Warwick Corvette Standard

Before my shift to 5-string, the Warwick Corvette Standard 4 was my favorite bass. Mine was older with a Wenge neck. It was passive with single-coil MECs. I switched those to DiMarzio Model J's and found myself in bass tone and playing heaven. I sold it when I switched to 5ers.

Many basses have come and gone since. The Corvette Standard 4 is the only bass that I miss and have regretted selling.

Bought it in 97 as the second owner. First guy could not get used to a fiver. Played it hardly. Then I saw her...(sounds like a cheap novel) and decided without any hesistation that it would be mine. Besides the fact that I played guitar and could absolutly not affort this beauty, i still bought the Corvette 5. Without any doubt the most attractive, sleak, modern, natural and professional looking bass to me at that time.But never played it. I new the Warwick reputation. Absurdly expensive and top materials crafted by skilled workers, not the cheapest. Made in Germany, next to the Netherlands.

It served with the amp as a stand for the bedroon TV. The included softcase was used by our cats for sharpening frontpaws. Didnt hurt the bass inside was my idea.

After the last band split up, stopt being active in a band the last 8 years. Career. Until the summer of '11. If i knew a bassplayer... Yes, me! (Joke) was the answer to a fellow i knew. But at the same moment it felt like a good opportunity to play again. Even on a bass, which I always found boring and lazy. I used to play Ibanez RG's and metal....

First evening as a bassplayer. The others looked very very amazing at the novice i was with a Corvette 5.
Never played before. Amp was a Peavey Basic 50. Played the first notes....

The band still exists after 7 years and 100+ shows with only the original singer and me. Simply cannot stop playing.

Its the feeling we all know. Hard to describe. But for me, it has everything to do with my Corvette. I love it.
Played other basses, but they are still boring to me.

Dont play guitar anymore, i am totally hooked on bass, progrock and my Corvette.

For very little FS-able FX i still use a Digitech GSP2101 also a 90's product amped by Warwick Xtreme 10.1 over a set of Greenboys 15/6.
Earthquake material. Ultraclean, powerfull, subtle and usefull. Comes with a everlasting smile on the bassplayers face.

In short. I saw a Corvette and start playing bass and quit everything else.

Nothing but the truth.

'99 corvette std was my 1st 5er

It's a keeper. I love the feel of the neck. Rock solid setup. Has never requires adjustment. You can set action crazy low. So it plays easy and fast for a bass. I love the low end tone. Big clean bottom heavy sound.

To me it sounds fantastic and clean.

I have many many hours on this bass and see very little evidence of fret or neck wear.

Although it does require waxing ( I always use Warwick wax ) it comes up like brand new After its done. I typically only wax it when I change strings.

Another reviewer mentioned that it didn't sit well in the mix. I also find this to be true only in certain types of band configuration. If I'm playing with several electric guitars ... especially with a les Paul type rhythm guitar, it does seem to be tough to pull out of the mix. However in a quartet / jazz or acoustic set ... It's perfect. For crazy deep loud ... It is thunderously low and also perfect. But I do get lost in the mix for much that I play.

It's also pretty heavy ... So I often find myself playing other basses when I'm with a larger band configuration, or going to be standing a lot.

I bought a Chinese Corvette to use while my RIC was being repaired. I liked it so much I bought a real German Corvette. The Chinese Rockbass is good, but the German version is much better.

I prefer the neck on my RIC (slightly) but the quality and range of sounds available in the active Corvette means the RIC never comes out anymore. I've actually grown quite comfortable with the "baseball bat" neck.

The finish is great. There's actually no finish, just the waxed bare wood. I hate relic looking instruments. There's a good sized divot above the neck pickup from the previous owners thumb nail for example. No problem, just wax over it and it blends right in. I treat the neck with lemon oil rubbed in with scotchbrite. It makes a very smooth non-sticky neck, unlike ones that are finished with a high gloss poly.

It is heavy, but that has never been an issue for me. The neck never moves, and it always stays in tune.

I did replace the rather cheesy tuners with Gotohs that look very similar but are of much better quality.

This was my first "real" bass, or first bass costing over a few hundred bucks. The one I had was Bubinga with a Wenge neck, and active MECs. I believe it was a '98.

The bass had awesome action and played like a dream. I felt it almost had a spirit to it, maybe due to the woodiness and love I put into it waxing and doting over it. Anyhow, I originally bought the bass because I wanted a bass with lots of bottom, and this one couldn't be beat. Not even by Warwicks costing $1000 more. I was fortunate to be able to check out a whole bunch of Warwicks at the time of purchase in the old sound room of Rudy's Music in NYC, with the help of an ace sales dude that's no longer there. The room is no longer their either... anyhow, money wasn't an issue for me at the time. I wanted a deep and dark sounding bass, and this one had that in spades.

What I didn't realize at the time of purchase was that it also weighed quite a bit, and what I found was it was a bit difficult to mix in with the band when I started gigging with it. There was a lot of boom, and sizzle, and not a whole lot in between. It was tough to eq it where it wasn't either booming or clacking, and it was only on rare occasions that I got it to sit in the mix as I wanted it to. That and the weight are what eventually got me to sell mine. I later bought a Fortress one, which gave me all I hoped the Corvette would have. It has a little less low end, but site much more nicely in the mix and isn't a back breaker.

One thing I absolutely loved about the Corvette was the tone I got out of it in the studio. The entire All We Want Is Fun CD linked on the page below was recorded on the Warwick. Road Rage is one of my favs on that album.

I HAVE HAD THREE CORVETTES AND ALL OF THEM HAVE KICKED ASS. GREAT BASS ALL AROUND.

What a great sound. Feels awesome. This and the Rick are the measuring tools for my idea of quality basses. So smooth and comfortable, I can sit for hours and practice quite comfortably. If you haven't held one...find one... Then you'll know.

I have a second-hand 2001 Corvette 6 string. I replaced the MEC pickups with Seymour Duncan Basslines ASB-6 pickups and an EMG 3-band equalizer with sweepable mids.

This new combination gives me limitless tonal control. The bass sounds so classy and articulate it's insane!

This is my go-to bass. If I could only have one bass ever again, it would have to be this one! The sound is amazing and so is the quality. The wood choices are perfect. It is heavy, but when you pick it up and play it, you just can't help but tell yourself, "Damn! Now THIS is a bass!" ...not like the run-of-the-mill ash/alder basses.

I highly recommend not just Warwick basses, but the Corvette. There's just no beating it. Period.

Amazing bass. It's a little on the heavy side (10lbs on my scale) but it's flawless otherwise. Looks good, plays like butter, and has UNBELIEVABLE tone. It's a solid mid-range bass that plays like a high end one. Definitely recommended.

I bought this used from a local Toronto pawnshop. Despite being 7 years old, it looks unused.

It plays very well. Strong mid-range, with plenty of round low-end. Similar tone to a Thumb BO 4 with passive switch on. It still sounds good with either pickup soloed.

Weight isn't that bad for me, I'm a pretty big guy. It weighs less than a Thumb NT.

I can get amazing pick and finger-style tones out of this bass. It's great for rock or metal, also blues and country. Running it flat into my 1001RB-II-Eden D410XLT rig gives me a big, fat, growly tone, perfect for classic (i.e. '70s, '80s) Judas Priest.

The only gripe I have with it is the buzzing from the pickups (the only reason I didn't give it a 10). So long as you don't crank the treble, it's not very noticeable. Don't buy new pickups, as I was thinking of doing, just for the noise. They're solid pickups. Just like all MECs.

I recommend that you buy one.

Cheers!