• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Warrior road trip

A friend and I went to Warrior yesterday and I thought you guys/gals might like to see what goes on in Rossville, GA. I have two Warriors that I acquired used and took them with me on the trip. I came to find out that the red one in the pictures is actually the 35th bass made(!!!) and is the only one that was made in red. I spent some time looking around and was given the tour by Scott. Now I know that there are a number of you who have had challenges with these instruments and some of the dealings have been not to your liking but I can tell you from here that I was treated like family. I had a friend with me who had never laid hands on a Warrior and after playing a single cut goldtop Isabella, he was ready to take it home. the only other 'high end' basses that I have owned has been Wal. I have tried many others but they don't feel right in my hands so I have been on a quest. These guys have integrity and heart and it shows as I was watching my red bass being tweaked and cleaned up. I took some pictures of various things and I am posting them for your enjoyment. I plan to get a couple more of these basses and am pondering currently how that will take shape. For those of you with bad gallery experiences, I would question the gallery before I would go back to Warrior. Also, for those of you who read the story on Harmony Central about the person who received a bass that was not what he ordered, the poster did not give the rest of the story. The person did not tell you in the post that JD gave him two options on the bass, the first of which being that he would make the poster another bass. The second option was to keep the one that he had and get it at a discounted price. The poster opted to keep the one that was discounted. (Don't get any ideas any of you:rolleyes: )...

Overall, I was treated better than family and I will be looking to increase my Warrior pile as I prepared for international tours this summer.
 

Attachments

  • Me_and_the Rack (Custom).jpg
    Me_and_the Rack (Custom).jpg
    36.3 KB · Views: 356
  • StackedBodies (Custom).jpg
    StackedBodies (Custom).jpg
    23.8 KB · Views: 218
phogchris said:
You, my friend, got an amazing deal on that red bass. If I am not mistaken, it was on ebay a few weeks ago and went for less than $500....I bid on it and lost...

Actually, a friend got it for me...really hooked me up. There is a lot of cool history with that bass. JD explained a bunch to me about it yesterday and it is something to be pondered. The bass comes with Basslines soapbars and it is active but they are active pickups no other preamp. It sounds kinda like a Spector(Kramer era) and has a nine piece neck. they really cared for me on this trip. The bass received an almost complete overhaul as far as frets and setup goes. It plays incredibly. There are not that many of the early ones and I was told that they actually kept one of the bodies for posterity. I have a brochure that I found in my stacks from 97 when the bass was made and it is pretty interesting.

The five that I have is another ebay purchase. A friend got that one for me and I gave him a Rickenbacker for it. It also has some unique qualities and it has NAMM stamped into the back of the headstock, which I was told was only done on a certain number of the basses.
 
I use to Endorse Warrior Basses and at one time had an all Red 4 string Warrior Bass(even the Maple fingerboard had a nice clear red finish on it with my sig at the 12th fret position)When I gave the Bass back to JD at Warrior he asked me to sign it with a sharpie.
 
Future, it depends on the bass. Both of mine have different spacings (4&5)..the five strings is very flat and wide. The four string is round like a jazz and probably a 'b'width (on the fender scale) but it is a nine piece neck though!!!

Poet, you should see them in person, those were only some of what was there.
 
Man. Warrior was the first boutique bass that I was ever introduced to. Needless to say, I still have yet to get one. I emailed them a few months ago with some questions about the buy to build program. I have a feeling I'm not going to be hearing anything from them. When I get the funds though, there will be a fretless Isabella 5 in my hands.