Cort B5 Plus AS Electric Bass

Cort B5 Plus AS Electric Bass

An instrument that sounds as organic as it looks...

by Chris Loeffler

Cort has long held, er, court to fascinatingly, slightly off-kilter takes on traditional guitar and bass shapes, offering features and appointments that appeal to players looking for something just a bit different than the norm. Last year's B5 bass was well received, but feedback led to creating the B5 Plus, which swaps the Bartolini preamp with a Markbass preamp for a superior EQ experience and true passive options.

What You Need to Know

• The B5 Plus features a five-piece wenge and rosewood neck with a rosewood fingerboard bolted to a double cutaway, solid swamp ash body in a natural, open-pore finish. It’s so “natural” that the bass actually smelled the like a new acoustic guitar when I first opened the box.
• The Bartolini MK-1 Pickups and a Markbass MB-1 EQ system are installed, allowing both passive and active performance (as selected by a mini-toggle switch).
• The natural, unpolished appearance of the wood grain gives it a warm, even, raw look that's mirrored in the instrument's tactile sensation . The lacquer is thin enough that the body's grain can be traced by hand.
• The B5 Plus is surprisingly loud and bold acoustically; the resonance captured by the body imparts an airy, woody character that carries through into the electronic signal.

• The Bartolini MK-1 pickups are warm and extremely versatile - a great match for the tone of the swamp ash, and well suited to capturing the instrument's sound. I've previously run into MK-1 pickups (which I believe are passive) that were tied to a proprietary preamp that muddied the tone, so hearing the pickups untethered to the stock preamp in passive mode made it clear how transparent and full-frequency they can be.
• In active mode, the pickups pass through the Markbass MD-1 EQ system, which is a proprietary active preamp designed by Italian amp and effect maker Markbass. The MD-1EQ is clear and full-bodied, equally adept at chunking up the low end for chugging metal or warm, striking highs. There are separate controls for Bass, Mid, and Treble.
• To my ears, the passive mode is more vintage and mid-heavy, whereas the active circuitry really livens up the lows and highs - not so much by scooping the mids, but by raising the rest of the frequencies.
• The Hipshot ultralight tuners made tuning a breeze.

Limitations

As any player who plays both passive and active electronics knows, there are some pretty distinct differences that require careful consideration if you intend to bounce between the two modes in a live setting.

Conclusion

The Cort B5 Plus is a solid, well built-bass that checks every box for what makes a great instrument: tone, tone, and easy to play.

Resources

Cort B5 Plus AS 5-String Electric Bass Product Page

Buy Cort B5 AS 5-String Electric Bass at Amazon , Ebay, or on Reverb. (MSRP $1,030.00, street $529.99)