Cort B4

[DorsetBlue]

Been tracking this model for some time, mainly because it comes Leftie and I liked the Ibanez SR600 that I saw in a local dealer Guitar Mania (right handed luckily - explained shortly). I understand the SR600 is made by Cort and to be honest they do look very similar. The main difference is the price, the SR600 I have not seen for less than £560. I got this brand new B4 from American Guitar Centre (via Ebay) for £360.

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Before I bought it, I was a little concerned about the nut width, as I have been unable to find any information about it anywhere (even in the BGM review, more on this later). I currently play a Jazz, so I am quite used to the thin neck. I needed have been concerned (I do have quite large hands), the nut seems to be about 1-2mm wider than my jazz and is possibly a bit more substantial cross sectionally. The wood used (laminate Wenge and Rosewood) looks lovely and has a satin effect which suits me great for moving up and down the fretboard. The fretboard is rosewood too (slightly lighter in colour) and matches the neck well. All the frets are well dressed and the nut has been well setup (either factory or store) with a low action. So far I have found the B4 to be a lot easier to play than my Jazz (I probably ought to get my Jazz professionally setup).

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BGM did say there was an issue with the nack pocket on these basses, not on this one - looks pretty damn tight to me, with only a little roughness to the wood on one side of the pocket. The body is a natural effect Ash, with a well defined grain pattern. There are a couple minor spots where I could see this block having been rejected by an expensive manufacturer for a grain 'defect' but I really like the natural feel. Yes, if I was spending >£1000 on a custom bass, I would probably be a little more 'precious' about it...on the other hand, I like character.
As I understand it, the electronics are very similar to those on the SR600 - with Bartolini MK1 pickups and pre-amp. I must admit the variations in tone provided by this setup are a little bewildering to me at the moment, coming off of a passive J. Also I am a little restricted by my current amp but all I can say from a relative beginners prospective, the controls do indeed make significant changes to the tone and seem to be linear with no grittiness in action. I certainly found some tones I liked and it was even easy to find a nice sounding setting for, my frankly dreadful, slap. The switch does not form a passive/active function (which would have been nice if the battery fails - it will be interesting to find out the warning signs for this occuring) but instead sets the EQ to flat or to the user defined settings. BGM stated that this could be used to allow you to switch between a flat AMP defined sound and then one defined on the bass. This seems reasonable but I am not sure currently when I might use it but it is there never the less.

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Hardware wise, the bridge looks pretty substantial (intonation setup by the shop, so not touched it) and the hipshot tuners are nice and slick in operation.

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So to conclude, BGM said the B4 is a good 'do it all' active bass and I can only agree. I had to buy this blind (long journey to Kent from Dorset and there are no Cort dealers locally with left handed models) but I am one happy bunny (thankfully). I think it is a really good bass for the price and I am glad I went for this one over the SR600 and the Schecter Stiletto Studio (6 week delivery time, no chance to try it beforehand and £400 more expensive).

[dincz]

As listed on a dealer's site, these are the neck dimensions for the B4 (and in fact for all of the Artisan series):
NECK WIDTH 1F : 40mm / 24F : 64mm
NECK THICKNESS 1F:20.5mm, 12F:22mm