWARE!LOOOKS
COOOL!!!!

I KNEW FOR A WHILE THAT I NEEDED TO GO FRETLESS,AND I HAVE SHOPPED
AROUND, THIS CORT PLAYS AS WELL {OR BETTER}THAN ANY I HAVE TRIED AND UP TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE {I GOT THIS USED AT SAM ASH FOR "GET THIS" $290.00 REALLY $314.00 W/TAX, SUCH A DEAL,} I HAVE TWO BASS RIGS
FIRST A GK WITH 2 CABINETS{1- 15 & 1-15,2-8s}SECOND A 1972 ACOUSTIC 270 W/ACOUSTIC 204 CABINET{4 -12s}THIS BASS SOUNDS GREAT THROUGH BOTH
BUT ABSOLUTELY AWESOME THROUGH THE ACOUSTIC!!!THE ONBOARD EQ {PARAMETRIC LOW,MID,HIGH}ON THE BASS LETS YOU SHAPE YOUR SOUND TO YOUR HEARTS CONTENT.

NOT SURE ABOUT FACTORY SET UP,I'VE NEVER PLAYED A NEW ONE!THIS ONE I HAD TO SET UP TO MY LIKING.WHOEVER OWNED IT B/4 HAD IT SLIGHTLY HIGH.
NO FLAWS THAT I CAN FIND.IT SEEMS WELL CONSTUCTED.

I USED IT ON ONE GIG SO FAR AFTER PLAYING IT FOR A WEEK,AND I WILL BE
PUTTING THE PRECISION ON SEMI-RETIREMENT,SAFE AT HOME, AS LONG AS I HAVE THIS CURBOW.THE FINISH IS MAN MADE AND SEEMS LIKE IT WILL LAST
FOREVER.STRAP BUTTONS ARE TIGHT.I WILL NOT NEED A BACKUP.

DON'T KNOW

I'VE BEEN PLAYING 10 YEARS,IN NUMEROUS BANDS.CURRENTLY WITH
"THE MARK CLEVELAND BAND" IN CHICAGO.I AM ALREADY LOOKING FOR ANOTHER
CORT CURBOW {FRETTED,SO I CAN HAVE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS}

I purchased my curbow 5 at the bass place in Tempe arizona. The best bass store in the country. I got a good price on it and I was shocked when i plugged it in next to a warwick bolt on fretless 4 and this bass sounded and played much better than it. I tested an Ibanez Ergodyne 5 also and this bass sounded and played better as well (although their slap switch sounds better than the curbow slap switch in my opinion.)
The sound is definately growly, like certain yamaha or jazz basses made years ago.When you drop the slap switch the bass comes to life.
It sounds a little dry like an EMG when you don't have the switch activated but once its on the bass sounds HUGE. there is no other word for it. I can get tones and harmonics out of this bass and neck like on no other guitar i have ever played, and having been playing bass since 1986 i have played or owned several hundred guitars.
The bridge and neck angle are perfect on mine, and the luthite body smells funny at first but it resonates so much like a wood guitar that I just kind of forgot that it's not wood. It also has a bright snappy tone played unplugged, which i feel is always a good sign in a bass. The tuning machines are very responsive and easy to reach while playing, another benefit. It's small and unique size and shape make this bass a sweetie, everyone who sees my bass just HAS to come check it out.

I give it my highest recommendation for a person who wants to
play a fretless 5 but doesn't have 2000 dollars to spend, BUY THIS ONE !!!

my purchase price without gig bag was about 600+tax

Mine is a 2000 Cort Curbow 5 String Fretless in Burled Walnut.
I had it ordered with a Custom Bartolini QuadCoil Pickup with a triple switch, has a 3 Band Active EQ wich offers a lot of tone shaping capabilities.
The bass is made of Luthite and has a 2 Piece Hard Rock Maple BOLT-ON Neck with Ebonol Fingerboard. It is Unlined but there are dots at the side that really do the same job as the lines.
It has a sunk Brass bridge wich is very solid and has a quick string release system.
Satin finish.

It sounds awesome, at least with the bartolini pickup. It is virtually noiseless and has a deep growly sound.

I had to add a couple of shims on the pocket to raise the angle of the neck relative to the body so I could raise the sadless a little more.
I really like low action, and It meets my standards on that.
The pickup was installed by Greg Curbow, so it was very solid.
IT is very lightweight and very comfortable to play standing.

Neck Construction = Flawless
Body Construction = Flawless
Neck/Body Joint = Some ones need to be shimmed and adjusted.

After all the setup I made... IT was one of the easiest basses I have played.
So , I give an 8 for the factory flaws.

This is Luthite, a man made material. Like Plastic, it wont bio-degrade easily, so I think it is gonna last even more than myself.
The satin finish on this bass is great!! It wont stain like gloss finishes.
I did the setup once .. and that was it.. No more adjustments for 2 weeks (the time i have had it)

Uhmm, I have dealing directly with Greg Curbow , not Cort. So this review will be about his service, Wich is great and is very friendly to help about anything.

I have been playing for 6 Years and Love Curbow Basses.
I have 2 Cort Curbow's : A 6 String an this 5 String Fretless. (You can read my review on the 6 string here on Harmony-Central)

It my basses were stolen, I would buy them again. But this time I think I would get both in the same color.

this bass features a Luthite body, hard maple neck , ebonol fingerbard
mightymite active pickup, it s 34 scale with a satin finish and a wood grain color. This bass looks very nice and original , like a piece of art

this bass' biggest asset is it 's sound. Luthite is a very good sounding compound, it s resonant like wood but sice it isnt wood it has an original quality to it. that coupled with the ebonol(another mad made material)fingerboard makes this bass sound realy good. Tight and punchy, warm and sweet, big and aggressive this bass can do it all. It also has a slap contour switch which let's you tweak your sound even more. this bass deffinitely sounds great for this price range. i have to note however that the bass prduces some hiss when you crank up the treble knob , but thats pretty typical for basses in this price range

the construction of this bass is down right poor! the key words here are DESIGNED BY CURBOW, BUILT BY CORT. This korean made bass has very many flaws. Theres a nice size gap in the neck and body joint, all you have to do is give it a little tug and the neck literaly moves , very slightly but it still is a big stability problem, part of the reason for that is the fact that Luthite is a very soft mushy materal,enabling the neck to move. On top of that the body wasn't cut precisely - the pick up slots were too large, the conductive paint in the cavity was applied sloppily, the action was a bit high and needed adjustment

This bass in not the most durable , like i mentioned above Luthinte is soft and i see it as a problem fir this bass down the line. in terms of sound i would depend on this bass though, it cuts throught the mix well , live and in the studio

This bass looks and sounds great , the big problem here is construction, this axe has serious potential if it was made better