Mismatched top, would this bother you? Cort space 4

[Reggaebass]

That would be a bit too much of a mismatch for me to accept, I think they need to do a more in-depth search to find you one more matching from their stock, you need to be happy with after all or you’ll always be looking , good luck 

[spencer.b]

When I read the title I thought unless it was sold as book matched then don't worry about but having looked at the pics it would bug me too , that said I'd way rather have bass 2 than bass 1 given what you said about the fret work and neck relief 

[MichaelDean]

Yeah, I wouldn't be happy with that either. Maybe try a smaller retailer? They might be able to send a pic first. 

[Count Bassy]

Spray it black. Problem solved.

Edited 14 hours ago by Count Bassy

[M@23]

Would wind me up too. Shame the retailer didn’t open the box to check the replacement didn’t suffer the same complaints. 

[Aidan63]

Looking at the 3 that PeachGuitars have currently listed online you can see the pics of each instrument, 1 is well matched, the other 2 are not but are both actually visually interesting so would be acceptable and are arguably unique, but if the book matched finish was important I'd choose the best one off PeachGuitars, but obviously the extra 10% unless you can get them to price match..

Edited 14 hours ago by Aidan63
spell, accuracy

[Martin E]

Peach Guitars have a few in stock with a picture and weight of the actual bass you are buying. The matching does vary quite a bit, maybe at that price point Cort think that's appropriate? Personally I'd  send it back as well.

I bought a sunburst Player Jazz from them and was able to select one with no visible joins in the body which also happened to be the lightest.

It also came with an excellent set up. Worth a look.

[41Hz]

17 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

Looking at the 3 that PeachGuitars have currently listed online you can see the pics of each instrument, 1 is well matched, the other 2 are not but are both actually visually interesting so would be acceptable and are arguably unique, but if the book matched finish was important I'd choose the best one off PeachGuitars, but obviously the extra 10% unless you can get them to price match..

I’ve just looked. Yeah, 2 out of 3 look good to me and the other one isn’t as bad as mine. The 2x green they have are both ok and all 4x 5 strings, grey and green look good.

[PaulThePlug]

Piss-poor...

Who decided that would be alright before applying some glue?

[80Hz]

Bit of a poor show given that it's their name on the headstock (well, not quite 😉).

 

The wood selections on most Corts (thinking A, B series) always looked nicely done to me.

 

B stock batch perhaps?

[Hypo199]

It wouldn't bother 'me' unduly if it was a keeper, but if I wanted to re-sell I could see why it would bother potential buyers. So for that reason I'd return it. 

[itu]

Please send it back. The biggest issue is that it doesn't feel even as good as the previous one. Ask for a picture of the next one, if you decide to try that once more. 

 

The feel is always the most important to me. Even with lousy strings bass talks or not. Once I tried eight (if I remember correctly) Laklands and the only one that was even close to OK was a Japanese made one. US models were mediocre or worse, to me that is. Trust your own personal feelings. 

Edited 10 hours ago by itu

[Silky999]

I’d send it back and maybe buy from somewhere else? It is clear that the dealer is also happy to send out substandard basses and not doing any QC themselves. 
 

in my conspiracy theory head, could the dealer be buying up seconds and passing them off as full price instruments?

[SurroundedByManatees]

I'd be disappointed and send it back. 

 

Why would they apply such mismatching pieces together on one bass... If you can't do it right, don't do fancy tops.

[Hellzero]

I've been looking at a few of these online and none is bookmatched per se, as a bookmatched top is a surface made from two (or more) slabs of wood that are mirrored to match their grain or vein patterns, giving the impression of an opened book.

 

This technique is used in high-end furniture, cabinetry, and instruments to create a striking, symmetrical visual effect, which is absolutely not the case for these poplar burl tops.

 

Furthermore there is no mention of bookmatching from Cort for the Space series, but Poplar Burl 6T (6T certainly meaning 6 mm Thickness).

 

So you better buy the one you like visually online or go to a shop and select the one suiting your specifications...

[Sean]

The PRS factory at the Cortek site is controlled by PRS and uses dedicated Cort employees. Here's a Philip McKnight (Know Your Gear) video on it that's very revealing. 

 

 

As far as your bass goes, I'd return it. It looks wrong. 

 

[41Hz]

1 hour ago, Silky999 said:

I’d send it back and maybe buy from somewhere else? It is clear that the dealer is also happy to send out substandard basses and not doing any QC themselves. 
 

in my conspiracy theory head, could the dealer be buying up seconds and passing them off as full price instruments?

The retailer implied the basses are drop shipped direct from the Cort distributor, so I guess in need to get one from Peach or a retailer that hold physical stock. They did say they’d get the distributor to check the 2nd one before sending but that obviously didn’t happen.

[BigRedX]

Those weird lighter bands bother me more than the mis-matched top. Although that bothers me too.

[HeadlessBassist]

Oddly enough, having owned three Cort Space Basses, my four string also had a very vague wood pattern around the front pickup too, whereas my Space 5's have had lovely grain patterning across the whole front. Maybe they use offcuts of lesser quality wood for some of the smaller four string fronts?

 

Personally though, on such a good value instrument, I'd say that how it plays/sounds is more important, but as others have mentioned, that's down to your personal preference. 

 

My previous Space 4 front...

 

My current Space 5 front...

 

 

[41Hz]

17 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

I've been looking at a few of these online and none is bookmatched per se, as a bookmatched top is a surface made from two (or more) slabs of wood that are mirrored to match their grain or vein patterns, giving the impression of an opened book.

 

This technique is used in high-end furniture, cabinetry, and instruments to create a striking, symmetrical visual effect, which is absolutely not the case for these poplar burl tops.

 

Furthermore there is no mention of bookmatching from Cort for the Space series, but Poplar Burl 6T (6T certainly meaning 6 mm Thickness).

 

So you better buy the one you like visually online or go to a shop and select the one suiting your specifications...

Most of the online ones I’ve seen do have some degree of symmetry between the two halves, they may not be perfect but they look a lot better than the ones I’ve been sent.

[41Hz]

5 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Those weird lighter bands bother me more than the mis-matched top. Although that bothers me too.

Agree, It’s not the lack of symmetry in the burl that bothers me so much it’s the abrupt change in shade of the wood along the join.