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German Warwicks How-To-Tell Guide ?. Please help !
- Thread starter jgore
- Start date
you can get glass finish as an option though...Best thing to do is just look at the serial. Rockbasses have a RB in there somewhere.
The new pro series from korea...I dont know but im sure theres some distinguishing serial.
yup check this out
Warwick Thumb Pro Series 5 String Electric Bass Black | eBay
the serial in the pro series has some sort of letters before the month serial starts.
The new pro series from korea...I dont know but im sure theres some distinguishing serial.
yup check this out
Warwick Thumb Pro Series 5 String Electric Bass Black | eBay
the serial in the pro series has some sort of letters before the month serial starts.
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
for a layman (myself) are the differences between german and chinese warwicks really that noticeable?? (pardon if this is a really stupid question)
I have a chinese one (temp bass until i can afford a beauty), which was pretty overpriced (but im in Aus, the land of expensive bananas)
I have a chinese one (temp bass until i can afford a beauty), which was pretty overpriced (but im in Aus, the land of expensive bananas)
Chinese made Warwick = RockBass Warwick.
German made Warwick = the real deal.
RockBasses are to Warwick what Squiers are to Fender. Good budget basses, but not exactly on the same foot with the German ones. Then again, if you like your bass and how it sounds, who cares what's written on the headstock?
German made Warwick = the real deal.
RockBasses are to Warwick what Squiers are to Fender. Good budget basses, but not exactly on the same foot with the German ones. Then again, if you like your bass and how it sounds, who cares what's written on the headstock?
In a word, yes.
In two words, heck yes!
The difference between my German Corvette and Steamer Stage 1 is night and day compared to their Rockbass counterparts. Everything about them is simply better. The Squier to Fender analogy is a good one, but I think the differences in the Warwick lines are even more pronounced and defined than the Fenders.
noticed a post regarding the german made corvette having a 3 piece body and the korean having a 2 piece body....deffinately untrue as my 98 corvette std has a 2 piece bubinga body, unless some models were made out off a 3 piece body ?. could someone also shed some light on exactly when the production of the corvette std moved to korea ?
My 2009 German Corvette has a 2 piece bubinga body too
The only way to tell them apart is by confronting the serial numbers: they switched the production to Korea in 2010 - so any bass that was made prior to that date is German. The W serial looks like this: MONTH (the letter: A=January, B=February, etc) - SERIAL NUMBER - YEAR.
All the Pro Series (MIK) basses have bell brass frets. The Corvettes are identical to the ones previously made in Germany (so the only difference is the production location), while the other models (Thumb, Streamer LX, Star) have maple necks instead of ovangkol.
The truss rod cover can be easily changed, so I wouldn't take it into consideration when trying to identify a model, unless you buy the bass brand new.
+1 on the serial. That's really the only way to tell. However, I'm pretty sure they moved production only on the std models to Korea, and that was in '97/'98 if I remember correctly from dating my last 'Wick.
If the serial is scratched off, then just start emailing them and I'm sure they'll have some indicator of when/where it was mad elsewhere on the instrument.
Good Luck!
CF
My Streamer LX is a 98, German-made. It has a glass finish, I suppose you'd say, not oil, and an ovangkol neck, wenge board, brass frets. Says Made In Germany on the cavity cover and "West Germany" on the tuners.
Wow!
What a thread. Seems my WPS breaks some rules, but honors others.
Bell brass frets: check
Pro Series truss cover insignia: check
Three piece Body: check
No gloss finish: check
Control Cavity cover says "Made in Germany": check
WPS E-000212 -11, so the rule about "2010 and Prior..." being the cutoff of line moving to Korea: ...well not in my case.
Also, the SN is "laser" etched on base of Headstock, which I heard was difinitive of German.
Regarding sound and playability compared to my (Chinese?) Corvette $$, I gotta say, the Vette takes it due to a Serial/Parallel switch that really pulls that funky growl to another level, even though she's passive. Who would'a thunk?
But what a scheme to keep us all talking Warwick stuff, hey?
Thanks all.
What a thread. Seems my WPS breaks some rules, but honors others.
Bell brass frets: check
Pro Series truss cover insignia: check
Three piece Body: check
No gloss finish: check
Control Cavity cover says "Made in Germany": check
WPS E-000212 -11, so the rule about "2010 and Prior..." being the cutoff of line moving to Korea: ...well not in my case.
Also, the SN is "laser" etched on base of Headstock, which I heard was difinitive of German.
Regarding sound and playability compared to my (Chinese?) Corvette $$, I gotta say, the Vette takes it due to a Serial/Parallel switch that really pulls that funky growl to another level, even though she's passive. Who would'a thunk?
But what a scheme to keep us all talking Warwick stuff, hey?
Thanks all.
Hey Happynoj,
Yeah, as I said, my WPS is 2011 and made in Germany.
There ya go: the rule just got bent, LOL.
Yeah, as I said, my WPS is 2011 and made in Germany.
There ya go: the rule just got bent, LOL.
Chinese made will have a Rockbass logo on either the truss rod cover or the headstock. Korean made will have Pro Series logo on truss rod cover. You can also look up the serial number on the Invalid Link Removed
Just look at the rear of the headstock. German made will start with a D =Deutscheland or German. Also if its a new bought instrument the tuning pegs will have Germany stamped on them whereas non Deutsch wont. As for Korea and China the initials at the start of the serial number will tell you what you want to know. I can see some people using methods to create a german provenance, ie swap tuners, and use metal stamps to create german type serial no's. Only the new or limited editions with laser stamp will stump them for a while.
