Cort Guitars launches the Artisan C Deluxe Bass Guitar Series, available in both 4-string or 5-string. Cort, founded in 1960, is a company from South Korea that is a “guitar-making brand with an unabated passion for the guitar. Based on long-standing guitar production knowledge, experience, and faith in quality and value, we constantly study to create the best guitar in the world. Cort's mission is to deliver the best instruments to passionate musicians around the world.” And the C5 bass I played delivers.
The Artisan C5 Deluxe is a serious bass. With a body made of lightweight resonant poplar, it has a beautiful piano-like sustain. The deep cutaway allows easy access all the way up the neck to the 24th fret. The hard maple neck is a sturdy bolt-on, and has a fretboard made of a wood called jatoba. Jatoba wood, also known as “Brazilian Cherry,” is exceptionally stiff, strong, and hard, looking and feeling very much like rosewood but a little more forgiving than ebony. The headstock and tuning machines are on the smaller side, and the bass feels nicely balanced.
The bass plays beautifully and evenly. Two of the finest names in electric bass electronics complete this instrument: Bartolini and Mark Bass. Two Bartolini MK-1 pickups offer big bass sounds, versatility and hot output. A Markbass MB-1 preamp controls Bass, Mid, Treble, Master Volume, Pickup Balancer, and an active/passive switch. It’s not that common to be able to bypass active pickups and play passive. This is a wonderful feature, not only for the tonal variation, but also could be a lifesaver on a gig if your battery fails. An active bass with a dead battery is basically a large canoe paddle! The electronics offer a massive amount of tonal variation.
The MetalCraft M4 Bridge has a very interesting feature. Its dual-string loading system enables strings to terminate either at the top of the bridge or through the body. This sample instrument came with the strings routed through the body, which is my preference, but it would be interesting to hear the difference with strings routed just through the bridge. D’Addario EXL165 strings came on the bass and were a great fit.
Available in Candy Red, Candy Blue, and Black, with black hardware, the Artisan C Deluxe is a great looking bass with a sleek, modern aerodynamic look and feel at a modest price point. Build quality is excellent, made in Indonesia.
Artisan C4 Deluxe Street Price: $449.00; Artisan C5 Deluxe Street Price: $499.00
