The Official Warwick Club Thread (Part 2)

[maddrakkett]

A bit, yes. Especially as I don't have my 'Wick in town with me. I couldn't take it on the train the last time I went home over easter.

Well, I guess I'll just have to go play with the P-nut II bass in one of the music stores in Stockholm.

Man, sorry to hear about your bass/Warwick situation. Are you not allowed to board the train with your bass, or did you not want to risk taking it on the train?

I hope you get to take care of your "'Wick fix" by getting some serious time on that P-Nut II - at least if that's your situation, you have a great bass for your "'Wick break!"

 

[The_Owl]

Man, sorry to hear about your bass/Warwick situation. Are you not allowed to board the train with your bass, or did you not want to risk taking it on the train?

I hope you get to take care of your "'Wick fix" by getting some serious time on that P-Nut II - at least if that's your situation, you have a great bass for your "'Wick break!"

No, you are allowed, and I dare to take it on the train, however, I couldn't physically carry more than what I had. This time, bringing more food was more important, seeing as I at least have my Modulus up here. Living on student loans, you really have too squeeze every penny.

Yeah, the P-nut II, I sure have given a good test run. Sad to say it has not been treated properly, not by shoppers OR employees. The B-tuner has been bent, caused by hanging the bass on it from the wall display. Brilliant idea, and when I pointed it out to the staff, they said the arm on the B-tuner was supposed to bend like that...

It also has a few beauty marks, and looks a little dry on a few spots, so they haven't been waxing it either, obviously. And then there's the price. The price tag (which of course is not the actual sale price) shows about double the price you'd pay for one of two from BassCentral in Florida, and those two specimens have literally never been out of their boxes.

Great bass though, despite über-dead strings, you could really hear what qualities it had. Great playability too, and it looks absolutely awesome.

I'm getting quite a nice tax refund this summer, which I'm hoping to spend on a trip to NYC, and while I'm there, well, let's just say Beaver Felton might be getting an order call. Or Joe Zon. Or Dan Lakin. ETC!

 

[blikeng]

Maddrakkett, how's that vibrato on the corvette? Do you use it a lot?

 

[The_Orlonater]

Quick question- when you guys play gigs with your Wick's, how heavy are they do you feel much back pain, or shoulder pain? When I practice playing standing up for a little I get some shoulder pain on the left side. I got a good strap too, those thick Levy straps.

 

[blikeng]

Well, I've played with basses that weigh 4,5+ kg for 6 years. Now that I got my Corvette which weighs 3,5 kg or something I feel way more comfertable

 

[CBBass123]

Yeah...you get used to the weight. The first time I played my NT 6 for longer than 3 hrs, I developed blisters/rash on my neck from leather strap moving shirt. My shoulder was in pain/sore for 3 days as well from the weight. Hurt like hell. Now I'm used to the weight. Although, after playing a couple hrs with my NT, then transferring to my BO 6, oh wow...it feels as my BO has no weight at all.

 

[Bassslayer69]

I've got this.....what number do I get?

 

[RCCollins]

You have some good points, but I wouldn't go as far as to say the newer Warwicks are inferior in any way, just a bit different. They don't come standard with Wenge necks anymore, which was due to stability and availability issues. The neck on a bass affects the sound very much, so that's why they sound different.

However, CNC machined bodies are actually superior to hands when it comes to shaping. It makes building easier, saves time and money, and a lesser failure percentage, which allows Warwick to spend money on expanding the line-up of basses, or the custom shop etc.

And take a Streamer Stage I as an example, which have the same woods today as it has had from start, more or less. An bass from 93' may have some "mojo", "attitude", or any other abstract quality, but the one leaving the factory tomorrow will be of the same quality, probably even better due to the CNC machines.

This is my oppinion, and I stand by it. The reason I fancy the older Warwicks is because I like the look and feel of the wenge necks, not because I consider them to be superior builds. This is why I also crave for a P-nut II model, which combines the new and old of Warwick with a spectacular result in sound, playability looks.

Well we can both have our opinions - I tried to get my prejudices out of the way from the start - and one point of my long-winded diatribe was that most Warwick haters probably haven't tried older Warwicks - I'd love to hear back from one who takes this challenge.
Still friends, though, right?

The SOUND of the neck isn't the only thing different about wenge vs ovangkol. The FEEL is also completely different and I suspect you'd agree that wenge wins in this respect too - I realize it is scare to endangered and it's not Warwick's first choice, but it's unfortunate and I wouldn't buy a Warwick with an ovangkol neck unless I wanted the sound and feel of THAT bass for some reason (in other words it probably won't ever happen, but I am always willing to listen!).

I'm not against automation per se, it's just that I recognize a difference. CNC machining is great for maintaining consistency and quality when you are cranking out a large quantity of instruments. I have no doubt that Warwick's quality control is top-rate. But you mentioned "craftsmanship", and the individual character of an instrument is not promoted my consistency and automation. It's promoted by slower, more laborious methods and the more "personalized" attention associated with them. Just as the change in neckwoods, the "upgrade" and expansion in production was

While one could certainly argue that such methods are more important in acoustic instruments, I don't think anybody on TalkBass would advise you to pay or trade for a bass without first playing it.

"Quality" is a matter of taste/opinion when it comes to either sound or craftsmanship. I can testify that the "modern" Warwicks (with the exception of custom models) SOUND more consistent, a fact that's surely related to their more automated construction. If you prefer or even like this sound, cool. I can understand why. It's probably better-suited to a "modern" style. But is ONE new Warwick inherently "better" than an old one simply because it was CNC machined, as you seem to suggest (without describing why/how, I might add)? Please - you owe me a new keyboard and a gulp of mountain dew, dude.

 

[maddrakkett]

No, you are allowed, and I dare to take it on the train, however, I couldn't physically carry more than what I had. This time, bringing more food was more important, seeing as I at least have my Modulus up here. Living on student loans, you really have too squeeze every penny.

Yeah, the P-nut II, I sure have given a good test run. Sad to say it has not been treated properly, not by shoppers OR employees. The B-tuner has been bent, caused by hanging the bass on it from the wall display. Brilliant idea, and when I pointed it out to the staff, they said the arm on the B-tuner was supposed to bend like that...

It also has a few beauty marks, and looks a little dry on a few spots, so they haven't been waxing it either, obviously. And then there's the price. The price tag (which of course is not the actual sale price) shows about double the price you'd pay for one of two from BassCentral in Florida, and those two specimens have literally never been out of their boxes.

Great bass though, despite über-dead strings, you could really hear what qualities it had. Great playability too, and it looks absolutely awesome.

I'm getting quite a nice tax refund this summer, which I'm hoping to spend on a trip to NYC, and while I'm there, well, let's just say Beaver Felton might be getting an order call. Or Joe Zon. Or Dan Lakin. ETC!

That store sounds like how most Guitar Centers treat their Warwick displays here in the States. I've seen some GCs where they put the high-dollar basses up high or behind a counter so that a salesman has to hand you the bass, and I've been to some GCs where they have Warwicks with a 00 serial number, never been waxed, old strings, missing knobs, etc. and it's priced like an '08! Then, the GCs where I live only stock Corvettes any more. I've learned to enjoy better deals off eBay! I will say that I got a killer deal on my $$ from a local GC that seems to do a good job caring for their instruments, and I got a great deal on my Dirty Blonde fro The Bass Place www.thebassplace.com , and I've personally watched those guys go through the whole store tuning and cleaning each bass! They are my most trusted local Warwick, SWR, and Genz-Benz dealer, so props to them!

Hope to see some sweet bass porn after your tax refund, and you definitely should be doin' fine with a Modulus... Nice bass!

 

[maddrakkett]

Maddrakkett, how's that vibrato on the corvette? Do you use it a lot?

I will admit that I don't have a gig at the moment where a monster $$ with a Kahler fits in, but it is a versatile bass and a nice option for future recording or whatever I end up using it for. I also choose to use it more for expression than for flash. Even in my twanger days, I kept the dive-bombing mostly for home fun, but I used the whammy bar a lot for expressive nuances.

I still feel it's worth having, if you can. I like having tools available to me to fit any mood or need whenever inspiration or necessity comes along...

 

[maddrakkett]

I've got this.....what number do I get?

Dionne Warwick. HahaHa. I think that gets you a negative Club number.

I don't think Warwick will ever put out a "Dionne" model for '08/09!

 

[maddrakkett]

I've got this.....what number do I get?

Dionne Warwick. HahaHa. I think that gets you a negative Club number.

I don't think Warwick will ever put out a "Dionne" model for '08/09!

 

[Halftooth]

You have some good points, but I wouldn't go as far as to say the newer Warwicks are inferior in any way, just a bit different. They don't come standard with Wenge necks anymore, which was due to stability and availability issues.

The reason Warwick stopped using Wenge had nothing to due with availability or stability issues. It actually had to do with the Wenge "splintering" too frequently in their opinion. The timing of the switch was right around the time when Wenge was having huge price increase, but availability or the increase in cost was not the reason for the change. I wouldn't doubt though that the Ovangkol made for a higher profit bass though.

 

[The_Owl]

Well we can both have our opinions
Still friends, though, right?

Of course, that's what TalkBass is for. It wouldn't be much fun if everyone agreed with each other, like the Ernie Ball forums...

It's promoted by slower, more laborious methods and the more "personalized" attention associated with them.

I actually think CNC allows for more attention to details, and the final shaping is AFAIK still done by hand. Without having do the major wood work, they instead concentrate on the finer detailing. Again, just my opinion. I understand your point, and agree that using milling machines might take away a ceratin amount of personal touch. However, I think that what comes out of the factory is what matters, not how it gets there. And what comes out are still some of the finest production basses in the world, with seldom seen attention to details for such a relatively large-scale production.

While one could certainly argue that such methods are more important in acoustic instruments.

Agreed.

But is ONE new Warwick inherently "better" than an old one simply because it was CNC machined, as you seem to suggest (without describing why/how, I might add)?

In retrospect, I should've used different words for this. I should've said that the build quality could probably be better on a new bass than an old. What sound you like is a personal matter, but I've A/B-ed many Wicks side by side, and I didn't hear the huge difference many others claim to hear. As you say, many of these people probably even haven't played an older Warwick at all, or any Warwick bass for that matter.

I still stand by that with the CNC machines doing the rough work, it leaves the builders with more time to give attention to details. I think this rule applies to any kind of industry, really.

It all sums up too what comes out at the end, and I don't think Warwick has compromised anything on their basses since the switch to CNC. On the contrary, because now they can produce more Warwick for the world to play, with quality intact. I mean, you still can't compare the size of the production to the big F...

 

[Bassslayer69]

lol!
I plan to get a corvette standard ash 4 string one of these days....
but until then I'll sit a -1 !!!

 

[The_Owl]

The reason Warwick stopped using Wenge had nothing to due with availability or stability issues. It actually had to do with the Wenge "splintering" too frequently in their opinion. The timing of the switch was right around the time when Wenge was having huge price increase, but availability or the increase in cost was not the reason for the change. I wouldn't doubt though that the Ovangkol made for a higher profit bass though.

The splintering issue what I meant with stability, and the price increase was the availabilty

 

[The_Owl]

That store sounds like how most Guitar Centers treat their Warwick displays here in the States. I've seen some GCs where they put the high-dollar basses up high or behind a counter so that a salesman has to hand you the bass, and I've been to some GCs where they have Warwicks with a 00 serial number, never been waxed, old strings, missing knobs, etc. and it's priced like an '08! Then, the GCs where I live only stock Corvettes any more. I've learned to enjoy better deals off eBay! I will say that I got a killer deal on my $$ from a local GC that seems to do a good job caring for their instruments, and I got a great deal on my Dirty Blonde fro The Bass Place www.thebassplace.com , and I've personally watched those guys go through the whole store tuning and cleaning each bass! They are my most trusted local Warwick, SWR, and Genz-Benz dealer, so props to them!

Hope to see some sweet bass porn after your tax refund, and you definitely should be doin' fine with a Modulus... Nice bass!

Yeah, the Modulus also kicks ***, but in a different way than my Wick.

It don't really get why most music stores don't keep their instruments in shape. It would make them a 1000 times more attractive to buyers, and probably net them a great deal of profit. A can of Warwick beeswax lasts forever, and they are not very expensive to keep in stock either.

And I'm really determined to purchase a bass if I can get a trip to NYC, but it's hard to know what basses will be available during that period, I'm thinking late July/early August.

I have my sights set on a Wick, or a Zon, or any great 5-string I can get at a good price. A P-nut II wouldn't be wrong, but not a Zon Legacy Elite 5 either.

Well, that's it for today. Gotta get some sleep, got some early lessons tomorrow.

Nighty night y'all!

 

[Halftooth]

The splintering issue what I meant with stability, and the price increase was the availabilty

That price increase due to availability for Wenge was way blown out of proportion. There was really only a few months there that the Wenge trade was being held up because of the tribe dispute. I think what ended up happening was the woods suppliers marked Wenge up foreseeing that Wenge was potentially going to be scarce, but after it was all resolved, all these builders left the up-charge of using Wenge still being really high. It was a total sham!

As this all pertains to Warwick, DBG told me that Warwick was not affected because of the amount of Wenge that they already had in storage. I believe the switch to Ovangkol not only solved the splintering issue, but it also was much cheaper yet they left the price the same.

 

[The_Owl]

That price increase due to availability for Wenge was way blown out of proportion. There was really only a few months there that the Wenge trade was being held up because of the tribe dispute. I think what ended up happening was the woods suppliers marked Wenge up foreseeing that Wenge was potentially going to be scarce, but after it was all resolved, all these builders left the up-charge of using Wenge still being really high. It was a total sham!

As this all pertains to Warwick, DBG told me that Warwick was not affected because of the amount of Wenge that they already had in storage. I believe the switch to Ovangkol not only solved the splintering issue, but it also was much cheaper yet they left the price the same.

Ok, I give in. You obviously have more knowledge about this. After all, I was around 11 when this occurred...but I still think ovangkol sounds good.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

I've got a fretless Corvette 4.