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Please enlight me about a Warwick Corvette

#42
Warwick is and always will be a special Bass and as said here all ready they do have a presence all their own.

I have an 06 thumb bass with the same exotic woods and it plays consistently very strong and provides a solid bass foundation. I find I play more in a passive mode than active but both will do nicely if I want a change.

I was thinking about removing the frets so it would be more like a Jack Bruce set up but was told that a Corvette fretless would be just as good.

A Corvette fretless has been mentioned here but not talked about much.
If you play one can you give us your experience with it?
Thanks

Clayton
 
#43
CaribooBass said:
Warwick is and always will be a special Bass and as said here all ready they do have a presence all their own.

I have an 06 thumb bass with the same exotic woods and it plays consistently very strong and provides a solid bass foundation. I find I play more in a passive mode than active but both will do nicely if I want a change.

I was thinking about removing the frets so it would be more like a Jack Bruce set up but was told that a Corvette fretless would be just as good.

A Corvette fretless has been mentioned here but not talked about much.
If you play one can you give us your experience with it?
Thanks

Clayton
Click to expand...
I have an fretless 4 string (06 I think) with flats on it. Plays wonderfully and sounds fantastic! Don’t play it too much anymore as I have moved to 5 string basses almost exclusively. However, these German corvettes are really great and a great value.
 
#44
Katoosie said:
@Halabja
I have used your typical "guitar cleaning" clothes for my thumb that I had. Soft microfiber. You could even go with your fingers, but a cloth works wonders and is easy to apply with!
Click to expand...

Yes. I use paper towel to apply the wax. I let it sit for about 10 minutes. I find if it sits too long it gets pretty sticky and is harder to buff out. Then I use a microfiber cloth as @Katoosie said. I have used the Warwick finishing wax, Howard's Feed n' Wax and others. All work well.
 
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#45
CaribooBass said:
...
I was thinking about removing the frets so it would be more like a Jack Bruce set up but was told that a Corvette fretless would be just as good.
...
Click to expand...

The problem with de-fretting Warwicks is the Wenge fingerboard. Wenge has a very open grain that doesn't make a good playing surface. If you de-fret, you will probably need to factor in $$ for an epoxy finish. But that will also have a dramatic impact on the sound. So the message is proceed with caution. For factory fretless, Warwick uses Ebony as the default...
20220113_171149.jpg
 
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#48
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#51
Bobbadfinger said:
I talked to my luthier, and since Warwick wax or Howard's are not readily available down here, he suggested tung oil.
Any downside to this ?
Click to expand...
Tung oil and bees wax are very different. Tung oil is a finish that will harden, while bees wax is more of a temporary conditioner. Oddly enough Brazil is a big exporter of bees wax. You should have no problem locating a high quality wax in Brazil
 
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#52
Bobbadfinger said:
I guess I'm overthinking it...I bet all those carnauba wax actually just come from Brazil, at least the raw material.
All of northeast is full of those trees...
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I used to wax mine with each string change so maybe 2-3x's a year. I have found that after a while of doing this the basses don't seem to need it anymore. My '97 hasn't been waxed in a couple of years and is fine. As @Katoosie said the waxing is an enjoyable task. Maybe I'll do it soon! I think if you're taking it out gigging, you may want to polish more often.
 
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#53
Well, when I gig it's on guitar, I'm just a hobbyst bass player. But will really need to do the waxing, bass was in storage for some time, wood looks dried indeed.
I already locate an specialized wax shop near me, as soon as he gets his treatment I'll post some photos.
Thanks to everyone who responded.
 
#55
Joe Nerve said:
I had the 98 version of that bass. Pretty sure it had a Warwick preamp however. I believe the Aguilar preamp might very well be a plus. I wound up selling mine because of the weight and sizzle. Bubinga is heavy, if ya haven't yet noticed :) .

The good:

I believe those basses have an organic feel and spirit to them that others (at least ones I've owned), don't. I am a HUGE fan of the wenge necks because they're rock solid. I tweak the truss rods on all my basses except the Warwick wenge ones. I've owned several. Still have a Fortress. You can set them and forget them. Even in changing climates. I love the way they feel too.

And while the bubinga is heavy, I believe it adds to the depth of the bass. When I bought my corvette I was blessed to be able to A/B it with a bunch of other basses in a great sound room they used to have in Rudy's music in NYC. It was just me and the awesome sales guy that some remember who worked there (forgot his name), and I put it up agains Streamers, Fortresses, even a Dolphin they had at the time. The Corvette was hands down the deepest sounding of them all, and that's what I was after at the time.

Congrats! And a final, helpful tip - especially if you're used to passive basses...

Set the bass and treble at 1/3 of the way and consider THAT flat, as opposed to where the center detents are. These basses can get lots of boom and sizzle, and I found there are a lot more pleasant and usable tones available when I start EQing from that point. Have fun.
Click to expand...
I agree about the Aguilar being an after production chain add on and who ever did it, it was well done based on the picture the OP provided. :thumbsup:
 
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