# MTD Kingston vs Cort?



## cip 123 (Jul 6, 2017)

Hey there,

I'm looking at a new bass, I took a few years off focusing on guitar for my degree but I'm getting back in to bass since it's actually my first instrument and I love playing it just not had the time.

The electronics on my current bass are completley broken just now so figured it'd be best to just get a new bass since I'm giving it some proper attention now. 

I love maple boards so I found the MTD Kingston KZ5 - http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/MTD_KZ5_Cherry_MP.html







But I've also been looking at Cort's. A lot of their basses have some proper bartolini pickups, Hipsot bridges and tuners, for a lower price and was wondering if it'd be better going with them?

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_B5_PLus_OPN.html






http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_A5_PLus_OPN.html






I'm asking here, as the time I took away from Bass I know guitar specs but not much about bass since I never really looked for what I wanted. I like 5 strings. On guitar I like maple, as rosewood never really feels right under my fingers, but I know on bass you feel the fretboard a bit less due to the strings. 

I wasn't intentionally looking for name brand pickups or anything, I just liked the look of the MTD and felt it would inspire me to play a bit more, I've got a kemper so a good tone should never be far away. 

If anyone could just give me some input on quality, experiences, anything that would help me? I feel I'm an okay player on bass, but with the time spent on guitar I just know nothing about what I should be looking for on bass.

Cheers!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 6, 2017)

IIRC The Bart MK1s in the Cort AREN'T USA-made like the regular ones. They're still solid from what I've heard, though. It's just the MK-1 preamp that's bad.


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## cip 123 (Jul 6, 2017)

Ah thats new to me thanks for that! Cort do also do one with MK1 pups but a MarkBass preamp, again no idea what it's like.


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## dax21 (Jul 7, 2017)

+1 on getting a bass that you find visually appealing and that will make you want to pick it up every day when you see it. Very important.
With that being said, that MTD looks pretty killer. In that price range I would personally go for a Warwick, but that is my taste. On Warwicks you can raise/tilt both the bridge and the nut, which helps if very low action is important to you. Also, don't be afraid to check out used basses.

Corts are cheaper instruments and you won't see many of those around played by other bass players. Not saying they sound worse necessarily, just that you will have a lot harder time trying to sell it later than you would some other brands.


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## Mwoit (Jul 7, 2017)

If you're based in the UK, check basschat.co.uk second hand classified as you can find a good bass for a decent price if you don't mind used.

Also bassdirect are great and I've used their under 25 0% interest payback schemes and they've been fantastic.


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## cip 123 (Jul 7, 2017)

I would normally go used, however in my current situation I'm going for a finance plan. It helps me pay it off easier, plus with more time to pay off I can look at spending a bit more. £800 for the Kingston really is my top end.


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## dr_game0ver (Jul 7, 2017)

For the money, i'd go fot this http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/TRB1005J.html
or that http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_GB5_Custom.html
or if you can get some spare coins from behind the couch, http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Warwick_Streamer_LX_5.html


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## A-Branger (Jul 7, 2017)

I would go with the MTD because looks far better. If you dont like the pickups/electronics you can swap those down the line, dont think there would be nothing wrong with them to be honest


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## NickS (Jul 7, 2017)

dr_game0ver said:


> For the money, i'd go fot this http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/TRB1005J.html
> or that http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Cort_GB5_Custom.html
> or if you can get some spare coins from behind the couch, http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Warwick_Streamer_LX_5.html



Out of everything mentioned so far, I would go with that Yamaha.


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## cip 123 (Jul 7, 2017)

NickS said:


> Out of everything mentioned so far, I would go with that Yamaha.


Why?


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## NickS (Jul 7, 2017)

I am just generally a fan of Yamaha's build quality and features, more so than either of the other two brands. Plus, I think it looks pretty great too.


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## cip 123 (Jul 11, 2017)

Update on this: Just went ahead with the MTD, received it the day after (very quick delivery from Bass Direct) However the lower strap button has been damaged, pushed in to the body. The frets are also very rough, I can feel every one on the bass side and on the treble side every single one is sharp. Just for those looking at MTD's this is my experience out the box.


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## GenghisCoyne (Jul 11, 2017)

cip 123 said:


> Update on this: Just went ahead with the MTD, received it the day after (very quick delivery from Bass Direct) However the lower strap button has been damaged, pushed in to the body. The frets are also very rough, I can feel every one on the bass side and on the treble side every single one is sharp. Just for those looking at MTD's this is my experience out the box.



im really sorry to hear about that, i have the 6 string version of your bass (same color and fretboard) and had the exact same issue with the frets. i had a luthier fix them a year after i bought it and still every spring i get 1 or 2 i have to touch up. after thats taken care of its definitely my daily driver though.


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## cip 123 (Jul 11, 2017)

GenghisCoyne said:


> im really sorry to hear about that, i have the 6 string version of your bass (same color and fretboard) and had the exact same issue with the frets. i had a luthier fix them a year after i bought it and still every spring i get 1 or 2 i have to touch up. after thats taken care of its definitely my daily driver though.


I'll just have to fix the button myself, I was surprised after hearing people rave about the quality of these MTD basses. Those frets were unusual, in fact my old Harley Benton can honestly stand up to it in terms of playability. In other quality terms the MTD trumps it. It took a bit of getting used too but now I'm a couple hours in I feel I understand the MTD a bit better. It has a wider fretboard, and different pickup positions which kinda threw me off for a while. The sound I still haven't gotten down, it still sounds kinda hollow in a bad way. With the broken button I can't play with a strap but due to the very very light body I can only assume there will be some horrible neck dive given the weight of the neck. I like the bass, but I am in the back of my mind wondering how the Cort's would've faired in comparison.


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## cip 123 (Jul 11, 2017)

Couple more words since I can't edit my last post. I contacted Bass Direct after looking at the strap button more closely and finding a crack in the finish. They said they'd order a new one and I could keep this one till it gets sorted. Top level service from them on this, Mark there is a delight to deal with.


On the Bass itself. Quality - I'm not really that impressed.

I like the bass, it looks great, it's something I want to pick up and it feels nice to play. That said, crack in the finish, sharp frets, I'd find it hard to say it's 5x better than my cheap Chinese bass, which costs nearly 5x less.

That said it's comfortable enough for me to happily wait, and take a new one. Once I got the tone dialed in it's sounding pretty huge. I'm sure as I break it in more(or the new one) I'll feel better about it. But like I said not blown away by it, if I knew this going in, honestly would probably have gone with a Cort.

However the Cort isn't this gorgeous Cherry colour, And this MTD just begs to be picked up when I look at it!


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## A-Branger (Jul 11, 2017)

what bass you previously had? basses sound depends a lot fo the pickup config, so maybe thats why you arent used to. MTD supposed to be superb but the hand made ones but those are like extremele high price, no idea how much of quality goes down into this factory made ones.

I was gonna say to ditch the strap buttons and get yourself a dimarzio straplock. Best solution and the best lock strap out there by miles. But seems the store is getting you covered so awesome service from them.

See how the new one comes wiht the frets. Every instrument can be made to play miles better by having a real settup/fret dressing by a pro. Judging by the price and your current experience, seems the QC on these is not that high/precise, nothing a good luthier can fix


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## ImBCRichBitch (Jul 11, 2017)

A bit late, but the B5 is n amazing bass. id buy one if i could find em. i played one in a prior band. I swore by it


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## cip 123 (Jul 12, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> what bass you previously had? basses sound depends a lot fo the pickup config, so maybe thats why you arent used to. MTD supposed to be superb but the hand made ones but those are like extremele high price, no idea how much of quality goes down into this factory made ones.
> 
> I was gonna say to ditch the strap buttons and get yourself a dimarzio straplock. Best solution and the best lock strap out there by miles. But seems the store is getting you covered so awesome service from them.
> 
> See how the new one comes wiht the frets. Every instrument can be made to play miles better by having a real settup/fret dressing by a pro. Judging by the price and your current experience, seems the QC on these is not that high/precise, nothing a good luthier can fix




I had a Harley Benton HBZ-2005, though truth be told I can't remember how it sounded plugged in as the electronics gave in a long time ago.

I would ditch the strap buttons but the rear one was pushed in at such an angle any new button is going to sit weird, also not fill me with confidence with my bass hanging from it. 

I understand the QC issues but still, it's £850, I shouldn't have to be paying for a setup right out the gate. Basically what In feel you're paying for with this bass is features and design.


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## Grand Moff Tim (Jul 12, 2017)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> IIRC The Bart MK1s in the Cort AREN'T USA-made like the regular ones. *They're still solid from what I've heard*, though.



Stay far away from whomever you heard that from, Jazzy. They don't care about you. They're full of hatred and lies.


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## auntyethel (Jul 13, 2017)

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Stay far away from whomever you heard that from, Jazzy. They don't care about you. They're full of hatred and lies.



Second! I had a Cort A6 with MK1s, really good build quality for the price, awful electrics. No matter what, I couldn't get any thump into it. Such a dull, uninspired sound.


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## LordCashew (Jul 14, 2017)

I played a Kingston Z6 in a store years ago. The one I played was very well set up and had a great neck. Like yours, it had a very light body. The clear finish looked a bit low-budget but I didn't notice any sharp fret ends or anything. It was also quite bright sounding but I felt it lacked punch in the low mids. Overall, I was pretty impressed for the price.

Hoping everything gets sorted for you!


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## giantchris (Aug 4, 2017)

I've had a Kingston Z4 for years it plays fantastic but to get the sounds I wanted I had to upgrade the preamp and the pickups. The preamp is pure garbage but once you upgrade it its pretty incredible and the neck is so easy to play. I put an EMG preamp and Nordstrand Big Singles in mine and it sounds pretty amazing.


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## rob_707 (Aug 5, 2017)

i own a cort bass ch4 i think the model is, it has a wenge neck and two huge humbucker active pickups, as for sound wise its very throaty and has a pretty good growl to it.
iv always played warwick rockbasses back in the day when i had more time, and am now getting back into it.
to be honest i like the sound of the cort a bit better, only because of the wenge neck, the warwick rockbasses that i have played were all maple. still sounded good but not what i was going for.


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## cip 123 (Aug 9, 2017)

UPDATE: Received my new KZ5 today. Fit and Finish is much better on this, the frets are all nice everything plays smooth. To top it off BassDirect sent it in a hardcase this time round! I didn't ask for it and wasn't charged. It does look like a used one but who the hell cares it's a hiscox case. Outstanding customer service from these guys, if you need any bass equipment head to them. They just go the extra mile, even answer emails when it would seem like out of hours.

http://bassdirect.co.uk/

Might post an NGD thread if I get round to it with pics.


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## Iron Beard (Aug 28, 2017)

I can't comment on the cort basses but I love both my mtd basses.


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