Cort Action DLX AS OPN Bass Guitar: Stripped back to basics
A versatile, stripped back modern bass on a budget?
Cort has just announced the Action DLX AS OPN bass guitar. The new model is made to a budget and doesn’t have much in the way of bling. But is that a strength or a weakness?
Back to basics
The Cort Action DLX AS OPN has a stripped back, modern look and features an unfinished Swamp Ash body with a 34″ Canadian hard maple neck that has a rosewood fretboard. The OPN supposedly stands for Open Pore Natural, so expect the finish to either age nicely or, perhaps, just get dirty.
Either way, you’ll either love or hate that lack of finish. I quite like it, as it makes for a blank canvas that over time will become more personalised as it picks up wear and marks.
Versatile
With an onboard Markbass MB-1 EQ and two modern PDX soap bar pickups, this bass can be run in either active or passive modes. The three-band EQ should give you lots of control over your tone as well. If you need a versatile instrument, these options should let you coax many usable tones from this instrument.
It’s a utilitarian looking bass and lacks perhaps some of the classic looks of other basses on the market at this price point. However, I also think it could make for a good solid instrument and if you are the kind of player that needs to cover a lot of bases (excuse the pun) then it could be the perfect bass for you.
Cort makes some quality instruments for reasonable money and so this new model fits well into that idea. It may not set the world on fire, but I suspect it can hold its own against many other basses in this price range.
RRP $499
Full specifications on the Cort Action DLX AS OPN can be found here