20 years ago, Cort® joined forces together with world-renowned luthier Rob Elrick of the Elrick Bass Guitars® and developed a Cort® version of ‘Elrick e-volution Bass’ that gained popularity among serious bass players. Now for its 30th anniversary year, Elrick Bass Guitars® has partnered again with Cort® to release the new Cort® Elrick NJS basses. The NJS, short for New Jazz Standard, are modern j-bass-styled basses with unique features such as angled headstock and 24 frets with zero fret, a “heel-less” body design with extended treble access, and Voiced Tone VTB-ST pickups with Bartolini® preamp. Loved by many aspiring and experienced bass players alike throughout the years, the innovative design and superb playability of the NJS basses are sure to satisfy high-end bass aficionados. 

Specifications 

• CONSTRUCTION:       Bolt-On.
• BODY:                         Alder.
• NUT WIDTH:               1 21/32" (42㎜).
• NECK:                           Hard Maple 3pcs.
• FRETBOARD:             Hard Maple. Radius: 12" (305㎜).
• FRETS:                         24 w/ Zero Fret.
• SCALE”                       34" (864㎜).
• INLAY:                         White Pearloid Block.
• TUNERS:                     Hipshot® Ultralite.
• BRIDGE:                       MetalCraft M4.
• PICKUPS:                   Voiced Tone VTB-ST.
• ELECTRONICS:         Bartolini® Elrick NJS Special Preamp.
• HARDWARE:               Chrome.
• STRINGS:                   D'Addario® EXL165.
• SPECIAL:                     Bone Nut. 

Features 

Alder Body 

The Alder body provides a perfectly balanced tone while giving a slight boost on the high mid-range. It's one of the most ideal tonewoods for solid body basses of major bass makers since the 1950s. 

Voiced Tone VTB-ST Pickups 

The new Voiced Tone VTB-ST single-coil pickups perfectly complement the big robust sound of the bass with modern clarity, transparency, and vintage warmth while eliminating noise with its hum-canceling design. 

Special Bartolini® Preamp 

The same specially designed Bartolini® preamp that is installed on the US-made original Elrick NJS basses is equipped, featuring 3-band EQ, 2-way push/pull mid select, and push/pull active bypass for a variety of tone combinations and manipulations. 

MetalCraft M Bridge 

The solid, high-mass MetalCraft M bridge was developed with more focus on ease of use and greater tone transfer. Specially adjusted for Elrick NJS, the bridge offers string loading from the back of the bridge for easier operation as well as greater tuning stability 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 allowing string vibrations to correctly transfer to the body. MetalCraft M4 and M5 now come with a string spacing of 19㎜(0.750”) for the 4-string M4, and 18㎜(0.708”) for the 5-string M5. 

“Heel-less” Body Design with Extended Treble Access 

A unique feature of Elrick NJS, the neck joint is greatly reduced to facilitate easy access to the upper register of the fingerboard. And to optimize stability as well as playability, the neck attaches via six bolts in an asymmetrical pattern. 

Hard Maple Neck and Fingerboard 

The hard maple provides power and stability as well as contributes a warm, beefy, and punchy tone with a strong upper midrange. Dense and rigid yet with just the right amount of tactile flexibility, it responds sensitively to your picking attack and slapping techniques with plenty of articulation and power. 

Hipshot® Ultralite Tuners 

The Elrick basses are equipped with Hipshot® Ultralite Tuners (classic 20:1 tuning ratio) that are made of cast zinc with aluminum strings posts and mounting nuts, resulting in a 30% weight reduction over other regular tuners and which results in improved balance and tuning accuracy. 

Zero Fret 

The zero fret does the job of the bass nut by setting the string height over the fretboard when being played open. The nut is still used as a guide to set the string spacing before going to the tuners. Since the nut is not responsible for the open notes, players can change to any string gauge without worrying about resizing or replacing the nut and be free from any unwanted friction between the nut and the strings. 

Angled Headstock 

The leaned-back angled headstock provides better string tension for longer sustain and even resonance without the use of string trees.