Cort Action DLX V AS Review in Conjunction with thepracticepad.co.uk

This is a bass I’ve been dying to try out for a while. Available in 4 & 5 string versions it’s a very versatile pace of kit!

Overview

Cort have been around a while providing beginner, intermediate & pro players for year. I wouldn’t think of a Cort bass as a number 1 bass, maybe a backup or one to throw about. This bass has changed my mind, now I know why the great Jeff Berlin uses Cort!

Features

A beautiful open pore body which it very comfortable & light.

A slim 34″ (864mm) bolt on maple modern D shape neck with no finish on the back, making it lovely & fast. Not unlike an Ibanez. Plus a lovely 15 3/4″ Radius (400mm) rosewood fingerboard with offset position markers.

3 over 2 headstock which is a nice size & doesn’t weigh the bass down at all. Provides plenty of access to the string pegs & truss rod adjustment.

2 PDX-5/F / PDX-5/R (H-H) which pack one hell of a punch! & very comfortable to rest your thumb on too.

Electronics wise, we have volume, pickup blend, bass, mid & treble boost & cut plus active/passive switching courtesy of Mark Bass. No tone control though.

Hardware seems decent and sturdy, quite a chunky bridge.

My Findings

I was quite intrigued about this bass after hearing a few people mention it has a Mark Bass preamp in it (I exclusively use Mark Bass amplifiers & cabs) So I thought i’d grab one and take it for a spin.

I was a bit unsure about not having a tone control to sculpt my sound, but I was happily converted! The amount of tonal variation available is astonishing. From deep P Bass grooves to tight & popping “Jaco esque” solo lines.

Swapping over to active mode the first thing that hits you is the immense volume boost, which can be a bit unruly (especially when your not expecting it)

After playing around with the pre amp I managed to get some tight but deep finger style tones with the bass boosted and mids scooped a tiny bit. Followed by some tight pick playing by taking out 30% of the bass & mids.

The “Smiley Face” EQ the industry standard for a nice bit of happy slapping! Sounded full & rounded with great clarity especially on the low B string.

Moving between the pickups, the sound scaring can be explored for days especially with small changes between pickups & blending in passive & active.

Overall a very decent bass that can be used for every genre (comfortably I may ad) It balances well & is comfortable playing standing up or sitting down. Although the 24 fret neck provides a 34″ inch scale the low B string can seem a bit floppy at times, maybe a string change or adjustment/setup would help.

At this price it’s a steal & it punches way above it’s weight in the “Super Jazz” category, outshining similar Ibanez basses in this price range. Please listen for yourselves and check out the tonal characteristics & nuances available.

The audio was recorded through a Mark Bass Little Mark III 2×10 & 1×12 traveller cabs with flat EQ using the DI out & a Rode NT1A mic straight into Logic Pro X

This review is brought to you in conjunction with The Practice Pad – http://www.thepracticepad.co.uk a local music store/rehearsal room provider where this bass can be purchased from. please visit them over at facebook.com/thepracticepad.