Cort's darker side | Cort Bass Guitar Reviews

Cort's darker side - why Cort bass guitars repel me now


I used to be a fan of Cort bass guitars, mainly due to the fact that Cort is a Korean company and I am a Korean, and also because Cort bass guitars seemed to be the best bass guitars for beginners, being cheap but with quality. If you've read all my reviews on Cort bass guitars, you would have seen that most of the reviews are favourable(Cort bass guitars ARE actually good). However, I came to know something about Cort which made me dislike it since.

Cort started as a very small company with little capital. The workers had to work in windowless factories, under the constant risk of getting their fingers cut in machines and getting respiratory diseases. They also always received minimum wages($1000 a month). Some worked in Cort bass for more than 20 years withough ever having enough money to own a Cort bass guitar. However, they kept on working hard because they were simply happy at the fact that the acoustic, electric and bass guitars made with their own hands were being distributed all over the world. They were hopeful that someday, their hard work will pay out, that they will work in better conditions and receive higher wages.

However, Cort's owner, Park Young-Ho, who meanwhile became one of the richest man in Korea thanks to the workers, had other thoughts. He thought that the minimum wage he was giving to those Korean workers were too high, so he started moving the guitar plants from Korean to Indonesia, where wages are cheaper. Recently all of Korean plants were shut down, leaving the Korean workers jobless. They received hardly anything in compensation. Obviously, the workers were very very angry; they have now been protesting for 2 years, even following Park all the way to Germany to make a deal with him. However, Park remains stubborn.

We all know that the world is more and more affected by consumerism, where people are looking for cheaper products. Park responded to this consumerism and moved his plants to Indonesia to bring down prices. As a result, Cort bass guitars remain very competitive. Park's decision may have been rational in the business world. However, I find his actions to be a violation to humanity. If it wasn't for those Korean workers who wasted their life for Park and his Cort bass, he would not be where he is now. If Park had any morsel of humanity in him, he would be treating those workers with thankfulness and respect. But he has chosen to be rich over to be human. If those workers were given enough care, they may have turned into professional luthiers and possibly Cort could have been a high end bass guitar company like Warwick.

I always had wanted to buy a Cort bass guitar, especially Cort bass A4. Now I'm supporting the Cort boycott movement, and I'm spreading the word to persuade other people to support it as well. If you want a cheap and a good bass guitar, Cort is one of the best choices. But think about those rejected workers before buying a Cort. I really don't like the idea that music is becoming corrupted with money and consumerism. What about you?

Let's all boycott Cort bass guitars for the workers!

Cort bass Curbow Series | Curbow 4, Curbow 4FL, Curbow 5

One of the best selling series of Cort bass : The Cort Curbow series.

This is what the Cort bass's official website has to say about the Curbow series.

"Bass Evolution
Curbow series has a distinctive design developed in collaboration with Greg Curbow. With a resonant Luthite body, Ebonol fingerboard and Active Bartolini System with built in "Slap Switch," the Curbow delivers an origianl bass tone."

Also some more word about the Ebonol fingerboard on Cort Curbow bass:
"The Ebonol fingerboard is a composite material that is sturdy yielding a bright oval tone. The Curbow's distinctive tone with sturdy Ebonol fingerboard has found its way into many studios and gigs with its reliability."

And here we have the different bass guitars from the Cort Curbow series:

Curbow 5








Curbow 4FL








Curbow 4

Artisan C4 | Cort Bass Guitar Review

Cort Artisan C4 review - A 'gig-able' bass guitar at its cheapest

Why do we all play bass guitars? I mean, we want to play in front of people, right? But if you want to play in a gig, your bass guitar needs a minimum standard to make sure that the bass guitar won't let you down.

Cort C4 is just another typical Cort bass guitar - cheap but excellent quality. If you want to play in a gig, but your bass guitar is not up to the task, maybe you should consider upgrading it to Cort C4. Compared to its quality, Cort C4 goes as cheap as you can go, around $300.

Cort C4 has a 2 band EQ pre-amp on it, so during a gig, you can change how your bass guitar sounds with ease. Also, when playing in a gig, its horrible when your bass guitar goes out of tune - Cort C4, with its solid tuners, won't let you down. Maybe you aren't happy with the fact that there's no control for middle frequency - Cort C4 instead has a mid-boost switch to take care of that.

Although being in the lowest of the Artisan bass guitar series, this bass guitar is far from having low quality. If you are rather short on cash, but have a burning desire to play in a gig, go for Cort C4. This bass guitar will not let you down.

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