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Should i be gassing for a Warwick?

dkelley

dkelley

Apr 9, 2009
7,252
7,742
maple ridge, bc, canada
#1
my main is older Carvin bb75 jj. Best feeling bass ive played ever. only huge kudos from listeners on the tone. Also have fretted and FL usa ebmm sub 5. Stingray tones covered.

Recently ive been gassing for a used Warwick. sort of for the tone look etc but maybe partly for legitimacy too lol.

I play professionally but as second job.... did sessions for years but now in new band and looking to gig live again after many years away. Showy fun aggressive busy funky but also deep solid and expressive playing.... ballads to prog metal to rhcp to jazz to blues.

thoughts? Opinions of my personality lol?

Corvette.... can i cop the tone with existing gear and eq and effects?

Or streamer lx or jazzman for trying to be versatile but can they get classic warwick bubinga tones like an old bub corvette standard?
 
#6
Yea thanks for replies so far.... its a pretty vague thread topic i know lol... just wanted an open discusion rather than versus or pro con specifics. So thoughts ideas etc are welcome.

Im sort of wondering if its useful to buy a well made unique classic like a Warwick versus spending less on major electronics mods like adding a filter based preamp to my carvin (for flexibility.... loved that on my former Alembic) and probably a bass booster of some type (becduse my ebmm gets way more classic deep thump when wanted). Totally open to ideas.

I see people selling warwicks to get stingrays regularly.... my usa subs are essentially stingrays so i dont want to sell them particularly. But my carvin is WAY nicer to play....

But i love the expressiveness and variability of tone from the ebmm but also love aggressive in your face "it's MY band" Warwick tone.
 
#7
i have been a warwick user for quite awhile, but unlike any warwick users, i love and owned all the vampyre models (one time or another) and a buzzard bo. i never got to play the "normal" wicks like a corvette, thumb and streamer.

warwicks generally have a modern tone, not as modern as a ken smith or an alembic, but nevertheless, something along those lines. you can pretty much make them fit in the genres you described. if you like the shape, and are ready to play a bass that is not light, then go for it!

and oh, if you do not like heavy basses, avoid bubinga and ovangkol... those things are very heavy. they do have a growl that is special though... its similar to what you hear on a lot of mudvayne songs.
 
#9
i have always been curious about the stingray and warwick thing, cause i own both and do not hear any similarities between them. they also feel very different. while they are generally described as "trebly" basses, they hit different areas in the mids to sound very different from each other - at least, based on warwicks i have previously owned.

as for warwick being neck divers... seriously, there are a lot of warwick models, they cant be "neck divers" just because they are "Warwick" ... do not believe blanket and lazy statements like that.
 
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#11
I have a Thumb 5 string with the bolt on neck. Plays and sounds great. Looks pretty darned cool too!
There is some neck dive but not the neck crashes to the floor kind of neck dive. It seems to be balanced to be parallel to the floor.
A wide strap that has some grip pretty well takes care of that. You want a Warwick? I say go for it!
 
#13
Ok.... for those recommending them..... local current options are a Passive corvette bubinga or active lx streamer 5 or streamer jazzman 5. All have ovangkol necks. Different body woods and pickups as models suggest. 300 dollar variance in price (corvette might be overpriced at 800 cdn). Thoughts? And still open to not getting one at all....
 
#14
If you're just asking for opinions:

I own a passive 2001 Corvette Standard, 3 Stingrays, 3 Spector Euros, and a few others.

My Corvette literally gets 0 hours of playtime a month. I had a setup done almost a year ago and the strings are still fresh.

In my case I don't love the tone, it's fairly heavy and the neck profile feels a bit clunky.

Ymmv though, I'd suggest an active Standard over passive.

Edit: Also, if you were in the US I'd totally offer to sell you mine on the cheap to try it out.
 
#16
The only Warwick I have owned was a fortress , love it, in my opinion Warwick is years ahead from all other builders: adjustable nut, bridge can be adjusted in all imaginable ways, body design , exotic woods, etc. I would love to have a P Nut but I am currently saving for my kid's college.
 
#17
My Streamer Stage 1 does not neck dive, nor it is terribly heavy (remarkable given its maple body and neck). Warwicks have a lot of different pickup configurations and wood combinations, so if I were you my first step would be to further narrow your search as much as possible. It seems like you're looking at Corvettes, but what wood? What pickup configuration? That's going to really affect what you end up with.
 
#19
I played Warwicks exclusively for about three years (Streamer Stage I, Thumb BO, Thumb NT 5). I got tired of the lack of low end in those basses (as well as the ergonomics) and sold them all. Eight years later I still have no regrets.
 
#20
dkelley said:
Ok.... for those recommending them..... local current options are a Passive corvette bubinga or active lx streamer 5 or streamer jazzman 5. All have ovangkol necks. Different body woods and pickups as models suggest. 300 dollar variance in price (corvette might be overpriced at 800 cdn). Thoughts? And still open to not getting one at all....
Click to expand...

I recommend the Streamer Jazzman. Very versatile bass, can still get that Warwick tone, but can also get a range of other tones.

While I'm a huge proponent for Warwick, I must say they aren't for everyone. I love the way they feel, but the necks can be on the chunkier side which isn't for everyone (unless its pre-1999 or post-2011, give or take a bit, in which case they have much thinner necks...which I personally dont like but others love). Well worth the time to test one out, even if you have to buy it and sell it. Buy them used and they maintain their value pretty well.

As for neck dive, as said earlier, they aren't all that way. Thumbs can be bad, though not as bad as most make it out to be. Corvettes can be iffy, but I find them a tad neck heavy. Streamers are pretty well balanced though, and in some cases are perfectly balanced. I had a Streamer LX 4 and still have my Stage II 4 and both sit perfectly without any movement.
 

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