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Strings for a Warwick?!?

B

boominbassline2

Mar 21, 2010
10
0
#1
Hey guys whats up?

I recently bought a used Warwick Katana 5 NT (so sick) and the strings need to be replaced badly. It came with DR Long Neck Tapered medium and the e string just broke. Any suggestions for what a good set of strings for warwick bass would be? I play mostly prog rock/metal, jazz and hip hop.i like my bass to have a nice somewhat jazzy tone underneath the metal i play. thanks!
 
#3
Actually, he will have to have everything adjusted if he uses anything but tapred strings like the long necks since reular non tapered strings will sit a lot higher. You kind of just have to decide if you like the tapred strings or if you want non tapered (which will offer you a wider variety to try w/o having to change the basses setup). I had to get a setup after switching from long necks to low riders (almost nobody carries long necks around me).
 
#4
IMHO, if you just bought the bass, you should probably get it setup anyway, unless you absolutely love the way it plays now more than anything else in the world. As for your question, I started with DR High Beams on my Corvette Standard, and no I use the new black coated strings. They keep their tone for a LONG time, and I can even get away with playing with a pick without taking off the coating. Keep in mind I'm primarily a rock style player, but with the tone you get with that bass and those strings and a good amp (I use a Markbass F500), you'll sound good no matter what you're playing for.
 
#5
Tone, of course, is a totally subjective topic but I prefer nickelwounds on Warwicks (I actually prefer nickels on everything, lol) especially because they can get REALLY bright and clik-clackity with stainless steels. Nickels tend to bring out that growl while still retaining enough brightness to make it musical. I personally use Ken Smith Burners and love them but I've heard great things about DR Nickel Lo-Riders and DR Sunbeams.

Also, if I remember correctly Warwicks will only accept taper-core strings because of how the bridge is set up.
 
#7
It's totally just habit now, but when I bought my (FNA) Corvette ten years ago the guy who sold it to me (who's a great bassist whose opinion I respect), said he had searched high and low for just the right strings for it, and found he liked "LaBella Hard Rockin' Steels".. .045 to .128 for a five string. I have to say that I've flown in to a lot of cruise ship gigs and every other kind of gig where they sure appreciated my tone. Of course a lot of your sound is in your fingers and your particular pickups/wood, but I digress. I do like the Hard Rockin' Steels.
 
#9
Both my wick 5 strings have the 2 piece bridge and I just pinch the string a little bit so that the string fits in the slot, no filing required and I have yet to break a string doing this. This way you can pick any strings that you want and still string your bass with them without having to use a file.
 
#10
Kwesi said:
Tone, of course, is a totally subjective topic but I prefer nickelwounds on Warwicks (I actually prefer nickels on everything, lol) especially because they can get REALLY bright and clik-clackity with stainless steels. Nickels tend to bring out that growl while still retaining enough brightness to make it musical. I personally use Ken Smith Burners and love them but I've heard great things about DR Nickel Lo-Riders and DR Sunbeams.

Also, if I remember correctly Warwicks will only accept taper-core strings because of how the bridge is set up.
Click to expand...

Mmmm I think that answer my question with this. mine came with Stainless steel and sound very good (awesome) but I have 'round 3 years playing full nickel ones and I like more the tone...
 
#11
quigg said:
Both my wick 5 strings have the 2 piece bridge and I just pinch the string a little bit so that the string fits in the slot, no filing required and I have yet to break a string doing this. This way you can pick any strings that you want and still string your bass with them without having to use a file.
Click to expand...

I'll second that.. I was trying to get a set of Slinky's on my corvette std, and could not get the B string on(.130), even though the previous owner took a file to the bridge. I put the end of the string in a vise and flattened it out pretty good, it fit right in there. For a second there I was pretty upset that I wasted 30 bucks on a set of strings I couldn't use.. Thanks for the post...
 

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