dmccombe7 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Thinking of buying a cheap 4 string fretless for gigging. Has anyone tried the Cort Cubrow range of basses. Don't see many around. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I haven't tried one, but when fretless shopping a few years ago I did look at one to see if I liked fretless playing. I ended up getting a Sandberg Basic fretless and never looked back. I would expect the Curbow to play and sound like a £200-£250 bass, that's not to say they're rubbish, not at all. My reasoning (or rather another bc'ers!) was if I bought a cheap one and like fretless then I'd end up selling it, maybe at a small loss and buy a more expensive one. So, buy a more expensive one and if you like it you have a nice fretless. If you don't then you've had a nice fretless that works out at a few quid a week across the time you've had it. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Curbow's are an acquired taste - I really wanted to like one but didn't. I went for the Squier VMJ Fretless to start with for the very good reason that moving it on was painless and a very small depreciation. It was a very OK bass (sorry, not meaning to damn with faint praise) but I did move on quite quickly getting a fretless board on my Cort GB75 and then on to a custom built Shuker 5 string which is now my only bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 Looking to see what the playability and sound was like more than anything else. Have had a few fretless basses over the yrs and have my Overwater 6 stringer fretless but don't like gigging with it as its a one-off my wife bought me for my 50th. I appreciate i shouldn't keep it locked away but its the one in my pic. I have looked at the Squier as i already love my Jazz bass and that was the obvious choice but saw the Cort at what seemed like a knock down price. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I had a fretted Curbow 5 string and thought it was a well-built instrument that sounded good and was nice to play. They are cheap for what they are but do not feel cheap. I think the ebanol fretboard would work well as a fretless but have not tried one. If you can pick one up at a good price (they used to retail at around £500!) then I would go for it. Beware though that the tiny body looks very strange if you are a larger chap like myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far0n Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I had a fretted one and the neck was really unstable on it. As the neck got hotter over the course of a gig, the action would get lower and lower until it started to choke the strings. Flogged it soon after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Can't really get enough feedback on these and reviews seem to be scarce so probably gonna give it a miss. The resale doesn't look good either and could be an issue if i don't like it. Appreciate the feedback from you guys tho. Cheers Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 A good friend of mine owns a fretless 4 string Curbow. He absolutely loves it, swears by it and gigs with it regularly. I have played it a couple of times and although I'm not too keen on fretless have been generally quite impressed with it....especially at the price he paid for it (not a lot). I thought the Bartolini pup + electrics sounded good and the playability (despite the smallish body feeling a tad unusual) was good. My mates main bass is a fretted 1978 Alembic Series 1 and the Curbow is his gigging fretless....quite a contrast price wise! Not sure if this helps or not...but I like the Curbow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 [quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1355329612' post='1897038'] The resale doesn't look good either and could be an issue if i don't like it. [/quote] That's a fair point - although if you bought one second hand this could work to your advantage... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Bear in mind that the curbow body shape makes it all but impossible to play sitting with it resting on your leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Coffee Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Dung. Avoid due to awful necks. Any cort i played was dreadful. Anything other than cort will do. Curbow shape looks good though, shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 No idea about Cort Curbows. What I do know is that I have a Yamaha RBX200F, P-pup small-body lined fretless, which I picked up here for £100 (IIRC), which is a great starter fretless IMO. I recommend them. (Would I sell it? Yes I would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share Posted December 22, 2012 [quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1356137643' post='1907432'] No idea about Cort Curbows. What I do know is that I have a Yamaha RBX200F, P-pup small-body lined fretless, which I picked up here for £100 (IIRC), which is a great starter fretless IMO. I recommend them. (Would I sell it? Yes I would. [/quote] Nice one mate. Good sales pitch. Its not really a starter fretless but more a cheap gigging fretless i'm looking for rather than gig with my Overwater. i kinda liked the Curbow look but its gone now on the wings of the great evilbay. cheers Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dincz Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 [quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1356127391' post='1907325'] Dung. Avoid due to awful necks. Any cort i played was dreadful. Anything other than cort will do. Curbow shape looks good though, shame. [/quote] Wow, I've never heard that about Corts before. Don't know about Curbows but the neck on my cheap Artisan was what made me buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Coffee Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 [quote name='dincz' timestamp='1356287726' post='1908844'] Wow, I've never heard that about Corts before. Don't know about Curbows but the neck on my cheap Artisan was what made me buy it. [/quote] Sorry if I seem really on their case here. It's just my own opinion. There is a small music shop near where I used to work and they only sold Cort or Tanglewood basses and whatever else they had secondhand too. Any instrument they had in stock made by Cort seemed really roughly finished on the neck and odd. Unless they got a bad batch in stock or something....? I haven't tried anything since which would convince me to feel any different. Again this is just my own opinion, if it works for you that's fine but you could buy a much better secondhand 'other' bass for the price of a new Cort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilwildcat78 Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 I have a 4 string fretless Cort Curbow. I'd always wanted one. I loved the shape, and look. Well, I built a fretless bass. I loved the feel of it. I learned it faster than I had anything else. I never placed any dots or lines. My neck had a slight curve to it so it made it almost a multiscale. There was no wrong placement on that bass. Unfortunately it was stolen. Then I found the whole reason I built my fretless. A fretless Cort Curbow for sale at a reasonable price. I've tried everything to love this bass, and play it as smoothly as my hand-built one. It must hate me. My biggest problem is that it plays and sounds fretted. You have to hit the exact note, where the fret would be or it sounds like u missed your note. I swear if I shut my eyes, I can't tell that it's fretless. Another delimma is its hard to sit and play, and head and neck are heavy. Maybe I spoiled myself by building what I thought a curbow should be. Needless to say it disappointed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 I've always thought the Cort Curbow looks a bit misproportioned, with its tiny body and long neck. I bet they make for a great fretless bass with that ebonol fingerboard and just a bridge pickup though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Not that will do the OP much good now, but for the benefit of anyone who finds this thread later on: I really like my little Curbow. Mine was fretted though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 3 hours ago, LeftyJ said: I've always thought the Cort Curbow looks a bit misproportioned, with its tiny body and long neck. I bet they make for a great fretless bass with that ebonol fingerboard and just a bridge pickup though. I quite like that, but that's coming from a Les Paul (non oversized body) bass player. It's basically a regular sized Les Paul body with a bass neck jutting out of it. I enjoy the preposterousness of it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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