Warwick Rockbass

Bassmanhopkins · #1 11-02-2010, 02:15 PM

Hey ive been checking out these basses lately and im really interested in the Warwick rockbass corvette 5 string fretless, any thoughts? is it any good? value for money etc?

real warwicks are right out of my price range at the moment otherwise i would have just got that haha

Bass-Adrenaline · #2 11-02-2010, 02:20 PM

Buy used, thats my only suggestion really. That way if you decide to still go with a rockbass it will be even less and it may open up the option of buying a normal warwick.

Need2KnowBasses · #3 11-02-2010, 02:35 PM

Personally I think the newer(2 piece bridge & W on the headstock) Rockbasses are pretty good value. Although I don't recommend paying full price as I've seen them sold new for half price or less on Ebay, Sam Ash, and Amazon. Unless you need it now I would hold out for a bargain. I bought a 5 string RB Corvette Classic Almondburst for $365 on Amazon about six months ago. Although it's not as nice as German Warwick it is still a fine bass.

Bassmanhopkins · #4 11-02-2010, 02:41 PM

yeah, ive been looking at the 5 string fretless for a while, i tried one at a music shop about a month ago now, it was amazing, just wondering how it is to live with, and how solid the bass is etc

Shmone · #5 11-02-2010, 02:41 PM

If you are planning on buying a new RB then for the price of it you can find a used german Corvette STD, might be worth looking into.

DISCOSTUVW · #6 11-02-2010, 02:50 PM

I owned one for a while. I enjoyed it a lot, the only reason I got rid of it was to get a real Warwick Corvette. However, I do agree with Bass-Adrenaline, buy used. That gives you room for upgrades in the future.

Bassmanhopkins · #7 11-02-2010, 02:51 PM

true very true. thanks guys!

kjpollo · #8 11-02-2010, 02:57 PM

I just checked out the Rockbass Corvette $$ and Active Corvette over the weekend. Both were 4 stringers and the build quality on both was very good- I couldnt find any reason to nit-pick either one.

OTOH- I was very disappointed in the passive controls on the $$- very little variation in the tone.
The active Rockbass Corvette had much better tone-shaping IMHO.
The shop I visited did not have any fretless Rockbasses though. The only fretless Warwicks they ahd were "real" ones.

Bearwolf · #9 11-23-2010, 04:05 PM

Have been finding some decent prices on the Warwick Rockbass 4 active and a few other models on zzsounds, AMS etc. around $375 new, with a little price matching you can find one quite a bit lower than that. Guess we'll see what all the talk is about on these as I plan to order one in the next day or so. My esp ltd b254 needs a little company. Maybe one of these days I'll find an extra 2 grand to blow and really upgrade but for the time being this will have to cut it.

DaLoCo · #10 11-24-2010, 12:22 AM

As said before....buy a 2010 model, their necks are vastly different from the previous models, thin and fast in my experience.

defiend · #11 11-24-2010, 01:30 AM

Bought a RB Corvette 5 in sunburst for about 3 years ago. Love it. A bit heavy but im not into gigging quite yet, so it fits well. Would recommend it.

**crustychef** · #12 11-24-2010, 03:06 AM

I really like the fretless 5 string. I tried one at BassNW and was very pleasantly surprised. If I wasn't so damn pleased with fretless Corvette std. I'd get one in a heart beat.

tedsalt · #13 11-24-2010, 03:31 AM

I've seen RBs with active or passive electronics. I would expect the active version would give you more mwah? Can anyone who's tried both chime in here?

Yeah, the fretless RB Corvette 5 looks pretty tempting, but I would like to know I'm going to get decent tone out of it ...

Billy Low · #14 12-05-2010, 01:37 PM

I picked up a 4 string Corvette from Amazon for $260 early this summer. Now I'm looking for a similar bargain on a 5 string for my son. I don't care if it's one of the older models.

Need2KnowBasses · #15 12-05-2010, 02:04 PM

I just bought a Streamer Standard for $272 from Music123 price matching Sam Ash

and Corvette active for $288 price matching ZZzounds.

Both are great. The Corvette I like nearly as much as my German Corvette passive. The action is a little high but it should be an easy fix. The preamp not having a mid tone knob may be a dealbreaker for some but I'm enjoying it. Dialing in sounds is easy. The only thing I don't like is the treble tone knob turned all the way up sounds like crap to me. It's just too much high end and it gets hissy. Overall the active produces less noise than my German passive. The Streamer is very cool as well. I am little concerned by the softness of the "Carolena" wood used for the body. Although I think the wood may greatly contribute to the tone of the bass. My Streamer has a unique tone that I can only think to describe as a pleasantly muddy honk. Awesome for palm muting and funk. Another TB user got a Streamer and hated it.See discussion here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...3#post10083293

This is where I became a little concerned over the wood softness. My bass honestly feels fine. All the hardware seems very secure. I just hope if it does start falling apart that it will do so during the two years I'm still under warranty. Definitely a bass to be careful with as the natural finish doesn't offer much protection.

SoonerMatt · #16 12-05-2010, 02:54 PM

~~My only advice is to be VERY careful with them. They use pine bodies and ding very easily.~~

HA HA NEVERMIND THEY USE ALDER BODIES ON THEIR CORVETTES NOW

Need2KnowBasses · #17 12-05-2010, 03:22 PM

The Streamers are "Carolina pine" and they will ding very easily. I have no idea why they feel the Streamer Standard should be priced so high.

pasta4lnch · #18 12-05-2010, 03:31 PM

played a passive $$ fiver at a GC a bit ago and it was just killer!! under a grand too . . . I'd totally get one if I needed another fiver