The fittings are all top-spec, with the Babicz bridge being an absolute work of art and the matched topwoods being gorgeous to look at. I regularly flip-flop between thinking which bass in my collection I like the most and that seems to change from day to day but the Rithimic is the one that I consistently come back to and it feels like home. On the subject of the Cort Rithimic Jeff Berlin model, I have had one coming up two years now and I believe it's the best instrument I've ever owned or played. Frank Gambale has a signature acoustic guitar with them that looks and sounds outrageous and Jeff Berlin is the leading light on the bass division. The brand is also now getting the attention of some great players. I can remember playing an early second generation Artisan 6 string and being really impressed at what it offered for the price, and had kept my eye on Cort basses since then. As mentioned earlier, Cort have long been a massive ghostbuilder for big brand names and over the past few years they've really started building their own reputation.

Between Cort and Sire, players shopping for £500 basses have some really great options.

I'm not surprised to hear these getting good reviews, have made no secret of the fact that they like Cort basses and I think it's great that Cort are not only on the up, but these 'budget' level instruments are now very serious and worthwhile propositions.

Cort Bass Serial Numbers