Guys. I was so much in love with the looks of this single cut A5 bass that just came out. I just bought it. I have it now. Sounds absolutely great. But... Build quality was a very very big disappointment. Neck could not be set straight, Its also slightly torqued plus the truss rod was maxed out. The symmetry of the bass was terrible. The holes to stick the strings through were way out of the middle. The bridge was not in the middle by a few mm's and the low B could not be intonated properly. The Hipshot bridge could not be set far enough back to keep it intonated at the 24th frett. There was also a scratch under the bartolini paper card covering the part of the knobs and the black scratch was under the lacquer. The Fretts were sticking out and are really sharp scratching my fingers. The shop that sold it to me had great service though. The Luthier working in the shop checked out the bass guitar. He said this is probably an example that should never have left the factory. He confirmed that the neck could not be set straight and that the truss rod was already maxed out. The shop ordered a new one for me at the main importer. They had a normal A5 available in the store and that example was very symmetrically build. But i want the single cut version since sound was really much more mature than the double cut standard A5. Maybe i had incredibly bad luck with mine now. I'm waiting for the new one to arrive.(4 June??)That one I will have set up properly in the store. I think Cort has some serious quality problems in the first produced single cut versions. Something i never expected from a brand that famous and experienced in building guitars and basses. What I can say about the sound though is that it really really sounds great. It sings forever. The sustain is just insane and the low B is tight as a virgin pussy. If i get a proper example i will set it up properly and review it here on youtube. My one might have been screwed but i'm pretty sure it was an exemplary problem. The shop Luthier confirmed that Cort almost never had such problems in the past before.. Maybe the model is too new and the production is not yet optimized?? The fact that the alignment of the bridge and string holes was about 5mm out of center (middle of the panga panga stripes) does suggest that the molds used in the factory are probably rubbish. Who knows!? If i get the new one ill keep you guys informed about the quality. Cheers.
You will get a decent one. I got mine. Intonated out of the box except for b string. But quick fix solved it. I love it. Neck is fine. Either that or i didnt inspect it enough. Love the bass.
@@Learnquranwithfaris good to hear that. I am still waiting. New delivery is prosponed to half juli. Rediculous that they are that rare and hard to get in Europe. The Frets on my one are very very sharp and really stick out and cut in my fingers. How are your frets? Sharp or fine? About the sound i guess we both agree that its a monster.. haha
@@Learnquranwithfaris i got my new one.. still not good.. it is build more symmetrically, the trussrod is fully adjustable this time and doesn't max out before its actually straight. Also the frets arent sharp and don't stick out this time. So far it is better than the first A5 SC that i got... sound is exactly the same(great) But.. the low B can not be intonated correctly. And there were 2 new A5 SC basses available in the store.. My first exemple and the other 2 new ones could not be intonated as well.. even when the bridge saddle in longest position. At the 24th fret it even went all the way to a low tuned C on the tuner!! That is rediculous! The lutier at the shop checked the measurements. He said that the bridge was positioned correctly but that the low B simply needed more length than the hipshot bridge could offer.. he also mentioned that if the bridge would be set a bit angled it could solve the problem. At this point I am so fed up with it that I really don't believe that there it even one single Cort A5 plus SC out there that actually can be intonated correctly! I took the bass home and decided that i will modd the bridge by adding a screw hole further in the back to lock the B string Saddle.. To all the owners of a Cort A5 plus SC: Can you check your bass for B string intonation? Do you know how to check intonation?? Its simple: tune a low B. Then check if its still in tune at 12th fret and 24 th fret. If its getting higher pitched, move the saddle back and make the string longer. I bet all A5 SC basses have the same problem. It can't simply be a problem that only occures on all examples that my supplier got. Can you please check and report it here? Any other owners of Cort A5 basses can do the same.. i bet they are all the same.. I invite Cort themselves to react on this problem. Its not unique to me since all employees in the shop confirmed that the low B's could not be intonated. Ohh and there was one other thing I noticed.. both new A5 SC basses that were in the store had a kind of scratch dent in the back just where the neck flows over in to the body. Both exemples had this in exactly the same place so it must be production related. However the first one I had with all the problems did not have that problem. Probably there are more exemples out there who have this dent..
@@milkolippe7473 Thanks for highlighting all these. At minute 3:17 we could literally see, that the string thru holes are not spaced out evenly.... oh dear.... I was considering to get this bass second hand, but it seems that it's not worth the saving if the build quality is this terrible, and I need to check so many things (which is quite impossible when buying second hand from someone).
@@milkolippe7473 Hey, I wonder if all of these things have now been seen to by Cort, now 4 years later? I'm transitioning from drums to bass guitar and doing some research. The A5 plus is just within my price range. Are there any other alternatives in this price range? Round about 650-700 Euro? I was looking at an Ibanez BTB745 or possibly a Yamaha trbx605.
Great bass! I strung mine E to C and added a Hipshot D-tuner. I have quite of few instruments, but this one is my main! Still finding out what strings work the best, but that's work in progress. Hope to see an up-to-date version of this bass in the future... 😊 Maybe 32", 16mm bridge spacing, Nordstrand pickups, .... just saying. haha
I love this bass' sound but I wish that you'd get the manufacturing better than what the reports have been of the first batch of these single cuts. Gonna save up for one of these.
By the way. Active and passive was other way round in this vid. In my A5 SC its passive when the switch is up and active when the switch is down. I think you mixed it up in the vid. Also sounded like other way round.
mine too... the video messed me up for a minute, but seeing your comment balanced me out. The switch going backward is significantly more open sounding with better tonality.
Mainly the fanned frets. However string tension will likely be different as well. And top woods are different. Also instead of a one piece bridge the fan fret version has individual bridge pieces for each string so that each string can reach the correct length. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same by the sounds of it. All version are absolutely gorgeous though.
Be ware with these basses. I love the sound. It is absolutely the best sounding bass out there. Even compared to much more expensive basses.. but: these basses have serious production problems. The first example I got had 1-a maxed out truss rod before the neck could be set straight, 2-very sharp frets sticking out scratching your fingers, 3-was build totally out of its own centerline. Meaning the bridge and holes to stick the strings through were about 5 mm out of center and making it look rather cheap and silly.. Most annoyingly problem 4- The low B string could not be intonated correctly. Even when setting the saddle in longest position the properly tuned B in open position was pitched too high at the 12th fret and even showed as a low tuned C at the 24th fret! That is really bad! The first one was send back. After waiting 4 months the shop finally received 2 new ones to choose from. Those were already better. Problem 1 to 3 were solved on those new exemples but problem 4(not being able to correctly intonate the B string) remained. Apparently this problem is common to these Cort A5 Plus SC basses. And is unforgivable. The lutier working in the store checked the bass and confirmed that the bridge was maxed out and low B still was too high at 12th and 24th fret. Only proper solution would be a modification of the hipshot bridge. Drilling and tapping an extra hole to be able to adjust the B saddle further back. But who looks forward to extra work when you buy a bass for 900 Euros?? Even Chinese basses that cost one third can be intonated correctly. They just don't sound or look as good. I definately believe that there is not one Cort A5 plus SC Bass out there that can be intonated correctly. Then we noticed an other small quality problem: 5-Both the new basses in the store had a small dent inwards at the back where the neck fluently flows over in to the body. Just under the small visible piece of top wood. Since both basses in the store had the exact same damage I am absolutely sure it is production related. I want to ask other owners and reviewers to check these problems and report it here as well. Also I want to ask Cort to personally respond on this. Since it is their own quality issue they need to solve with us owners..The main importer cant solve it. Since they not control production. I am a mechanical engineer and know a lot about production and QC. Im pretty sure this is a bad example. The charm of this bass is the insanely good looks and sound rumble. Not build quality. Im pretty sure Cort can do better.. even in the Indonesian factory. th-cam.com/video/RWxK2GS-dvU/w-d-xo.html
Got one a year ago. She's beautiful and sounds great.
I can hear warwick!
I am proud that I am using Cort C5 open pore! - from Philippines...
Dear Cort. What did you do to correct Milko's problems ??
Guys. I was so much in love with the looks of this single cut A5 bass that just came out. I just bought it. I have it now. Sounds absolutely great. But... Build quality was a very very big disappointment. Neck could not be set straight, Its also slightly torqued plus the truss rod was maxed out. The symmetry of the bass was terrible. The holes to stick the strings through were way out of the middle. The bridge was not in the middle by a few mm's and the low B could not be intonated properly. The Hipshot bridge could not be set far enough back to keep it intonated at the 24th frett. There was also a scratch under the bartolini paper card covering the part of the knobs and the black scratch was under the lacquer. The Fretts were sticking out and are really sharp scratching my fingers. The shop that sold it to me had great service though. The Luthier working in the shop checked out the bass guitar. He said this is probably an example that should never have left the factory. He confirmed that the neck could not be set straight and that the truss rod was already maxed out. The shop ordered a new one for me at the main importer. They had a normal A5 available in the store and that example was very symmetrically build. But i want the single cut version since sound was really much more mature than the double cut standard A5. Maybe i had incredibly bad luck with mine now. I'm waiting for the new one to arrive.(4 June??)That one I will have set up properly in the store. I think Cort has some serious quality problems in the first produced single cut versions. Something i never expected from a brand that famous and experienced in building guitars and basses. What I can say about the sound though is that it really really sounds great. It sings forever. The sustain is just insane and the low B is tight as a virgin pussy. If i get a proper example i will set it up properly and review it here on youtube. My one might have been screwed but i'm pretty sure it was an exemplary problem. The shop Luthier confirmed that Cort almost never had such problems in the past before.. Maybe the model is too new and the production is not yet optimized?? The fact that the alignment of the bridge and string holes was about 5mm out of center (middle of the panga panga stripes) does suggest that the molds used in the factory are probably rubbish. Who knows!? If i get the new one ill keep you guys informed about the quality. Cheers.
You will get a decent one. I got mine. Intonated out of the box except for b string. But quick fix solved it. I love it. Neck is fine. Either that or i didnt inspect it enough. Love the bass.
@@Learnquranwithfaris good to hear that. I am still waiting. New delivery is prosponed to half juli. Rediculous that they are that rare and hard to get in Europe. The Frets on my one are very very sharp and really stick out and cut in my fingers. How are your frets? Sharp or fine? About the sound i guess we both agree that its a monster.. haha
@@Learnquranwithfaris i got my new one.. still not good.. it is build more symmetrically, the trussrod is fully adjustable this time and doesn't max out before its actually straight. Also the frets arent sharp and don't stick out this time. So far it is better than the first A5 SC that i got... sound is exactly the same(great) But.. the low B can not be intonated correctly. And there were 2 new A5 SC basses available in the store.. My first exemple and the other 2 new ones could not be intonated as well.. even when the bridge saddle in longest position. At the 24th fret it even went all the way to a low tuned C on the tuner!! That is rediculous! The lutier at the shop checked the measurements. He said that the bridge was positioned correctly but that the low B simply needed more length than the hipshot bridge could offer.. he also mentioned that if the bridge would be set a bit angled it could solve the problem. At this point I am so fed up with it that I really don't believe that there it even one single Cort A5 plus SC out there that actually can be intonated correctly! I took the bass home and decided that i will modd the bridge by adding a screw hole further in the back to lock the B string Saddle.. To all the owners of a Cort A5 plus SC: Can you check your bass for B string intonation? Do you know how to check intonation?? Its simple: tune a low B. Then check if its still in tune at 12th fret and 24 th fret. If its getting higher pitched, move the saddle back and make the string longer. I bet all A5 SC basses have the same problem. It can't simply be a problem that only occures on all examples that my supplier got. Can you please check and report it here? Any other owners of Cort A5 basses can do the same.. i bet they are all the same.. I invite Cort themselves to react on this problem. Its not unique to me since all employees in the shop confirmed that the low B's could not be intonated. Ohh and there was one other thing I noticed.. both new A5 SC basses that were in the store had a kind of scratch dent in the back just where the neck flows over in to the body. Both exemples had this in exactly the same place so it must be production related. However the first one I had with all the problems did not have that problem. Probably there are more exemples out there who have this dent..
@@milkolippe7473 Thanks for highlighting all these. At minute 3:17 we could literally see, that the string thru holes are not spaced out evenly.... oh dear.... I was considering to get this bass second hand, but it seems that it's not worth the saving if the build quality is this terrible, and I need to check so many things (which is quite impossible when buying second hand from someone).
@@milkolippe7473 Hey, I wonder if all of these things have now been seen to by Cort, now 4 years later? I'm transitioning from drums to bass guitar and doing some research. The A5 plus is just within my price range. Are there any other alternatives in this price range? Round about 650-700 Euro? I was looking at an Ibanez BTB745 or possibly a Yamaha trbx605.
Great bass! I strung mine E to C and added a Hipshot D-tuner. I have quite of few instruments, but this one is my main! Still finding out what strings work the best, but that's work in progress. Hope to see an up-to-date version of this bass in the future... 😊 Maybe 32", 16mm bridge spacing, Nordstrand pickups, .... just saying. haha
What's this song he played in the beginning?
I love this bass' sound but I wish that you'd get the manufacturing better than what the reports have been of the first batch of these single cuts. Gonna save up for one of these.
Why does this version seem to sound so much better than the ibanez version with the exact same pickups?
Really nice bass. Do you have it in the six strings model? that would be great.
No. Only 5
However the 6 string A6 is a great monster as well.
Milko Lippe thank you for your reply.
By the way. Active and passive was other way round in this vid. In my A5 SC its passive when the switch is up and active when the switch is down. I think you mixed it up in the vid. Also sounded like other way round.
mine too... the video messed me up for a minute, but seeing your comment balanced me out. The switch going backward is significantly more open sounding with better tonality.
Is it possible to play this bass without the battery in passive mode?? mine, it cant
@@dinodhmaddumage3880 no you cant.. signal is aparently still running through an op amp. No battery no noise on mine.
A four string with just passive pickups would do it for me.
Sounds amazing ! But what's the difference between a5 plus scms? Is it only in fanned frets ?
Mainly the fanned frets. However string tension will likely be different as well. And top woods are different. Also instead of a one piece bridge the fan fret version has individual bridge pieces for each string so that each string can reach the correct length. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same by the sounds of it. All version are absolutely gorgeous though.
Be ware with these basses. I love the sound. It is absolutely the best sounding bass out there. Even compared to much more expensive basses.. but: these basses have serious production problems. The first example I got had 1-a maxed out truss rod before the neck could be set straight, 2-very sharp frets sticking out scratching your fingers, 3-was build totally out of its own centerline. Meaning the bridge and holes to stick the strings through were about 5 mm out of center and making it look rather cheap and silly.. Most annoyingly problem 4- The low B string could not be intonated correctly. Even when setting the saddle in longest position the properly tuned B in open position was pitched too high at the 12th fret and even showed as a low tuned C at the 24th fret! That is really bad! The first one was send back. After waiting 4 months the shop finally received 2 new ones to choose from. Those were already better. Problem 1 to 3 were solved on those new exemples but problem 4(not being able to correctly intonate the B string) remained. Apparently this problem is common to these Cort A5 Plus SC basses. And is unforgivable. The lutier working in the store checked the bass and confirmed that the bridge was maxed out and low B still was too high at 12th and 24th fret. Only proper solution would be a modification of the hipshot bridge. Drilling and tapping an extra hole to be able to adjust the B saddle further back. But who looks forward to extra work when you buy a bass for 900 Euros?? Even Chinese basses that cost one third can be intonated correctly. They just don't sound or look as good. I definately believe that there is not one Cort A5 plus SC Bass out there that can be intonated correctly. Then we noticed an other small quality problem: 5-Both the new basses in the store had a small dent inwards at the back where the neck fluently flows over in to the body. Just under the small visible piece of top wood. Since both basses in the store had the exact same damage I am absolutely sure it is production related. I want to ask other owners and reviewers to check these problems and report it here as well.
Also I want to ask Cort to personally respond on this. Since it is their own quality issue they need to solve with us owners..The main importer cant solve it. Since they not control production. I am a mechanical engineer and know a lot about production and QC. Im pretty sure this is a bad example. The charm of this bass is the insanely good looks and sound rumble. Not build quality. Im pretty sure Cort can do better.. even in the Indonesian factory. th-cam.com/video/RWxK2GS-dvU/w-d-xo.html