Cort B4 Element FL Fretless Bass, Open Pore Trans Black Overview
The Artisan Cort B4 Element FL was developed to offer a fretless fingerboard option on the popular and affordable B4 Element bass, providing all the workhorse features such as Bartolini MK-1 pickups and preamp, MetalCraft M bridge, and Hipshot® Ultralite tuners along with premium-grade materials. The Artisan B4 Element FL is finally the high quality fretless that provides exceptional value for both pros and casual bass players alike.
Ash Top on Mahogany Body: Ash top on a mahogany body ensures a great balance of warm yet full and punchy sounding lows and bright, clear and transparent highs, not to mention ash’s beautiful wood grain for more a natural aesthetic.
Bartolini MK-1 Pickups: The trademark Bartolini sound is preserved in the MK-1 while providing superb sound quality and value. The MK-1 delivers plenty of punchy and warm mids along with transparent and brilliant highs for a superbly balanced sound.
Bartolini MK-1 Preamp: Bartolini’s renowned MK-1 preamp provides powerful yet transparent boost along with its trademark crisp high-end. The MK-1 transfers the natural liveliness of the bass through a flexible 3-band equalizer for a variety of applications ranging from studio recording to large concert halls. It also provides a switchable active/passive mode for a powerful modern active sound or an organic traditional passive sound.
MetalCraft M Bridge: The solid, high-mass MetalCraft M bridge was developed with more focus on ease-of-use and greater tone transfer. Depending on the thickness of the strings, the dual string loading system allows the strings to be loaded either through the body or from the top to find the best optimal string tension, resulting in enhanced sustain, greater playability and focused sound. Another big improvement for the tone transfer is the deep individual slots that hold the saddles rock-tight, preventing any unwanted movement and allows string vibrations to correctly transfer to the body. MetalCraft M4 now come with string spacing of 19mm for the 4-string M4.
Roasted Maple Fingerboard (Lined Fretless): By treating maple in an oxygen-free oven at a high temperature, the wood stabilizes and develops a golden-brownish look for enhanced stability and defined tone. The fretless fingerboard plays super smooth and true and has black markers for fret positions that will surely be appreciated by novices as well as experienced players.
5pcs Panga Panga & Walnut Neck: The emphasis of the Panga Panga and Walnut combination is on tight and defined midrange that complements the bright and expansive tonal nature of the Mahogany body for an ideally balanced sound to round out the bass spectrum.
Hipshot Ultralite: The B4 Element FL features Hipshot Ultralite tuners as standard equipment for tuning accuracy and stability.
D’Addario Flat Wound Bass Strings: The D’Addario ECB81 flat wound strings provide an ultra-smooth feel and a dark, yet warm tone, while allowing movement across the fretboard with no finger noise. This 45-100 Regular Light gauge set has a nice even tension, bright tone, and tight low-end.
- Construction: Bolt-On
- Body: Mahogany
- Top: Ash
- Neck: 5pcs Walnut & Panga Panga
- Fretboard: Roasted Maple
- Radius: 15.75in (400㎜)
- Frets: 24
- Scale: 34in (864㎜)
- Tuners: Hipshot Ultralite
- Bridge: MetalCraft M4
- Pickups: Bartolini MK-1 Pickup Set
- Electronics: Bartolini MK-1 Electronics
- Hardware: Black
- Strings: D'Addario® Flat Wound Bass Strings