New Cort Space Headless Model

[SumOne]

11 minutes ago, Shiveringbass said:

Hello,

 

Is it me or does the Bass the world review speaks of 35" scale whereas Nate one says 34" ?

 

 

Every other website (including the Cort website)  says 34".

 

The more I look into it, the more I think this'll be my next Bass, I reckon I'll be putting my Jazz up for sale soon to fund it!

 

 

 

 

[tauzero]

38 minutes ago, Shiveringbass said:

Hello,

 

Is it me or does the Bass the world review speaks of 35" scale whereas Nate one says 34" ?

 

 

Yes. Don't forget he'll be converting from proper measurements to groats and furlongs, and he might have borrowed the Bass Direct conversion calculator. It's an 864mm scale.

 

Edited March 18 by tauzero
Out by 1mm

[TRBboy]

48 minutes ago, Shiveringbass said:

Hello,

 

Is it me or does the Bass the world review speaks of 35" scale whereas Nate one says 34" ?

 

They are 34" I believe

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

 

With both Cort and Ibanez bringing out headless models (or ranges in the case of Ibanez), they've presumably seen that there is a good commercial opportunity. I think Mark was shifting a fair few Corts at Bass Direct from what he said. Steinberger has kept going with the Spirit range.

 

Headless instruments are better ecologically, as they use less wood - none wasted on an advertising billboard at the end of the neck.

I don't know why Cort and Ibanez insist on using the MK1's so much, they aren't great and most people (not all) seem not to like them. They'd be better using some of their own brand soapbars, or charging a little more and putting something else in there.

[tauzero]

20 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

I don't know why Cort and Ibanez insist on using the MK1's so much, they aren't great and most people (not all) seem not to like them. They'd be better using some of their own brand soapbars, or charging a little more and putting something else in there.

 

I'm not convinced that most people don't like the MK1s. The BH2s don't seem to fare as well but are there really vast numbers of people who don't buy an EHB 100 series because of the pickups, or rush to replace them?

[Shiveringbass]

I see nothing about a fretless version. It would be a great contender to the EHB1005F.

 

[edstraker123]

I've just snagged a used green one for £500  on ebay from a local seller I've bought off before. His basses are usually set up with the lowest action of any I've ever played so dying to get my hands on it tonight.

[BassApprentice]

That's quite the hit to take in such a short period of time.

 

Great bargain for you though!

[edstraker123]

Peach Guitars had sold a black one off recently for £597 ! There are bargains out there !

[crazycloud]

15 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

That's quite the hit to take in such a short period of time.

The used market sucks at the moment though.

[Al Krow]

On 26/03/2024 at 11:17, edstraker123 said:

I've just snagged a used green one for £500  on ebay from a local seller I've bought off before. His basses are usually set up with the lowest action of any I've ever played so dying to get my hands on it tonight.

 

Looking forward to getting your thoughts on it!

[edstraker123]

I love it ! When I first got it out of the bag I thought the neck looked like a cricket bat with frets and would be straight back for sale but I put a set of chromes on it and haven't put it down since. Yes it probably would have been even better with Nordy's buy its fine. Can't wait to hear Doods review.

Edited April 1 by edstraker123

[Dood]

On 01/04/2024 at 22:33, edstraker123 said:

I love it ! When I first got it out of the bag I thought the neck looked like a cricket bat with frets and would be straight back for sale but I put a set of chromes on it and haven't put it down since. Yes it probably would have been even better with Nordy's buy its fine. Can't wait to hear Doods review.

 

Sorry for the delay in that! I have the bass here, but I've been snowed under with other reviews and poor health. I'm really looking forward to doing this one, it's certainly going to look bangin' in glorious 4K! - It's only a shame that YouTube compresses the poop out of my original footage which looks even better! 

 

I'll keep you all posted! I have some super nice gear lined up for upcoming reviews! I love this job SO much!!!! 

 

Dan

[edstraker123]

Hi Dan, I love your reviews so looking forward to it when you get the time. Hope you're feeling a bit better too !

 

Take it easy,

Ed.

[Richie_b]

Hi all
New here, but jsut picked one of these up.  My current bass is insanely heavy, so this feels like a nice option!

TY for the feedback and comments so far; they've been really helpful in making a decision.

A couple of questions, though:

 

-what gauge strings does this come with?  I plan to replace sooner or later with DR Black Beauties and it'd be useful to know so I work out what gauge I will want...

-there's a lot of chat about the Bartolini Mk1 pick ups being rubbish.  If I were to choose to update them, would the Fishman Fluence pickups fit?  I come from a guitar background and bass pickups just seem a lot more variable than I am used to...

TY in advance & look forward to seeing Dood's review too 🙂

[BassApprentice]

It's tough with so much info available, but try and not be influenced by others recommendations and opinions. Spend some time with the bass and if something is still really bugging you after a couple of months, then maybe there is a need to change something.

 

A lot of people opinions come from bias of previous basses with other pickups that they maybe like more than the MK1s, but you might not have that experience. Same goes for strings.

Edited April 5 by BassApprentice

[tauzero]

4 hours ago, Richie_b said:

Hi all
New here, but jsut picked one of these up.  My current bass is insanely heavy, so this feels like a nice option!

TY for the feedback and comments so far; they've been really helpful in making a decision.

A couple of questions, though:

 

-what gauge strings does this come with?  I plan to replace sooner or later with DR Black Beauties and it'd be useful to know so I work out what gauge I will want...

-there's a lot of chat about the Bartolini Mk1 pick ups being rubbish.  If I were to choose to update them, would the Fishman Fluence pickups fit?  I come from a guitar background and bass pickups just seem a lot more variable than I am used to...

TY in advance & look forward to seeing Dood's review too 🙂

 

Specs available at https://www.cortguitars.com/product/item.php?ca_id=103020&it_id=1707895430&page=1#tab_Specifications

 

D'Addario EXL170-5SL which are 45-65-80-100-130

 

Don't make any decisions about pickups until you've tried the MK-1s. They seemed OK to me. If you feel determined to change them, check out what people have replaced the pickups in the Ibanez EHB1005 and EHB1265 with.

[Richie_b]

10 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Specs available at https://www.cortguitars.com/product/item.php?ca_id=103020&it_id=1707895430&page=1#tab_Specifications

 

D'Addario EXL170-5SL which are 45-65-80-100-130

 

Don't make any decisions about pickups until you've tried the MK-1s. They seemed OK to me. If you feel determined to change them, check out what people have replaced the pickups in the Ibanez EHB1005 and EHB1265 with.

Awesome.  I've been looking for this info for ages, but never thought to try the manufacturer's website.  Feels a little stupid in hindsight! 🤦‍♂️
Really helpful to know what gauge you are using when it's time to change them! 

& WRT to the pickups, you and Bass Apprentice are right.  Will give it a some time and see what sounds I can get with it & how they work with my setup. 

TY!

[JazzyJ]

I changed to EB Slinkys which don't feel as harsh the OE strings. I do have flats on a lot of my basses though.

A strip of pickup foam tidies up the nasty sharp cut ends as well.

Oh, the pickups are fine for my purposes.

Edited April 6 by JazzyJ

[SumOne]

Bass Direct just received a Green one which I've just purchased (perhaps a bit rashly!, I almost always like to try a Bass first, and usually go second hand). My Bass maths to justify it is that I've got a Jazz up for sale which should sell for more than the Cort, so it's not a cost - it's a saving!

 

Exciting times. Now the waiting game (which I hope is quite a short game - next day delivery). Will report back.

 

Edit: After I'd bought from Bass Direct I had been speaking to Guitar Guitar and they mentioned they price match. Bass Direct are now sold out of the Cort Space for the time being (£699) but Guitar Guitar have them  in stock for £749, so you might be able to get £50 knocked off that price, although perhaps they only do it if other shops have them in stock and available to buy there and then. Thomann have them listed for £655 but not in stock for months - I've noticed a tactic is sometimes with long wait times they have a lower price while it's not in stock to keep you hanging on and not buying elsewhere, and then when it is in stock they put the price up.

 

Another Edit: Grrr Parcelf*cks! 'Unable to locate address' It's a residential street with nothing out of the ordinary, the house shows up on google maps etc. No attempt to call me to try and find the address if that's really the issue, just an automated 'not happening today' which makes me think the driver just can't be bothered. And Parcelforce customer service app/call seems almost designed to wind up customers, but at least I could confirm that the correct address is on the package, so it is slackness from their side.

Edited April 17 by SumOne

[edstraker123]

On 06/04/2024 at 16:05, JazzyJ said:

I changed to EB Slinkys which don't feel as harsh the OE strings. I do have flats on a lot of my basses though.

A strip of pickup foam tidies up the nasty sharp cut ends as well.

Oh, the pickups are fine for my purposes.

There is a great kiesel video about stringing headless basses on youtube showing how to get the ends tidy.

[edstraker123]

I put chromes on mine and they sound great. In no hurry to swap out the Barts either.

 

[SumOne]

Arrived! First impressions are good. 

 

• Sounds good.
• lightweight at 3.64kg (although I think my Ibanez EHB 1005 MS was even lighter at 3.4kg).
• Perfectly balanced (can sit with it on the lap and take hands away and it'll stay in position).
• Low action without fret buzz, no noticable things like dead spots and the strings all feel part of one instrument (I've had 5 strings where the B feels quite separate).
• Nice neck - satin rather than glossy, quite shallow but quite wide, some might find it a bit too wide but I like it (19mm string spacing and a bit more space on the edges than some fretboards give)
• Nice colours, it's a dark purple on the backk and there's more purple blending through on the front than pictures pick up (it is matte that seems that it'll scratch and dent easily though).
• Seems decent quality control throughout.
• Decent gig bag (weak point being a bit of a flimsy feeling zip).

 

 

 

If I was being picky (which I am!)

• One thing I'd check if you're getting one: The bridge saddle for the G is pretty much as far forward as it can possibly go (less than 1mm forward movement left), so very little room for manouver if it needed going further forward for intonation. But that isn't an issue on mine as all the strings are intonating correctly without me adjusting anything. 
• There seems to be no tone control in Passive mode.
• It'd be good if the volume and pickup blend knobs had white position markers on them (like the EQ knobs have).
• I would prefer more rounded edges where your forearm meets the Bass body.
• I'd prefer EQ with sweepable mids like on the Ibanez EHB or at least being able to internally switch different EQ points like Lakland do (perhaps there are internal switches for this - I haven't checked yet).
• Those plastic covers for the Battery that lots of manufacturers use seem like they're from a cheap toy, they could at least be flush with the back, I think I was spoiled with the Digwall system for that though. 

 

But these are picky/personal preferance things and comparing with Basses double or 3x the cost.  Overall, it seems a great Bass, especially for the money. But even if money wasn't an issue, I think it gives the Ibanez EHB series a good run f

 

 

Edited April 19 by SumOne

[Kev]

On 06/03/2024 at 19:34, ahpook said:

 

Thing is, Mr. Navarro could play my pubic hair strung across a curtain ring and make it sound great

 

 

Joking aside, as much as I love Nate's playing, his bass demos are actually entirely useless for this exact reason.  Everything sounds overwhelmingly like him, and the techniques he uses overpower anything unique about the bass itself.  I  just wish influencers would just stick to playing the most basic riffs, or recognisable riffs, so you can really get a feel over what the bass can do, not what they can do.

 

[Dood]

4 hours ago, Kev said:

Joking aside, as much as I love Nate's playing, his bass demos are actually entirely useless for this exact reason.  Everything sounds overwhelmingly like him, and the techniques he uses overpower anything unique about the bass itself.  I  just wish influencers would just stick to playing the most basic riffs, or recognisable riffs, so you can really get a feel over what the bass can do, not what they can do.

 

Nailed it. As much as I love and very much approve of the truly epic levels of talent out in internet world pushing the very boundaries of what we can expect from strings stretched over lengths of wood.. a gear review should not be about the player. I’ve always likened it to watching the kurogo in bunraku. Japanese puppetry masters would wear black to help them disappear and not be the focus of attention.

I think “influencers” (especially when it comes to seeking validation from the internet) find it incredibly difficult to set ego aside and let the equipment sell itself. I’ve always said my reviews I shoot are No Ego, No Shred, Just Bass. I should probably start hash tagging that!