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Warwick Corvette Std. Owners Question:

BassDaddy77

BassDaddy77

Feb 12, 2010
1,266
2,600
NE Ohio
#1
Has anyone dropped one of these into a passive 'Vette Std?

Buy Basslines STC-2C-BO Blackouts Tone Circuit with Concentric Bass and Treble Knobs | Onboard Preamps & EQ | Musician's Friend

It would be for a 4-banger if that matters at all. Any comments on your experience with that pre would be much appreciated. Doesn't seem like there's much info about these. It seems like a good fit from what I can gather, but I'd like to hear from those with experience. I'm not even entirely sure that I want to go active in my 'Wick, but it's fun to have options! :)
 
#2
Looks like nobody has the Corvette w/ SD Blackouts preamp combo? Would anyone care to comment on another preamp that they installed on a passive 'Wick that had great results? If so, would you share your observations regarding the pre and post modification tonal chracteristics. I don't want to lose that signature lo-mid growl that seems inherent with Warwicks, but a nice bump in the bottom frequency range as well as a little more zing on top might be a nice enhancement. Whaddaya think?
 
#4
I have a Corvette fretless with Nordstrand NJ4SE's and an Audere preamp. I have no comparison to make since I got it this way. I have experience with the Audere and this is my second bass with you. Very transparent with a 3way switch with one of the choices being passive. This bass has plenty of growl and mwah. The audere seems to expand the range but not color the tone.
 
#5
Gintaras said:
I have a Corvette fretless with Nordstrand NJ4SE's and an Audere preamp. I have no comparison to make since I got it this way. I have experience with the Audere and this is my second bass with you. Very transparent with a 3way switch with one of the choices being passive. This bass has plenty of growl and mwah. The audere seems to expand the range but not color the tone.
Click to expand...

Do you know which Audere model it is? Is your bass still a 3-knob configuration?
 
#9
Would the Aggie be a more aggressive approach vs the Bart? Wicks seem to be a bit aggressive by nature. They seem popular, but I honestly don't have any experience with any aftermarket systems. I'm not looking to tame the sound of the Wick, but rather give it a bump on top and bottom; a little sizzle and thump.
 
#11
I have a corvette standard (fretless), using bartolini j's and aguilar ob-3 preamp circuit. Very warm sounding, bart's are a little on the dark side, but many many tone possibilities. I was only able to fit 1 9volt, but would love to put in a second.
 
#14
Ive used that preamp on a couple basses with great results. I picked that preamp for better to me treble center freq and price. To me it outperforms most of the more expensive preamps I concidered for my sound wants. It should work quite well in your corvette as a very nice upgrade. Id also say it was a better preamp then the two band mec found in the active preamp corvette version (I did own one of those).
 
#15
I have good experience with Warwick Standard.

I had a 4 string corvette standard 2005 model and it was a passive model. I had a MEC passive jazz pickup and MEC passive electronic. I mod the bass to have EMG jazz set and 2 band John East preamp and the out come is more than pleasing. Very hi-fi sound but the john east beef up the low end so is a good balance with the EMG. But i sold this bass to fund my stingray 4.

I soon later bought a 5 string Corvette Standard 1995 model with wenge neck and just a brass nut model. The bass is also passive version but with bartolini jazz set installed. Bass sounded good but sound very thin, so i installed a set of 3 band john east preamp and the bass play so much nicer now.

I still on the 5 string vette atm

Hope this help.
 
#16
Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems nobody likes the MEC passive pickups, huh? I actually find them to have nice clarity and evenness. The output isn't the greatest, but not too shabby. I like the stock pups enough to leave them in the bass, but I find it interesting on how poorly they are perceived in general. What exactly didn't you like about the MEC pups? What did your replacements add or take away that made the tone an improvement in your opinion?

As far as the pre goes, it seems hard to beat the Seymour Duncan Blackout for the price. Darkstorm, you said it has worked out well on a couple of basses, so I may end up going that route after all. Oddly enough I had looked into the Warwick pre that comes in the Corvette Std that are active as another possibility. I figured it was decent, but your experience suggests that the SD was better.

Does anyone have any sound clips or YouTube links of their Corvette Std with the pickup and/or preamp mods? That would be useful and would really help me figure out what suits me best. I appreciate everyone's feedback.
 
#17
The mec preamp didnt have the treble center freq I like best (5.6k-6k) and the bass wasnt as articulate and heavy as I like. I find bart pups and preamp a bit weak and I prefer modern rather then vintage tone. The blackouts have selectable treble that includes that 5.6k setting and bass is heavier and output of the preamp even with bass and treble flat is hotter then some others including the mec preamp. I generally ran the bass control at plus 30% to little below flat. With the latter for when was simulating neck position on my P pup warlock and eagle bass with single neck P pup (dimarzio model P). Ussually ran treble anywhere from slightly below flat to slightly above flat. Nice aggressive and articulate modern voicing orientation fore the blackout preamp imo. Really gave nice add to the dimarzios allready good passive voice. The mec J pups are ok, but J pups just dont work that well for me as I prefer heavy tone and J's just dont seem to wrok as well with lotsa overdrive which I allways use.
 
#18
darkstorm said:
The mec preamp didnt have the treble center freq I like best (5.6k-6k) and the bass wasnt as articulate and heavy as I like. I find bart pups and preamp a bit weak and I prefer modern rather then vintage tone. The blackouts have selectable treble that includes that 5.6k setting and bass is heavier and output of the preamp even with bass and treble flat is hotter then some others including the mec preamp. I generally ran the bass control at plus 30% to little below flat. With the latter for when was simulating neck position on my P pup warlock and eagle bass with single neck P pup (dimarzio model P). Ussually ran treble anywhere from slightly below flat to slightly above flat. Nice aggressive and articulate modern voicing orientation fore the blackout preamp imo. Really gave nice add to the dimarzios allready good passive voice. The mec J pups are ok, but J pups just dont work that well for me as I prefer heavy tone and J's just dont seem to wrok as well with lotsa overdrive which I allways use.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I hear a lot of folks say that split P-style or humbucking pickups work better with OD/distortion than single coil J-style pickups. I don't usually run any distortion, but a little "hair" on my tone is nice from time to time.

I've had limited exposure with Bart electronics (Ibanez SR505). That's not the tone I'm after for the 'Wick. Don't get me wrong, I think Barts sound good if that's the sound you're looking for, but just not for me on this particular bass. It's a little too smooth for me. I think they sound great for smooth jazz type stuff, but I want my Corvette to retain it's edgy growl.
 
#19
Darkstorm: How much life do you get out of a battery before needing to replace on the Blackouts pre? Not that it matters all that much, but I'm just curious.

One other thing; did you find that you missed having the passive option available with the MEC preamp vs the Seymour Duncan? Is that something to consider?
 
#20
You got a warwick in your hand. No matter what pickup and pre is on your bass it will still sound like a warwick .......

I had no option to use bart on my because thats the original pickup when warwick made my bass back in the day.

I won't describe vintage tone on my warwick. It sound dark and middy to my ear, that warwick growl is still in the tone/sound.

In term of preamp, the MEC preamp always sound too noisy for me, and the john east preamp always give me more heavy sound.
 

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