Joe Tell's Music Blog: Gene Simmons - Cort Punisher Bass review

First off I'd like to sincerely thank the person who bought the Gene Simmons - Cort Punisher bass for me to use with the WNY KISS THIS! band. Thank You Jayme Hapeman!
This was the first time a new bass was bought by another person specifically for me to play.
I no longer have the bass in my possession so I thought I would share a few thoughts I have about the bass after playing it on a few gigs.
Bassically, I will be using my experience with the bass as an opportunity to "review" the bass.
I've never reviewed an instrument before so I also see this as an opportunity to do something new.

OK, here we go, the full-size gig bag looks cool with the Gene Simmons graphic on it, the look of the case sets the mood before you open the bag to play the bass guitar.
The gig bag looks like a hard case but it's not, it's just a big gig bag shaped like a guitar case.
I used the gig bag/case as a stage prop for a couple of shows.
At first glance the bass looks really cool, with it's black finish, 3 horns and white binding.
The bridge cover is classic Fender bass ashtray style, it's convenient for resting your picking/plucking hand on while playing the bass. The only drawback is you need to physically remove the bridge cover to change the strings.
The pickups and electronics are passive and the knobs are easy to figure out and use.
Here's the pickup breakdown, a double humbucker is in front and a single coil is in the back.
A simple setup which provides the best of both worlds as a far as bass pickup sounds go.
I found that the single coil pickup is noisy when used at a full treble tone setting, but if you're using this bass in a full band setting the buzz is unheard when everyone else is blasting away. The humbucker simply sounds great on its own.
*I prefer a full treble tone knob setting and I would replace the single coil pickup to a buzz free/higher end model to kill the buzz.
The volume knob is in front, the 3 position toggle switch is next and the last knob is the tone control.
*I prefer 2 pickup volumes. 2 volumes would enable some Space Ace on/off toggling sounds.
The cord input was loose straight from the factory and the action was real high so I did invest a few dollars into the bass to have it set up to make it gig ready.
1 major problem I had about the bass is that is "neck heavy". This means that the weight of the neck and the length of the neck tend to pull the body of the bass upward when you wear the bass standing up with a strap.
This problem is easily solved by the bassists' fingering arm which supports the neck while playing.
*For me, the neck issue causes a ever so slight distraction. Holding the neck up takes my mind off the notes I'm supposed to be playing. This issue is easily overcome after you play the bass on a regular basis but I prefer a neck that stays in one place, especially when I take my fretting arm off the neck to play open notes. With a neck heavy guitar you need to constantly stay aware of the position of the neck so it doesn't bang on anything when moving around on a stage or a crowded rehearsal space. Strap locks are necessary to avoid the bass from slipping off the strap holders. Without strap locks the bass can easily slip off the strap and hit the floor because it is neck heavy.
The headstock looks cool, with the white binding and Gene Simmons signature. The tuning pegs work great and the fretwork made the neck comfortable and easy to play.
This bass would surely please a hard core KISS fan, but after playing the bass I would never buy one strictly from a bass player point of view.
I must add the bass completed the Gene Simmons look along with the costume perfectly.
*If my goal was to be in a KISS tribute band full-time I would try to get my hands on a black Gibson Grabber or Ripper, (pictured below) that would be the bass I would prefer to play.

The Cort Punisher fits the bill if you didn't have the budget to buy a vintage Gibson bass.