NBD - CORT FUSION 5

[AlexDelores]

My First Ever Five! 

 

I’ve been wanting a 5 string for about 15 years but have never got around to it. Well, as I’m fairly set with my main gigging bass now and recently sold my Mustang, I decided that rather than putting the cash back into the mix to get spent on everyday stuff or ‘bits and bobs’ I was going to put it towards finally getting a 5. 

 

I was shopping around and nearly pulled the trigger on a Ray35 when this popped up… If money was no object, I’d buy an Overwater Jazz and in honesty, i think Cort Jazz’s have that kind of aesthetic (IMO) so I think this is why I’ve always been drawn to them. The finish on them is gorgeous to my eyes and I’ve seen so many good reviews, i thought it would be as good as any to make my first.

 

I bought it Monday and it arrived Tuesday. I’ve not had loads of time with it yet but so far, I’ve got to say, I’m well impressed! 

 

OVERALL 

 

The fit and finish on the bass really is superb. Especially given the price point. The birdseye maple neck is stunning (my first ever maple neck too). 

 

THE B

 

The B string seems pretty solid, and not floppy, or clangy. But, I’ll caveat that with saying I’ve not got a huge amount to compare it to other than friends 5er’s I’ve played in the past.

 

TONE

 

Again, not really got stuck in too much. But, well it sounds like a jazz bass. It’s a very clean/transparent sound I would say, and it’s only really when I boost the mids and roll off the neck pickup a bit that I’m getting a little growl. But, it’s a very nice sounding instrument without much colouring to the sound, which I sort of expected. Albeit not the loudest/hottest bass I’ve ever played (could just need pickup height adjustment) But to my ears it seems nice and balanced across the strings and I’ve no complaints as i wanted something versatile, which it is.

 

One little annoyance is that it doesn’t appear to have any eq control when switched to passive. It just seems to make it flat. Kind of defeats the object other than as a battery failsafe.

 

WEIGHT

 

Compared to a lot of 5’s I’ve picked up and played on in the past, it’s pretty darn lightweight. I’m not sure on the exact weight. But, I was concerned when the box arrived that it was even in there!

 

WAFFLE

 

I’ll likely change the knobs out to black metal ones, as the stock Fender style, feel a bit cheap and look unappealing. I’ll also probably remove the clear pick guard for now. Might potentially look at getting a custom black pearloid one cut but for now I might just leave it off.

 

It’s also another first for me. It’s a bass I’ve bought myself, purely because I wanted it. I didn’t buy it to fill an imaginary gap in my live set up or because I’ve got a few gigs I’ll need ‘X’ for. In fact, I’ve no immediate plans to gig it at all.  I’ve just bought it to play, learn on and enjoy. Which feels like a very nice/fortunate thing to be able to get to do.

 

ROSE MORRIS

 

AND…. Big shout out to Rose Morris in London who were superb to deal with and got it boxed, shipped and delivered in just over 24 hours for free. I’d seen it online and had a few questions and David was really responsive and friendly. I ended up getting it for a really good price and even after I’d paid, he kept me updated with getting it shipped (Which was about 1.5 hours after buying it 🙏)

 

CONCLUSION

 

Overall, a very happy bass player so far. My ‘daily runner’ is a 30” passive 4 string, so it’s a bit of a jump up. Almost feels like learning to play all over again. But, a few hours in the den and I’ll be fine i think. 

 

If you’ve made it this far. Thanks for reading my waffle. Here’s what you’ve clicked on to see (Not the best pictures but i was in a rush to play it!) …

 

 

 

 

 

[ezbass]

51 minutes ago, AlexDelores said:

I’ll also probably remove the clear pick guard for now. Might potentially look at getting a custom black pearloid one cut but for now I might just leave it off.

The beauty of a clear guard is that you can try out different looks just by cutting and inserting thin card or paper behind it to check out the effect. I have an all black ‘insert’, one with a paisley pattern made from and old bandana (stuck onto card) and a tort one, where I bought a small sheet of stick on tort (for acoustic guitars) and trimmed it up. 

[Geek99]

Nice 👍

[HeadlessBassist]

That looks very nice, Alex. Especially like the clear guard. Looks very sophisticated. Enjoy!  

[itu]

If the balance of the pickups is fine, simply turn up the gain of your amp. 

 

B string may sound similar to other strings or not. But when you change strings, you can try different ones to find the right for you. I had a MG Quantum 5 that sounded best with a 120, so thicker is not automatically better. 

 

Congratulations, you seem to have bought lots of bass. Now go and play a lot! 

[AlexDelores]

33 minutes ago, ezbass said:

The beauty of a clear guard is that you can try out different looks just by cutting and inserting thin card or paper behind it to check out the effect. I have an all black ‘insert’, one with a paisley pattern made from and old bandana (stuck onto card) and a tort one, where I bought a small sheet of stick on tort (for acoustic guitars) and trimmed it up. 

That’s a flippin’ good idea! Thank you 🙏 

[velvetkevorkian]

That's a pretty thing! I have one Cort instrument and a couple made by them for other brands and they're always great quality.

[Terry M.]

I played your bass in Rose Morris on Denmark Street when they first got it in,maybe 3 months ago give or take. I really liked the fit finish and general feel,and I mean a LOT! Sound is subjective but it did at least sound like a Jazz to my ear. Job well done Cort. Visually I don't get on with clear pickguards but ignore that as that's only my personal taste speaking.The maple fingerboard and matched headstock look great in person however to me. Enjoy your new bass ☺️

[AlexDelores]

7 minutes ago, Terry M. said:

I played your bass in Rose Morris on Denmark Street when they first got it in,maybe 3 months ago give or take. I really liked the fit finish and general feel,and I mean a LOT! Sound is subjective but it did at least sound like a Jazz to my ear. Job well done Cort. Visually I don't get on with clear pickguards but ignore that as that's only my personal taste speaking.The maple fingerboard and matched headstock look great in person however to me. Enjoy your new bass ☺️

Ah that’s good to hear. Thank you. 

 

Yeah, it’s definitely quite a middle of the road, un offensive kind of tone. But, it works for what i need. I was looking for something like that, that I can eq to fit in a variety of things, and it does that well I think. There’s also a wide variety of Pickups/preamp options down the line if i want to make it sing a little more.

 

[Terry M.]

7 minutes ago, AlexDelores said:

There’s also a wide variety of Pickups/preamp options down the line if i want to make it sing a little more.

You're spoilt for choice in that area 🙂

[lemmywinks]

Cort's slimmed down J body is extremely comfortable IMO, good to see these still have the Ultralites and Luminlays.

 

If you still want to scratch your Overwater itch on a budget there's an Aspiration Deluxe (Tanglewood built) 5 string in a Hiscox Liteflite case on eBay for a low start bid:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197513973505

[AlexDelores]

Just now, lemmywinks said:

Cort's slimmed down J body is extremely comfortable IMO, good to see these still have the Ultralites and Luminlays.

 

If you still want to scratch your Overwater itch on a budget there's an Aspiration Deluxe (Tanglewood built) 5 string in a Hiscox Liteflite case on eBay for a low start bid:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197513973505

Very nice that. Thanks for the heads up. I definitely think I’m done for a bit now though….I think 😅

[Terry M.]

3 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

Cort's slimmed down J body is extremely comfortable IMO, good to see these still have the Ultralites and Luminlays.

 

If you still want to scratch your Overwater itch on a budget there's an Aspiration Deluxe (Tanglewood built) 5 string in a Hiscox Liteflite case on eBay for a low start bid:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197513973505

I bought one of these Tanglewood made Overwaters used from Richtone a few years back and was very impressed. I sent it back however as it was insanely heavy.Shame production on them is no more.