Got myself a new bass guitar some two weeks ago (didn’t post this earlier because I wanted Techno4Amnesty to stay on top), and I’m really pleased, so here’s a short review of my new Cort GB-74.

I planned to buy a Fender Jazz Bass (from Mexico, not the new American Standard, too expensive) in the first place, but got stuck with this one while playing various alternatives in the shop. The Cort GB-74 is basically a hybrid between a J-Bass and a Musicman Stingray in terms of pickups, having a J-style single coil in neck position and a Stingray’ish humbucker at the bridge. The maple neck is pretty thin which is great for my small hands. The body is swamp ash, body and neck are bolted on with four screws.

Soundwise, you have a ton of options with this baby. It has active electronics with two-band EQ, pick-up balance pot and volume pot, as well as a three-way switch to toogle pickups and a two-way switch that adds a mid boost to either 400Hz or 800Hz (a contoure switch for slapping obviously).

So how does it sound? The electronics obviously give you tons of options, and the Cort bassically has it all, growling lows to jazzy brights. You just need to find the right setting. The only weak spots are that the 400Hz boost option overdoes it a little, and when played active and the heights all cranked up it has a slight ground noise problem. Other than that, it has a very assertive sound and definitely a character of it’s own.

Summing it up, I’d say that this bass is a real bargain at around 500 Euros and can compare to most basses at higher price ranges. On a side note, I didn’t like the color (white blonde) at all in the beginning but now that I’m used to it I even start liking it.