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Blown away....by a Warwick? ? ?

birminghambass

birminghambass

Sep 18, 2002
7,092
8,709
Birmingham, AL
#1
Yes indeed! Over the years I've owned over 100 basses, mostly of the Fender variety (G&L, Ernie Ball, Lakland, etc). Maybe 4 or 5 have been Warwicks, a few Thumbs, a few Corvettes, each of them from the 2002-2007 era. Crazy heavy (except one ash model), fat unwieldy neck, uninspiring tone. A few years back I was at Atlanta Bass Gallery and got my hands on a older Fortress One. Holy crap! Playability was as good as I've ever felt, weight was perfect, tone was punchy and solid through all the strings. I didn't buy it but I've been searching for an old Fortress ever since. Well I recently snatched up a mid nineties Corvette and I'm equally as impressed. Weight is a bit under 10lbs, much lighter than more recent bubinga models. The all wenge neck is thin and super fast, playability is fantastic. The fit and finish surpasses all of my Fenders. I swapped out the stock pickups with Delanos (the control cavity was immaculate), and it just KILLS! I'm not selling my Fenders just yet but man, I'm gonna be on the lookout for older Warwicks!
 
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#2
Love my Streamer Jazzman. Weighs about 8lbs and the super thin Jazz neck is phenomenal. Not sure why people think they are heavy and have fat necks. I've had maybe 5 Warwicks and they have all been lighter than any Fender or Music Man and the necks are similarly shaped. I think lots of people who say such things have never played a Warwick.
 
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#9
birminghambass said:
Yes indeed! Over the years I've owned over 100 basses, mostly of the Fender variety (G&L, Ernie Ball, Lakland, etc). Maybe 4 or 5 have been Warwicks, a few Thumbs, a few Corvettes, each of them from the 2002-2007 era. Crazy heavy (except one ash model), fat unwieldy neck, uninspiring tone. A few years back I was at Atlanta Bass Gallery and got my hands on a older Fortress One. Holy crap! Playability was as good as I've ever felt, weight was perfect, tone was punchy and solid through all the strings. I didn't buy it but I've been searching for an old Fortress ever since. Well I recently snatched up a mid nineties Corvette and I'm equally as impressed. Weight is a bit under 10lbs, much lighter than more recent bubinga models. The all wenge neck is thin and super fast, playability is fantastic. The fit and finish surpasses all of my Fenders. I swapped out the stock pickups with Delanos (the control cavity was immaculate), and it just KILLS! I'm not selling my Fenders just yet but man, I'm gonna be on the lookout for older Warwicks!
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Older Warwicks are killer basses; that era where they switched to thinner necks still used wenge/wenge was definitely the best as far as what I've played and heard.
 
#10
mmbongo said:
Love my Streamer Jazzman. Weighs about 8lbs and the super thin Jazz neck is phenomenal. Not sure why people think they are heavy and have fat necks. I've had maybe 5 Warwicks and they have all been lighter than any Fender or Music Man and the necks are similarly shaped. I think lots of people who say such things have never played a Warwick.
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Warwick has just used a lot of different woods and neck shapes in the last twenty years that greatly alter the playing experience; I've played Warwicks exactly what you and the OP are describing, and I've played others with super thick (almost double bass like) necks that were absurdly heavy.
 
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#11
Pentatonic said:
When did the neck profiles start to change?
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I don't know for sure, but there. Was a period around mid 2000s to around 2009 I think where the necks were much thicker than now. But even model to model I don't think the changes occurred all at the same time. The folks over at Warwick.de could probably answer.

Here's the various profiles and their nomenclature.

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#12
Warwick changed to Ovangkol necks in 1999, and therefore the neck profile. They changed it because Ovangkol is not as dense and stable as Wenge. It was necessary. I have seen too many warped Ovangkol necks, specially 5 and 6 strings basses. Wenge too, to an extent, but less.

Wenge was in shortage of supply in that time, and regrowing it to normalize supplies took around 10 years, and then Wenge/Wenge necks started being produced again.
I can't tell about neck profiles on these newer necks, though.
 
#13
They switched back to a thinner profile in 2008/2009. Personally I love the baseball bat neck era basses. I quite enjoy the face that most people seem to dislike them, because it means there are more for me...
 
#14
straight up love warwicks

never played one i didnt love, congratulations. Shop here in AUS is selling a mint fortress 96 model with a wenge neck for 1299....really, really want it
 
#15
2008-2009 might an early estimate. I don't think the slimmer necks showed up until 2010-2011 - but hey we're both pretty close ;)

Here's what I've noticed with the ones I've owned.

2002 Corvette - thicker neck
2003 Thumb - thicker neck
2006 Corvette - thicker neck
2007 Corvette - thicker neck
(Played in store) 2009 Corvette - thicker neck

2011 Corvette - Thin neck profile! It takes a while to get used to after playing older Warwicks.

For some songs I actually prefer the thick necks. It just feels like a nice handful of solid wood :woot:
 
#17
Around 1999-2000, they started the switch from Wenge to Ovangkol necks and to the thicker profile (wasn't a complete, 100% switch. There are some transitional basses with either wenge or ovangkol in 1999, but typically still have the thin profile. I don't think it was until around 2000 they really ramped up the thick ovangkol necks, at least from what I've experienced and read)

Around 2010-11 they started making a thin neck profile again, but still used Ovangkol.

In 2013, they continue to make the thin profile, but have switched back to Wenge necks again on German-made basses. There are a few exceptions such as the Infinity, Katana, Thumb SC, and Vampyre which all use maple necks, but otherwise they've almost all switched to Wenge. Even the Streamer Stage I, which previously always had a maple neck, is now Wenge (and as a result, supremely awesome IMO!). The Streamer CV is another exception with a bolt on maple neck, but that's going for more of the classic-style bass anyway.

In the end, every player is going to like different features. Some are die-hard "old" Warwick fans, and love the thin Wenge necks (and are also thrilled with its return), whereas others are more of a fan of the mid-2000's thick ovangkol necks. I tend to lean towards the latter of those groups. My SSII is a 2008, and has a thicker profile Ovangkol neck, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. My P-Nut has a wenge neck, but is still the thick profile since it was made in 2006, and again, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I've become so comfortable on these basses that thin-profile necks are just too uncomfortable. I had a 2011 Streamer LX a year and a half ago, and sold it after only a couple of months because I couldn't get comfortable with the thin neck. Now, the thick profile doesn't feel thick at all...it's actually started to feel on the thin side to me since it's what I'm used to.

The good news is, with all the variety they currently make and have made over the years, you can find just about anything to fit your needs (unless you are strictly a P-bass or jazz bass lover, at which point even their closest offerings would still probably not work for you). People tend to generalize Warwick's as being anchor-weight-heavy, thick-profile-only necks, and too specific a tone to be useful, but that simply isn't the case. It isn't just Warwick's that get generalized like that though, and I think people tend to play one or two offerings from a manufacturer and base all their opinions on that one experience. Even the same models of basses can vary from bass to bass with all brands.
 
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#19
I am not a fan of Warwicks at all but I once owned a 1996 Fortress Masterman and it was just a killer bass. I love the older wenge necks!
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That is the exact bass I am using as my main player right now..... I loooooooove that bass.

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