Cort Gene Simmons AXE Electric Bass Guitar Black and Silver

Its a keeper

I recently landed a gig in a KISS tribute band. Unlike any other band I've been in, this gig required a costume and a certain instrument. It's a lot of financial dedication, but everyone I've spoken to who has done this has said it is worth the cost of admission. To my relief, I found out that Cort released budget versions of Mr. Simmon's famous basses. I've always favored the look of the Punisher more, but i found a SICK deal on an Axe bass. PROS: - The price was right. - The soft gig bag is pretty padded for its price range. - The padded blade cover is a nice touch. - Once set up properly, the bass plays pretty well. - After I relocated the front strap button, it had a lot less neck dive. - The bass's weight isn't that bad. - The bass is nice and bright sounding, but can be made to sound more Gene Simmons with a flick of the pickup selector switch. - The neck pocket was pretty tight, and the finish seemed good for this bass. - The finished neck didn't get sticky on me after playing it a while. - The bridge cover looks cool, but is very functional. The way the body is cut, your palm is forced to rest on it. Once you figure out this bass's right hand placement, its joy to play. - This bass just looks cool. While not as comfortable to play as my Fenders, it more than makes up for it with traffic-stopping looks. You will be noticed! CONS: - It's shaped like an axe. Sitting down to play is not an option. However, that's the nature of this bass. - The zippers on the gig bag feel cheap - The giant Gene graphic on the gig bag is so embarrassing to walk around with. I'm sorry, but in my opinion, I like a subtle instrument case. However, that is Gene for you. It doesn't matter, because I will probably get a hard case down the road. - The bass came with so much relief in the neck, that my luthier gave the trus rod nut 6 turns before it was remotely playable. However, I hear this is common for these basses. - The front strap button is in a horrible place. It's mounted on the side of the body. I use Schaller strap locks and could just see it jabbing me. I repositioned it under the bass's "horn", and it works great. - The tuning keys were misaligned when fastened to the headstock. I had the mounting screws re-drilled so the tuners were aligned properly. - Trying to reach the D string tuning key is a stretch. - The bass is almost too bright and the sound was thin. I had to use my Sansamp Bass Driver to beef up its tone. Lowering the bridge pickup height may help. - The tone knob is a joke. There is no gradual roll off/on. It's basically all or nothing. - This bass is on the heavy side at 9.2 lbs. After a 2 hour rehearsal, my left shoulder aches. - My biggest gripe is the electronics. For some reason, this bass makes all my amps randomly distort. I'm not sure if it's a wiring issue or pickup defect. It doesn't matter, because I was planning to replace them with EMG's anyways. A little sooner than I planned, but oh well. I would've returned the bass, but I already had it set up, and I had new $ strings installed. Since installing the new pickups, this thing now sounds and looks killer. Besides all the bass's small issues, it can be great with some TLC and new pickups. I would never play this bass in any other type of band, but for the KISS fan out there, this is a great bass for the money. Look no further to fill your God of Thunder fantasy.

First of all I would like to thank Gene Simmons for putting out such an awesome Product by Cort . Second, I would like to thank Guitar Center for having the Axe Bass available for purchase. This is really a great piece of KISSTORY and just like Gene said go to your local music store and get yours and that's what I did.

I really love this bass. Being a KISS fan for 30 years I get to add another KISS used guitar to my collection. The sound of the Mighty Mite pickups are awesome. They have the tone I love. The pros:The style is topline. The sound is there also. There are only a few cons:Its only 21 frets. (I prefer 24 frets). It's also a little neck heavy. I had to get used to the thin width neck again. Im used to playing a 5 string bass. Overall the bass is well worth the money. Everyone loves it!!

It's great that Gene has finally put out an affordable quality axe!!! In addition, it's more versatile that Gene's actual axe! You can get both a KISS rock sound and a more bright jazzy-type sound out of this axe! It's a beautiful conversation piece. The only possible downside is that this axe is so famous and attention-getting it would distract from any rock band performance you might use it for. The strap knobs seem oversized so you don't even need strap locks.

I have been a Gene Simmons fan for 30+ years; he's the reason I first picked up a bass back in �ۡ����75. Currently my main bass is a American Fender Jazz V so I was a little skeptical about this bass. I must say I am impressed. The action is good, construction seems top-notch and the bass is just way too cool. Those pick-ups are bright as heck and have that classic growl when cranked up. This won't be my main gig bass, but it will make the stage every time I play a KISS tune. This AXE bass is a must-have for any serious KISS fan. Thanks, Gene!