Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Review & Prices

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Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Review
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  • From Cort's 2022 META series
  • Matthew Bellamy Signature
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" to 15.75" Fretboard Radius
  • Basswood body
  • Hard Maple neck
  • Laurel fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Manson Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Sustainiac (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Fully Adjustable & Tailpiece bridge
  • Soft V Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium frets
  • Cort Staggered Locking tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 72
Sound 82
Build quality 64
Value for money 73
Overall Score 73
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac
  • Locking Tuners
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Killswitch, Sustainer Pickups
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $850, which means that the Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac costs around 21% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

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Videos

MANSON META SERIES MBM-2 DEMO
Manson Guitars Sustainiac Tips and Tricks
Manson MBM-1 Meta Series Matt Bellamy Signature Guitar with Sustainiac Sustainer Mod - First look
Muse - Plug In Baby (Guitar Cover)
WHY SUSTAINIAC RULES
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Your feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

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Is it Easy to Play?

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac meets 7 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Short scale

Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's 25.5" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Scale Length Comparison
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This is the same scale length used in Stratocaster guitars, and it's one of the main reasons they have such a bright sound. It's considered a long scale when compared to most non-baritone guitars.

Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, you'll need to give the strings more tension to get them in tune. This higher tension will allow for a couple of things. First, you can get a lower action (get the strings closer to the fretboard) because the strings won't 'wiggle' too much when pluck and won't cause fret buzz. This can allow you to use lower tunings without increasing your string gauge, and it will make it easier to press down the strings fast.

However, the frets will also have a wider separation between each other, which can make it harder to play, especially if you got small hands. The higher tension will also make the strings feel stiffer, so bending will require more strength.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Neck Profile
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a V type neck. This is a vintage type of neck that is not so common nowadays. Some people like it because they can rest their hand easily while letting their thumb hang over the edge of the fretboard. It's thicker than most modern necks, so it's great for playing chords but not so much for shredding.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Fretboard Compound Radius
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's Compound Fretboard Radius

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac has a compound fingerboard radius of 12" to 15.75".

A compound radius is the best you can get because you'll get the best of both worlds. It starts curved at the nut, but it flattens as you get closer to the body. This means that you'll get great comfortability for chords on the first few frets, but also a flatter fretboard for playing solos without problems on the higher frets.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

25.5'' Scale Length
V Neck Profile
1.656'' Nut Width
Compound Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
24.75'' Scale Length
U Neck Profile
1.654'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
13.78'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Nut Width
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Nut Width

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac has a nut width of 42.1mm (1.656''). This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Frets

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac has 22 frets. Even though 24 frets has become really popular, there's still a good reason to get fewer frets; the pickup at the neck position will be further away from the bridge. This makes the neck pickup achieve a warmer tone. You might want this if you're playing Jazz or similar genres.

However, if you don't care about the warmer neck pickup, more frets will always be better. It's always nice to have the option to play higher notes if you want to.

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac Fret Size Comparison
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 65
Chord Playability 90
Solo Playability 60
Playability 72

Tone Analysis

Wood will have little influence in the final tone of an electric guitar or bass. Instead, the hardware, especially the pickups, will be the most important thing to look at. Bur first, let's see the quality of the wood.

Wood

Basswood wood pattern used for guitar building
Basswood Body
Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple Neck
Laurel wood pattern used for guitar building
Laurel Fretboard

Basswood Body: This is a soft type of wood that is very light and easy to work with. It's cheaper than many other kinds of wood used for guitar building, but it doesn't mean it's low quality. In terms of sound, it accentuates the mid-range, which matches the frequencies that a Humbucker produces.

Maple Neck: This is one of the most popular types of wood used in all kinds of guitars. It's heavy, strong and compact, which makes it great for necks. However, it's also used for fretboards, bodies and tops due to its light color, resistance and beautiful patterns. When it comes to tone, it highlights the mid and high frequencies.

Laurel Fretboard: There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies.

More made with the same wood:

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Sustainiac. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

These are passive pickups, so you can expect a rounder sound and a moderade level of output.

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's configuration is HH. With this pickup combination, you'll get warmer tones and more output than using single coils. Humbucker pickups cancel the noise that single-coil suffer from, which also results in a warmer tone. This pickup combination isn't only for high-gain music like Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. Their warmness is also popular for Jazz, Indie, R&B, Blues and more.

More with the same pickups

22 Frets
Fixed Bridge
Manson Humbucker Bridge Pickup
Sustainiac Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Floyd Rose Bridge
Lundgren M6 Bridge Pickup
Sustainiac Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Floyd Rose Bridge
Fishman Fluence Modern Ceramic Bridge Pickup
Sustainiac Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Floyd Rose Bridge
Lundgren M7 Bridge Pickup
Sustainiac Neck Pickup
24 Frets
Floyd Rose Bridge
Schecter USA San Andreas Bridge Pickup
Sustainiac Neck Pickup

Versatility

It comes with the popular 3-way switch that is present in most guitars. For more versatility, players tend to prefer a 5-way switch, although it all depends on what you want to use your guitar for.

It has Multiple switch option. The first one is Killswitch. When engaged, it will disengage the pickups and turn them off instantly. This is useful when playing live, and it allows you to perform some cool sound effects with your pickups.

It also has a Sustainer option. When activated, the pickups with this feature will give you unlimited sustain. You can create interesting harmonics and make your notes last as long as you want.

Diagram

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac's switch options

What music genre is it good for?

As a 6 strings, Solid Body guitar with HH configuration and Passive pickups, we'd recommend it for genres like Hard Rock or similar. However, you can use almost any guitar for any genre. This is just the typical type of music for this particular one.

Sound Score

Pickups 90
Sustain 100
Versatility 64
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 82

Build Quality Analysis

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Bridge

Fully Adjustable & Tailpiece: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

More with the same type of bridge:

Tuners

The Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac comes with locking tuners, which helps with tuning stability and makes changing strings a lot faster and easier. As long as they're high quality, these are the best tuning machines you can have. The only disadvantage is that they are a bit heavier than normal tuners.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

Neck Joint

The neck joint is the part where the neck of the guitar meets the body. There are three main techniques to attach both parts together: Set-In, Bolt-On and Neck-Through. The latter two provide different advantages, although neck-throughs are the most expensive.

This guitar has a Bolt-On neck joint. Even though this type of neck was looked down upon for a long time, nowadays bolt-on necks are well built and provide just as much sustain as any other join method. First of all, it's cheap to make because it consists of simply 4 bolts that attach the neck to the body. And you can travel with the guitar more easily, swap out the neck if you damage it, or upgrade to a more comfortable neck later on.

More with the same build:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 41
Features 75
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 64

All Specs

Cort MBM-2 Sustainiac
General
Brand: Cort
Year: 2022
Configuration: HH
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: META
Colors: Blue, Black Satin
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Solid Body
Body Material: Basswood
Bridge: Fully Adjustable & Tailpiece
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On
Tuners: Cort Staggered Locking
Fretboard: Laurel
Neck Material: Hard Maple
Decoration:
Scale Size: 25.5"
Shape: Soft V
Frets: 22 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 12" to 15.75"
Nut: Plastic
Nut Width: 42.1mm (1.656'')
Electronics
Switch: 3 Way
Knobs: Dome
Pickup Mods: Killswitch, Sustainer
Volume Controls: 1
Tone Controls: 1
Bridge Pickup: Manson Humbucker (Humbucker / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Sustainiac (Humbucker / Passive)

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