Cort Artisan Space 5 SDB

I have been playing bass for about 13 years, but at some points in my life I had long breaks. About 1.5 years ago I started playing a lot (over 100 songs during this period) and so I decided to get a better instrument. At that time I had a 4-string short scale Gretsch - it was very light and comfortable, but in some songs I had to play in low tunings, and even Drop D is a challenge for a short scale bass. So I bought a big 35" 5-string Schecter with EMG pickups. I loved the sound and design, but the bass was too long (it didn't fit in the trunk of most cars), and heavy - it weighed about 4.5 kilos and after 10 songs at a concert my lower back was "begging for mercy". In addition, this bass was only active, and also required two batteries, and once at the very beginning of a rehearsal it died and I spent about half an hour to get to the store, buy and change the batteries (and this also required a screwdriver!). Because of all this, I decided to find a bass that suited me better.

Completely by accident I saw the announcement of the Kort Spase 5 on YouTube, then the first reviews appeared and I immediately placed an order for Thomann, which I did not regret.

Pros:
- lightweight (3.5 kg) - the back does not get tired at all;
- short, because there is no head - I feel very mobile on stage;
- there is absolutely no neck diving;
- the neck is very comfortable;
- quite high-quality and very comfortable case included;
- when you take the guitar out of the case, the neck smells smoked - I really like it :) Perhaps this is due to the fact that the neck is made of roasted maple;
- the bass can be passive, which can save you during a concert if the battery suddenly runs out.
- the distance between the strings is optimal for me - both at the nut and at the bridge (18 mm);
- the sound is interesting; with a slight overdrive, The Pot by Tool sounds phenomenal!

Cons:
- the sound is dark; it's hard to explain, for some songs you want a different, more sonorous and readable sound, which this bass cannot produce.
- the E string of the set of strings that were installed from the factory broke within the first week after purchase. I think this does not say anything about the quality of the strings or the bass, I was just unlucky, but it was unpleasant.

As you can understand, the number of pros is much greater than the cons. The cons with the sound can be fixed by replacing the pickups, which I will do in the near future - I have already bought Delano humbuckers and plan to make a coil switch (in single mode they give exactly the bright sound that I sometimes need).

I would also like to compare this bass with a series of headless basses from a well-known Japanese company - they cost $250-300 more and have very similar pickups with the same dark sound. In addition, they look more boring (in my opinion), if we are talking about entry-level instruments, and a good-looking variety with Poplar Burl costs twice as much as this bass.

Overall, I am happy with the instrument as is and hopefully it will become perfect after replacing the pickups.

I bought the bass for 3 hour giggs where an 11 lb bass is just too much. This bass has it all, light weight, pro sound and a great look. It has a killer finish, no head dive and smooth and level frets including a zero fret so open strings are a delight. Some people have comments about bart PUs as a selection however in this case the PUs with the pre amp provide everything from crisp highs to tight mid and bass combinations. I can get everything from "modern" to classic tone .The neck is really a joy to play with the right feel and string spacings. I think it would still be a great buy at twice the price especially as it come with a really nice bespoke gig bag. Only critisim, the facory setup was a little on the safe side, neck relief and intonation were good however the action out of the factory was a little high even for a new instrument. The bass comes with a full set of hex including one for the metal control knobs so a 15 min set up got the bass playing exactly the way I like it. I have no reason to promote the bass, just wanted to highlight this instrument as a great option for the musician playing a lot of giggs, I have looked around and thi s is a great solution at probaly half the price of similar headless options. I have played the Cort A series basses and I believe this compares in quality and durability so all round one of my better decisions!

I'm aware that if I start including other brand names in this review it won't be cleared to post. That said, it is no secret that the manufacturer of this mighty fine example of their well known work is of VALUE! I'm totally loving everything about this bass. The top is a thicker layer of Burl Poplar with beautiful lines carved into the edges for a binding kind of look like I've never seen. The hardware is also awesome. Thanks for the stock MK1 Bartolini Pickups. Another good choice. One more thing and I'll let you be. This bass required very little set up out of the box. I truly am unable to say that about most of even the highest end basses that I have purchased.

I got the bass yesterday so this is a first impression review which i will propably update later on:

The bass arrived in good shape with the included gig bag and tools for setup (hex keys). The soft bag is usable with sufficient padding and comfortable straps. Zippers and material feel a bit cheap though.

Out of the box the bass was set up pretty good with string height under 2mm. Fit and finish were flawless and i couldn't find any gaps, dings, blemishes or unwanted inconsitencies...

The bass looks like on the pictures with matte finish that highlight the characteristics of the top. The back i s colored with solid matte black so the wood underneath is invisible. Because of that the body doesn't really have the natural wood feel but it feels more artificial.

The laminated neck and roasted maple fingerbord are unfinished and feel smooth. The neck is broad, medium thick and pretty flat in the middle. Frets are polished, no sharp fret ends allthough the frets are not rounded off. They seem to be medium sized in height and width. Fret leveling was good - not perfect; there were som high spots but not many and nothing that cause fret buzz. On the zero fret i needed to bend (press down) the strings a bit so they stay closer to the fingerboard.
Neck relieve was as i prefer slightly bend.

The tuners do a great job and feel solid, i think it is easier to tune with them compare to standard tuners.
The bridge saddles ar not my favourite type since they are clamped in place with a screw that pushes outwars. This screw is hard to reach when the strings are in tune. So it is a bit harder to adjust intonation and i don't know if the screw pressure deforms the individual bridge riders over time. However i was able to obtain the setup that i was striving for i.e. low string height that follow the fretboard radius and good intonation.
The bass came with a battery installed. The battery compartment sits in a spot where it might be prone to get damaged by belt buckles.
I didn't check the electronics department but the bass has active and passive mode. In passive mode there are no tone shape options. Only volyme and pickup balance. I like that there is no big volume drop when switching from active to passive. Passive sound is quite growly and active even with eq set flat sounds fuller and more hi-fi.
The active EQ is musically in a way that the frequecies are chosen well. It is not too powerfull ande even the most extreme settings are still usable. That also means that there is a limited flexibility to shape your tone, but all in all it is quite versatile.
I need to wait until i hear how it sounds with older strings. The strings it came with seemed to be nickle plated steel and they sound and feel good. The lower strings have a nice hollow quality to them and the B string sounds big and deep. The clang of the higher strings could not be dialed out with the electronics.

Overall the bass is lightweight and well balanced on the strap, howerver sitting down without a strap leads to the bass to tip outwards (neck goes up). So if that is a bother one might consider positioning the bass more like a classical guitar. Otherwise i find it to be very ergonomic.

All in all the instrment met my expectations. It was according to description and the build quality and fit and finsish was flawless.

If i could wish for something to improve it would be a smarter and more solid bridge. I would have liked to feel the wood a bit more.
I am not sure how to take care of this finish and i will reach out to the customer service to ask about that (oil fingerboard? wax body? what is the best way to treat the body).

I payed around 850€ and i think that is a very reasonable price.