Warwick Fortress Flashback

Kink Rimson · #1 08-08-2010, 04:42 PM

I'm thinking of buying one of these basses, however it's a fair way off so I won't get the chance to play it first.

I'm really drawn to owning a Warwick, I love the feel and craftsmanship but active electronics ain't really my bag, and as this is passive it seems right up my street. I'm usually a single pickup kind of chap but I love the sound of my Danelectro Longhorn, I'm hoping the Flashback will have a similar sort of tone, although obviously more robust and focused.

Anybody here own one of these oddballs? FWIW, I play heavy rock a la Clutch and COC, fingerstyle, though a hot grinding Ashdown rig.

Soundclips welcome - the only ones I could find on Youtube were Jamiroquai covers - very good but not very helpful for me!

Kink Rimson · #2 08-09-2010, 07:07 AM

Bump.
Anybody got a Flashback?

Spinal Tapper · #3 08-09-2010, 08:41 AM

I played one at Guitar Center once. It was REALLY heavy. That's all I got...

Kink Rimson · #4 08-10-2010, 03:59 PM

Another bump

dje31 · #5 08-10-2010, 07:24 PM

This guy has/had at least two: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/member.php?u=113910

I'm jonesing for one as well...some day...some day...

nato101010 · #6 08-10-2010, 08:15 PM

All Warwicks are nice.

Joe Nerve · #7 08-10-2010, 08:40 PM

I just got meeself one the other day. I've only played it in the house thus far, it won't get the gig test until... (HA! got a call while I was just typing that to fill in with someone this Saturday) ... this Saturday. Here's what I think, what I know, and what I think I know as someone might very well correct me:

The flashback has 2 different versions, the earlier one with the 2tek bridge, and the newer. The earlier one, which is the one I got, weighs quite a bit (feels like around 11 lbs). The newer ones have the standard warwick bridge, and are substantially lighter. I've heard some here say it's the lightest bass they've ever owned. Interesting because I'm sure it's the heaviest bass a lot of others own. I knew what I was going for and wanted the heft. Its my experience that the weight adds thunder to the bottom end with a Warwick, and thus far it seems that might be the case. Hard always for me to tell fer sure though till I'm sitting in a mix with some pounding drums.

I've become quite accustomed to Warwicks of the nineties and the neck on this feels like the others I've owned. Rock solid, thin, woody, grainy, and the action is awesome. Don't know what it is about these things but they beg to be slapped. I play slap stuff 1% of the my playing time (like in the vid below), but it's sweet to have a bass that inspires it as much as this. It real snappy and responsive. The bass balances better than any other bass I ever played because of the body weight too. I think it actually might suffer from body dive.

If ya push the neck down hard, it comes right back up at ya. I like it.

The thing that I was most surprised about with this bass is it's versatility. I'm an active guy, and my main bass right now is a Big Al. It doesn't enter the league of a Big Al IMO, but it destroys some of the other Warwicks I've owned that had lots more switches and knobs. There are a lot of sounds within the sweep of the tone control, and I'd imagine that the seperation of the pickups add a lot to what it could do. Little shifts make big differences and it can pretty much run the gamut from throaty and Jaco like, to thick and thumpy, and lots of sweet stuff in between. It seems to have just enough high end to sparklye if I want it to, and I like the way it's voiced. I had an active corvette for a while and I thought it was too sizzly.. bla, bla, bla.... tones are all subjective so I hate talking about them....

I just inspired myself to pick it up.

I'll probably pop back in here and say more after the gig. Oh yeah, I've a feeling the 2tek ones are going to be more of a collectors item than the others for obvious reasons. I know some people who've had both, and sold the newer ones. I think that says something. I also think right now is an awesome time to buy basses as nobody's buying and everyone's selling. Good time to invest.

Joe Nerve · #8 08-10-2010, 09:41 PM

PS. I've owned a few Danos and this doesn't sound anything like them. The Danos were barkier and darker sounding. The semi hollow body adds a lot of character IMO to Dan Electros. Same pickups, different animals.

Kink Rimson · #9 08-11-2010, 12:45 PM

Joe Nerve, that's what I'm talking about!

Thanks for your input, I look forward to hearing about how you get on with it on Saturday!

Basdyret · #10 08-12-2010, 02:03 AM

The Flashback is a cool bass - I had a 5 string, which sounded great, but was very heavy. I like heavy basses, but ended up selling it due to the weight. Probably should have kept it...!

If you're still curious about the sound, here's a track I recorded for a guy that I later started to play with (we recorded the bass the same day I met the guy and heard the track). I still think it's a cool song.

The bass was recorded mixing the DI signal and using a mic in front of the cabs. I used my Merlin stack and no compression. It was increadibly easy to get a great tone with that bass in the studio.

http://www.gregerslindvig.com/audio/going_down.mp3

It should play if you have an embedded mp3 player in your browser.

MaddAnthony_59 · #11 08-12-2010, 06:00 AM

All Fortresses are Cool! (One, Masterman & Flashback)

The Flashback is the most Collectible. I've heard Very Low numbers on the 1st series of around 150 units. I'm not sure that includes 4 & 5 string, but it wouldn't surprise me. Passive too!

Joe Nerve · #12 08-12-2010, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basdyret

The Flashback is a cool bass - I had a 5 string, which sounded great, but was very heavy. I like heavy basses, but ended up selling it due to the weight. Probably should have kept it...!

If you're still curious about the sound, here's a track I recorded for a guy that I later started to play with (we recorded the bass the same day I met the guy and heard the track). I still think it's a cool song.

The bass was recorded mixing the DI signal and using a mic in front of the cabs. I used my Merlin stack and no compression. It was increadibly easy to get a great tone with that bass in the studio.

http://www.gregerslindvig.com/audio/going_down.mp3

It should play if you have an embedded mp3 player in your browser.

Cool song. Great playing too. I think what I consider the "Warwick Growl" has been captured in that recording to. That song is pretty laid back and it sounds like you played it with a light touch. I play pretty hard and when those tones get dug into they can get real gnarly in a awesome way.

My gig fell through on Saturday so no gig test till next weekend.

Took it to a rehearsal last night and realized when I put the gigbag on my back that yeah, this thing is frikken heavy. Not for the people who whine about weight, for sure. Heavyweight basses are like doughnuts on a baseball bat for me. This is going to make my Ray feel like nothing.

Basdyret · #13 08-15-2010, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Nerve

Cool song. Great playing too. I think what I consider the "Warwick Growl" has been captured in that recording to. That song is pretty laid back and it sounds like you played it with a light touch. I play pretty hard and when those tones get dug into they can get real gnarly in a awesome way.

Thanks for the kind words

You're right, the song is very laid back, and I had to start over a few times, because the producer wanted it more laid back. I usually play more on the beat and dig in a little, so my solution was to approach with a softer touch in order to apply a bit of "delay"- well heard...!
With my regular playing style, the tone from that bass had more bite. It was actually really cool... miss it a little more now

Basdyret · #14 08-15-2010, 04:03 AM

So, did the OP grab a Flashback yesterday...?

EarlTroutman · #15 12-03-2010, 08:10 PM

Fortress owner here. This one does it all. It does make a LOT of difference as to the speaker/amp you use. Mine sounds good for country through a tiny PJB. It sounds good for rock & metal through four 10"ers. Blues through two 10"ers and one 15" will make you cry.

flipper_gv · #16 12-03-2010, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Nerve

I just got meeself one the other day. I've only played it in the house thus far, it won't get the gig test until... (HA! got a call while I was just typing that to fill in with someone this Saturday) ... this Saturday. Here's what I think, what I know, and what I think I know as someone might very well correct me:

The flashback has 2 different versions, the earlier one with the 2tek bridge, and the newer. The earlier one, which is the one I got, weighs quite a bit (feels like around 11 lbs). The newer ones have the standard warwick bridge, and are substantially lighter. I've heard some here say it's the lightest bass they've ever owned. Interesting because I'm sure it's the heaviest bass a lot of others own. I knew what I was going for and wanted the heft. Its my experience that the weight adds thunder to the bottom end with a Warwick, and thus far it seems that might be the case. Hard always for me to tell fer sure though till I'm sitting in a mix with some pounding drums.

Most swamp ash corvettes are in the 8-9 lbs range. They are really heavy. Bubinga, maple, ovangkol and afzelia which are warwick "signature" woods are all very heavy.