no doubt a small thing but seeing how the Curbow Club ''hates to be elitist'' we'll just have to have our own to praise or dis and examine the merits of Greg's fine affordable-to-all basses. no numbers, and as with my Epi / Toby Club maybe no other members, but still deserving. there's too little info on the Corts and especially the Retro so this may help concentrate the search by any with an interest in these models.
my incentives are 2 yrs of researching the lucite versions only to wish there were wood bodies available to consider then discovering the Retro and increasingly jumping on that wagon. now I have one and it's been lovingly detailed here, including a few seller pix of this petite sonic monster; Cort Retro for Christmas!
outside of bassmonkee here regarding his extensive mods, few have talked about their Retro and there's only one detailed review online so I'll show those as a reference point and history lesson.
Anyone played the new Cort Curbow Retro?
here's the lone extensive review that got me hooked with no idea who wrote it;
''Man, after reading what I typed, I sound like an ad, but I'm not. I just don't know of anyone that has this axe and am surprised it hasn't come around a little. For the money especially, it's a great bass.
I actually was googling to find out if anyone had any comments on this bass because Cort isn't even advertising it on their site, only the original Cort Curbow. I find it much better than the original for my tastes. I saw it on Greg Curbow's site (which I got one from and he set it up personally), and on some Musician Friend type sites. Dunno if it is available in stores, so basically there is not much for anyone to go by (which is why I'm posting this).
I am VERY impressed with the Cort Curbow Retro. I am a freelance bass player out of Nashville and any one who has tried mine has been surprised (many of which play with artists). I generally play music in the pop/rock vein, modern country, classic rock, an a little r&b. I take it out on gigs when I feel like using a ballsy four string or if I feel like sacrificing my B string so I can save my back (my five has some weight to it). If I am using a four, I'll use my '66 P bass, 70's Conrad hofner copy, and once and awhile my Warmoth. 70% of the time, the four I use is the Cort Curbow actually because of the good active tone.
Though yes, the look of the bass (particularly the headstock) isn't the most pleasing to many people's eyes, this bass feels and sounds great. The headtock is a signature headstock that would show it's a Curbow type bass (which I've heard Greg's handmade basses are amazing). It's very light (8lbs) has a comfortable small neck, and surprisingly for the money ($300 or under) has active pickups. I chose the black with white pickguard as opposed to the sunburst with white pickguard. The headstock I just see comes with the package, I'm fine with it because I really Greg Curbow's work (the real ones). My real Curbow (five string) is just about done being made by Greg.
The construction good for the price. Remember, it's a 300 dollar bass. It uses basswood with a rosewood fretboard as opposed to the luthite body (synthetic) with a ebonol fretboard. I personally REALLY liked the idea of the original Curbow (unconstraining feel and weight and small body for small dude like me) , but wasn't big on the materials and sound as much, felt sterile to me. The retro felt and sounded a lot more usable. Also, in comparison to the original, the bottom horn not being so far back on this one made in look more "normal" and help balance the bass out, especially when sitting down.
It's very lightweight (like the original) at 8lbs. While posting this I stopped to weighed on the stepping scale here at home.
The neck is small and very user friendly, I suppose maybe like the Ibanez Soundgear basses as for size. Greg Curbow did a great setup on the bass. It's worth having him set it up initially.
I was surprised about the great active, especially for the money. I generally play a five string Squire Pro Tone with 2 active EMG humbuckers (18 volts) wide open which feels and sounds like a higher end bass. The retro rivaled it (which I definitely wouldn't expect). It is punchy, has some warmth and jazz growl. Again, it's active, so of course doesn't have that old passive sound of an old Fender Jazz (which I would like to have to supplement my 66 Fender P...ugh). It has a great modern jazz bass sound that compares with many basses I've tried four times the price
As for the controls, there is a volume, blend, and tone switch. The tone is interesting is it is more of a bass boost. I generally put it just below the notch in the middle, meaning adding a touch more bottom. That knob (the one closest to the bridge) is pretty responsive. When more lows are added, the highs aren't sacrificed, HOWEVER at some point the bass end would be overkill and take away the some character of the bass. I wouldn't stray too far from the notch.''
cort curbow retro - Google Search
my incentives are 2 yrs of researching the lucite versions only to wish there were wood bodies available to consider then discovering the Retro and increasingly jumping on that wagon. now I have one and it's been lovingly detailed here, including a few seller pix of this petite sonic monster; Cort Retro for Christmas!
outside of bassmonkee here regarding his extensive mods, few have talked about their Retro and there's only one detailed review online so I'll show those as a reference point and history lesson.
Anyone played the new Cort Curbow Retro?
here's the lone extensive review that got me hooked with no idea who wrote it;
''Man, after reading what I typed, I sound like an ad, but I'm not. I just don't know of anyone that has this axe and am surprised it hasn't come around a little. For the money especially, it's a great bass.
I actually was googling to find out if anyone had any comments on this bass because Cort isn't even advertising it on their site, only the original Cort Curbow. I find it much better than the original for my tastes. I saw it on Greg Curbow's site (which I got one from and he set it up personally), and on some Musician Friend type sites. Dunno if it is available in stores, so basically there is not much for anyone to go by (which is why I'm posting this).
I am VERY impressed with the Cort Curbow Retro. I am a freelance bass player out of Nashville and any one who has tried mine has been surprised (many of which play with artists). I generally play music in the pop/rock vein, modern country, classic rock, an a little r&b. I take it out on gigs when I feel like using a ballsy four string or if I feel like sacrificing my B string so I can save my back (my five has some weight to it). If I am using a four, I'll use my '66 P bass, 70's Conrad hofner copy, and once and awhile my Warmoth. 70% of the time, the four I use is the Cort Curbow actually because of the good active tone.
Though yes, the look of the bass (particularly the headstock) isn't the most pleasing to many people's eyes, this bass feels and sounds great. The headtock is a signature headstock that would show it's a Curbow type bass (which I've heard Greg's handmade basses are amazing). It's very light (8lbs) has a comfortable small neck, and surprisingly for the money ($300 or under) has active pickups. I chose the black with white pickguard as opposed to the sunburst with white pickguard. The headstock I just see comes with the package, I'm fine with it because I really Greg Curbow's work (the real ones). My real Curbow (five string) is just about done being made by Greg.
The construction good for the price. Remember, it's a 300 dollar bass. It uses basswood with a rosewood fretboard as opposed to the luthite body (synthetic) with a ebonol fretboard. I personally REALLY liked the idea of the original Curbow (unconstraining feel and weight and small body for small dude like me) , but wasn't big on the materials and sound as much, felt sterile to me. The retro felt and sounded a lot more usable. Also, in comparison to the original, the bottom horn not being so far back on this one made in look more "normal" and help balance the bass out, especially when sitting down.
It's very lightweight (like the original) at 8lbs. While posting this I stopped to weighed on the stepping scale here at home.
The neck is small and very user friendly, I suppose maybe like the Ibanez Soundgear basses as for size. Greg Curbow did a great setup on the bass. It's worth having him set it up initially.
I was surprised about the great active, especially for the money. I generally play a five string Squire Pro Tone with 2 active EMG humbuckers (18 volts) wide open which feels and sounds like a higher end bass. The retro rivaled it (which I definitely wouldn't expect). It is punchy, has some warmth and jazz growl. Again, it's active, so of course doesn't have that old passive sound of an old Fender Jazz (which I would like to have to supplement my 66 Fender P...ugh). It has a great modern jazz bass sound that compares with many basses I've tried four times the price
As for the controls, there is a volume, blend, and tone switch. The tone is interesting is it is more of a bass boost. I generally put it just below the notch in the middle, meaning adding a touch more bottom. That knob (the one closest to the bridge) is pretty responsive. When more lows are added, the highs aren't sacrificed, HOWEVER at some point the bass end would be overkill and take away the some character of the bass. I wouldn't stray too far from the notch.''
cort curbow retro - Google Search
While I don't have the retro and have one of the luthite ones- Greg Curbow and his team has done a fantastic job on a unique and comfortable bass design for Cort. As you mentioned, it's important to keep in mind how much these basses go for -I'm a little uncertain if Cort is still producing them but see them every now and then in the used market, I seldom see the Retros though, quite a few of the luthite versions.
Not sure how these came about, Tanglewood are an English firm who contract their build work to China. Anyway it definitely use Curbow lines and is a prime example of the Chinese producing great work if allowed a decent build price. 
Just as well cause they're expensive, think £40 a set . Course it's peanuts considering the lifespan. Some sets like D'Addario Chromes are said to be brighter, I go for Thomastik jazz flats which are low tension. For a woody thump ? tapes are good,since Status Graphite discontinued their Hot Wires I've been using La Bellas. I take it you're in the UK ? If you browse the Basschat forum there's a market for 2nd hand flats and it's a good way to try different brands 
The Tanglewood is no slouch