Admittedly, had it for at least a month now. I play a lot of instruments and love playing bass, but I'm more of a guitar player and woodwind player. I'm also old and battling Lupus so comfort has become a priority. My Warwick fretless is one of my favorite things to play, but at times I struggle with the 34" scale length. Wanted a 5 string with a short scale. Warmoth route was out, though at some point I may try and go with a SS jazz bass. For now this is fun. Last weekend I swapped on flat and went with E-A-D-G-C tuning which better suits my needs. Actually right now the EAD are flats and the G and C are roundwounds. This is fun to play and the shorter length is so much more manageable for me. Since getting the flats on there I have decided to keep it as the binding process has now begun. For me, Flats are the only way to go on a bass.
Like many, intonation was an issue out of the box. Even restringing the bottom string won't quite go back far enough. Some upgrades are planned:
Going with a Hipshot A style bridge. It's on it way.
Pickups: I love the DiMarzios in my Warwick. I hate noise. Drives but batpoopie crazy. The Warick has an Ultra Jazz in the bridge and an Area J in the neck position. Killer tones and super quiet, but this setup won't work for a 5. While I prefer passives, I played a friends Warmoth 5 string with EMG JAX set in it. Ordered the set. Will take a little finagling to fit, but that's ok. At some point may swap the tone control for the variable mid control. Usually I can dial in the highs and lows on my amp and be happy. Mids get finicky in different rooms so this may be a better way to go, for me personally anyway.
Tuners, in the future I'll put some hipshots on it, for now, they're doing ok.
Nut will get changed, especially since I changed the string layout.
probably going to put a rosewood "ramp" from the bridge pickup to the neck itself. I dig the look and having a consistent anchor helps my hands to relax and gives me great control on my tone and playing.
Instrument: $185
Upgrades: more then double the cost of the instrument...
But that's ok
Cheers!
Like many, intonation was an issue out of the box. Even restringing the bottom string won't quite go back far enough. Some upgrades are planned:
Going with a Hipshot A style bridge. It's on it way.
Pickups: I love the DiMarzios in my Warwick. I hate noise. Drives but batpoopie crazy. The Warick has an Ultra Jazz in the bridge and an Area J in the neck position. Killer tones and super quiet, but this setup won't work for a 5. While I prefer passives, I played a friends Warmoth 5 string with EMG JAX set in it. Ordered the set. Will take a little finagling to fit, but that's ok. At some point may swap the tone control for the variable mid control. Usually I can dial in the highs and lows on my amp and be happy. Mids get finicky in different rooms so this may be a better way to go, for me personally anyway.
Tuners, in the future I'll put some hipshots on it, for now, they're doing ok.
Nut will get changed, especially since I changed the string layout.
probably going to put a rosewood "ramp" from the bridge pickup to the neck itself. I dig the look and having a consistent anchor helps my hands to relax and gives me great control on my tone and playing.
Instrument: $185
Upgrades: more then double the cost of the instrument...
But that's ok
Cheers!
