Cort Curbow opinions?

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MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
I'm thinking of picking one up as they seem to be dirt cheap second-hand, and I like the idea of a small, lightweight active bass as a spare/alternative to my Spector which I love, but it's a bit of a beast when it comes to playing slightly technical stuff at rehearsals for 3 hours or so at a time. I usually go for a fat, slightly compressed tone and either play with fingers or a pick if I need to do stuff with fast attack; no slapping or funk from me. Anyone got any opinions or experience? Thanks!
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Comments

  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7735
    I doesn't do fat naturally like a P, you can boost the bass with the EQ however it does sound quite "active" at that point, more of a modern sound. It is very light & easy to play though. 

    If you have more cash the Lakland skyline 44-01 has a very easy neck and nice tones.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    What about a Precision Lyte active? Bit more money but lightweight and fat tonez with a nice onboard EQ?
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    edited April 2017
    Also check out an Ibanez SR.  They're usually pretty light and the necks on them are pretty small compared to a lot of basses which should be easy to play technically on.  Active electronics and quite a big range of models to choose from.

    Though the first thing that sprung to mind was a Jazz bass with a set of EMG Js.  Fatter and more compressed than a passive Jazz but still plenty cutting for technical bass playing, and generally pretty light again with a smaller neck profile.  I'm guessing your Spector will have EMGs anyway
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  • MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
    Thanks for the suggestions guys, I was specifically looking at the Curbow though due to the ~£150 used price tag, and the very very small lightweight body with powerful actives :) As with a lot of bass stuff though, all the demos seem to focus on slap bass...
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    Personally I always found the body shape ugly and too small. No idea how it sounds or plays
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  • Yeah hard to beat £150.

    Slap bass is the pentatonic shred of bass YouTube. 
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23967
    They play well.
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  • blobbblobb Frets: 2914
    very good. I have a fretless 4string bass, wish it had better position markers but that's more because I'm crap on fretless. That's my only criticism, which is nothing really.
    Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
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  • StrangefanStrangefan Frets: 5845
    I had the 5 string  it's a lot of bass for 150 :) 
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    Yeah hard to beat £150.

    Slap bass is the pentatonic shred of bass YouTube. 
    I now instantly stop watching youtube bass gear vids if they start slapping in the first 20 seconds. 

    I now find myself watching hardly any youtube vids of bass gear at all....

    *sigh*
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    As already said they're very small and light and play well, but in my opinion the sound is completely characterless and you just hear the preamp and not the instrument, if that makes sense - although it is also very flexible in terms of EQ.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11414
    Yeah hard to beat £150.

    Slap bass is the pentatonic shred of bass YouTube. 
    I now instantly stop watching youtube bass gear vids if they start slapping in the first 20 seconds. 

    I now find myself watching hardly any youtube vids of bass gear at all....

    *sigh*

    I'm primarily a guitarist, but I'm in the market for a new P style or PJ style bass (or converting my Jazz to PJ configuration) so I've been trying to research what's out there.  It's impossible to find a bass review on Youtube that isn't full of slapping.  Most of them of are no use to me at all.
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  • MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
    edited April 2017
    Update; just scored one on eBay for less than a hundred quid. Will need a string change and a clean up, but at that price was worth a go!
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  • RavenousRavenous Frets: 1484

    Sounds like a decent deal - would be interested to hear what you think once you've played with it for a bit. (I fancy a cheap 4 or 5 at the moment.)

    (We're obviously not expecting it to be 100% alongside your Spector of course!  At least not if you're sensible.)

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  • MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
    So, very early initial impressions;

    Not as lightweight as I expected, but not bad. Lighter than my Spector but probably heavier than my old Yamaha RBX270.

    Neck is nice, very shallow but not skinny. Fretboard radius is very flat too, compared to the Spector. Synthetic fingerboard feels nice and smooth, and the lack of front position markers isn't an issue so far because the side dots are nice and clear.

    Acoustically sounds very very bright and zingy, but plugged in (Vox bass Amplug only, not an amp yet) it sounds tight and a little compressed with strong lower-mid and bass. Treble control adds a little bit of bite but nothing drastic, whereas the bass and mids boost both add loads and loads of bottom end.

    Switchable 'slap' preset actually sounds great and is the best bet if you're after a biting, piano-style ringing bass sound. I haven't got a screwdriver here to adjust the trimpots but I think the slap gain has been set high as there's a huge jump in volume when switching active circuits.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    @MattBanshee  interesting you say it's heavier than your old Yamaha.

    I wonder what the lightest conventional bass is out there?
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963

    I wonder what the lightest conventional bass is out there?
    There are some of those Korean 90s cheapo models - Westfield etc - with small skinny bodies, where I think the neck might actually be heavier than the body :). They also sound like it...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
    @MattBanshee  interesting you say it's heavier than your old Yamaha.

    I wonder what the lightest conventional bass is out there?
    From memory at least; I might be wrong! I haven't played it in quite a while but I'll try to compare them later.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24579
    I feel a basschat question coming on. I'll report back..
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  • MattBansheeMattBanshee Frets: 1498
    Having had some time with the Curbow on a strap, it's a lot lighter than I first thought, and very comfortable to play even when quite high up on a short strap length.
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