FS Feeler: OLD Warmoth "Wide" 5-string Jazz w/ Bartolini

[Jefenator]

Oh, boy, here we go...

First off, I'll say the bass is heavy. Don't have an exact weight - just "heavy" - and the neck is super wide. 19mm spacing at the bridge and the nut is just shy of 2 3/16" wide (that's pretty wide for a 5). And yes, the neck tends to "dive" with a slippery strap. So if you're fussy about that kind of stuff, this is not your axe.



This is a "wide 5" model they no longer make. Maple neck, ebony fingerboard, I'm guessing alder body w/ a cheesy walnut finish. (It actually gets a lot of compliments from people who don't do guitar finish work.)



The headstock was refinished by me when I replaced some tuners that got busted when I passed out on a gig. (The PO had something on there that made it look literally like crap.)



It might be from 1988, according to the PO. I got this in 2002 and it was my main bass for a long time (till I veered back toward passive 4-strings).



Pictured here is a crack in the body that hasn't done anything in the 7 years I've owned the bass. You can see a lot of bemishes, dings and such. Hard to find a 5'er with this much honest wear!



The pickups are Bartolini single-coils (they do hum when solo'd but they also sound excellent). They have "955 Wolf" written on the back - no idea what that's code for. There is also the Bartolini NTBT 2-band boost/cut preamp, which not surprisingly works very nicely with the pickups. Genuine Bartolini quality controls are (low-impedance) master volume, blend & stacked treble/bass.



Unlike the finish, the build quality is really excellent on this. The neck is very stable, plays very clean and has dual truss rods. Included is a Godin gig bag in good shape:



And finally, some sound clips. I'd characterize the bass as being very dark and chocolatey, but it has great "slice" for slapping as well. The 1st & 3rd clips are both pickups, EQ neutral, the second is neck pickup with treble rolled off.

http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...091109-000.mp3
http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...091109-001.mp3
http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...091109-002.mp3

PRICE: I'm looking for $625, FedEx'd to the continental US. PayPal OK. Reasonable offers considered (but I'm not too desperate and I'm already feeling seller's remorse). EDIT: Price is now dropped to $575.

TRADES: probably not basses since this is a herd-thinning endeavor. But if it's something funky and cool, wouldn't hurt to run it by me. I could go for an Ampeg V4, Bassman or comparable tube head in good shape.

Thanks for looking!

[Jefenator]

Well I made the mistake of playing it out last night and had a great time with it. (I think the price just went up. ) Felt very comfortable to my (beefy caveman) hands, worked great for pick, fingerstyle and slap. It even kind of spanked my old-school passive J-bass (though I'm sure some of that had to do with signal strength - the Warmoth is "hotter"- BTW you can adjust the output to match other axes with a trim pot in the control cavity).

http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...oth_finger.mp3

http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...rmoth_pick.mp3

http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...rmoth_slap.mp3

[The Nameless]

I have one of these, loaded wit different electronics (Smith wide 5 Soapbars and an old Haz Lab preamp). I'm sad to hear they don't make these anymore. Mine has a rosewood board, and I want a neck wit an ebony board. Spacing is crazy wide, actually wider than my Smith CR6 spacing. And, as a matter of fact, lots say my Warmoth sounds BETter than my Smith, though you won't get me to admit. Heh. Good luck wit that sale. If you still have it in another week or so, I'm gonna have to get it from ya, as that ebony fingerboard is tempting... But I suggest NOT sellin. Neck dive or not, darn things ARE built well, and you could always go to different electronics setups. Killer bass for experimintation.

[raal]

34" scale with 19mm spacing
real vintage body style, lower horn likes a real Fender from the old days

These are all popular features on the vintage j market of today and I won't name a brand. With Warmoth necks are built like tanks, sounds like a heck of a deal to me.

I'd be seriously considering buying this bass as a backup if i was not tuning flat. Nice clips BTW!

[Jefenator]

You're very kind, however I disagree about the clips above being "nice".

Since I've gotten to know my recording device & software a little better, and I just lowered the action quite a bit on the axe, I thought I'd take another crack at it:

http://jeffaddicottglassworks.com/po...de_5_barts.mp3

Also: extras. How about a new set of GHS Boomers (45-130) (the strings on there are ancient) and a nice, wide & comfy Planet Waves strap?

[mikezimmerman]

I've owned a couple of these--I love those big old Warmoth necks! Wish I could think about picking this one up, but I'm supposed to be thinking about saving rather than spending...

[Dr. Cheese]

That neck reminds me a Squier Precision Five Special or a Squier Active Jazz Deluxe V. I mean that as a great compliment because those two basses have amazingly comfortable necks. It also reminds me of a Roscoe Beck V neck too.

I think the soundclips are great. At $625, this bass is a real steal, IMO.

[Jefenator]

Thanks for your kind words.

Just stoking the dying embers, here, and I don't like to bump for it's own sake. How about $575, shipped CONUS w/ strap & strings & gig bag?

[yogadork]

I have 2 of these basses. One I bought as a 6 string and on was a wide spacing 5 that I converted to a 6'er. The necks are ideally suited for this and both basses play and sound great. I don't understand why some folks will shell out a couple of grand for basically the same bass with another brand name on it. I got both of mine really cheap and thats after they were hanging around on the bay and Craigslist for quite a while.
If I wasn't playing fretless now I would grab this bass. Shoot, I'm still really tempted so heres a bump for a real bang for the buck bass.

[Jefenator]

Thanks for the bumpage, bro!

I find myself not especially eager to sell this bass now. Since the Steinberger sold, this one has more of a role to play in my stable. And it's my only active/roundwound/fretted axe. And everything else is paid for.

An appropriate offer is always welcome. But I don't think I'll be doing any more price reduction bumps.

[Jefenator]

I was really veering towards holding on to this. But I just got another bass & just don't have room for so many. You know the story.

So this thread is open again! Offers welcome.

EDIT: TRADED