Fake Warwick?

[nirvana1410]

Alright guys, so I stumbled upon this nice looking Warwick Thumb 5 string bass. But after looking at it for a while, I noticed, the body shape looks nothing like a Thumb, but looks like a Streamer body.

-And then I see it has only 3 knobs (1 being stacked), and I all the ones I've seen are 4 knobs.

-Also, there's this little white piece where the neck meets the body. Another thing Ive never seen on a Thumb or Streamer.

-Aaaand then the back of it; the battery cover is white?? and it appears to have 4 screws holding it in place. The ones Ive seen have clips and are black with the Warwick logo on it.

I would be shocked to find out that someone had made a fake, but I know they're out there. So tell me guys, what's up with this bass?

 

[remigioremigio]

fake for sure!

 

[Cirk]

Something doesn't seem right. Hold off until you're sure. Lots of fake gear out there.

 

[Wookieonbass]

That is definately NOT a thumb bass! It could be some new or older prototype Warwick as it has a lot of what appears to be Warwick hardware on it. I kind of doubt it is though. Still, it's not a bad looking bass.

 

[NickBEADG]

Truss rod covert is printed upside down lol

 

[Splods]

Looks cool though, I wouldn't pay Warwick money for it, but if it sounds and plays well, I would happily pick it up for a couple of hundred, maybe even convince the guy to drop the price a bit

 

[Sonic]

I'd ask the guys on the sponsored board if this is a weird experiment that broke out of the factory. Honestly, I think it's just a fake. Definitely not any thumb I've ever seen.

 

[Webtroll]

Truss rod upside down is a flag, as is the strange neck extension into the body and the off shape. The craftmanship looks good, and it has the right bridge and tailpiece- almost looks like someone took a left handed thumb bass and build their own right handed body for it or more likely converted a Jackson or some other body to fit the neck.

 

[eulogy77]

that is for sure a copy, as far as i know (i own one) they only have 4 bolts to hold the neck to the body

 

[Aussie Player]

Body is not scalloped at the neck join like Warwicks.

 

[nirvana1410]

Truss rod covert is printed upside down lol

Well, Its possible that the cover lid will fit on upside-down. So thats a possibility.

Also, I forgot to mention, it has SIX bolts holding the neck on, instead of four. Plus, maple necks are pretty uncommon on Warwicks arent they? I see a lot of Wenge and Ovangkol necks on them.

 

[Webtroll]

Why do you think the neck is maple? Besides, I have an old LX5 fretless that has a maple neck with what appear to be wenge laminates and a ebony fingerboard.

 

[remigioremigio]

this bass looks as a warwick, as as calling a jazz bass a 4003 rick.......warwick? no way!

 

[nirvana1410]

Why do you think the neck is maple? Besides, I have an old LX5 fretless that has a maple neck with what appear to be wenge laminates and a ebony fingerboard.

Well, I don't know for sure. I was just assuming based on the color. It kind of looks almost as if its been painted white. And I only said they seemed uncommon, not that they don't exist.

 

[mmbongo]

Plain old plastic control cavity cover = not a Warwick.

Does it have bell brass frets?

 

[Philonius]

Pretty curious. Not a Thumb, by any means. I'd guess it's a Wick neck grafted onto another body. I want to hear what the pros say.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Looks fake to me. I've owned 4 German warwicks including both neck through and bolt on thumb basses. I'm almost entirely sure Ive never seen a warwick with 6 bolts holding the neck on. The body shape is also off. It could actually be a real warwick neck with a different body but the pickups are also a giveaway its shady. In both my thumb basses the pickups are mounted on an angle they are not perpendicular with the strings. And if I remember correctly on the bolt on the pickups were less than an inch away from each other.

 

[Nephilymbass]

It could be a model Ive never seen in person with a different truss rod cover. All their truss rod covers are interchangeable. For example of you have a thumb bolt on you can put the thumb neck through cover insert on it

 

[thebandcircle]

I made a long drive to look at this bass. It is a rockbass neck, bondo-filler shaped body, left-handed "thumb" truss cover, and a terrible white pearl paint. I thought about breaking it in-half on the spot...!

(Notice the serial# 0123456789)

 

[miles'tone]

The body shape looks more reminiscent of the old Warwick Fortress (long top horn) but the lower body horn looks too long for a fortress, which should be a little nub of a thing.
It looks very hokey to me, I've got a feeling the neck is a copy.