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Warwick Fortress Footmen, unite!
- Thread starter RCCollins
- Start date
It does piano-like tones and the Warwick growl. It's ridiculous! 
the sad part is now its feeding MY Gas LOL!!!
I just got my first Warwick - a fretless Corvette 5 string
and man this thing sounds awesome!
but seriously I cant look at the pics in this thead anymore
they are going to make me do something stupid
like sell something
You people are killing me. I have been gassing for one of these for a while. Had started to settle down with looking for one and then I find this thread. Now back to searching for a great fortress!!!!
I recommend starting with your Washburn, then your Fender Jazz (I used to have one just like it), then your SUB...
noooo back you devil back!!!!
The fender is my first bass and is/was my dream bass so its staying
the only one I would ever part with is my headless even though its starting to get into the rare and collectable area
(but what headless bass from the 80s isn't?)
Although this Corvette makes me want to have 5 string fretted Fortress brother
noooo back you devil back!!!!
The fender is my first bass and is/was my dream bass so its staying
the only one I would ever part with is my headless even though its starting to get into the rare and collectable area
(but what headless bass from the 80s isn't?)
Although this Corvette makes me want to have 5 string fretted Fortress brother
Keep playing your Corvette for a while and in 6 months, let me know if your Fender plays more comfortably or sounds better.
Keep playing your Corvette for a while and in 6 months, let me know if your Fender plays more comfortably or sounds better.
right now my Fender and the Wick are the smoothest of the 4 basses
with the Washburn in 3rd
for some reason after I put on some DR neons on my Musicman, the playability is gone
We shall see right now I am trying ever so hard NOT to want a Fortress 5 string
It looks clean only from a distance.
Many dings and lots, lot of scratches.
At 3-4 places the lacquer is gone.
I have worked a lot to improve the looks. Many hours.
Only the frets took me 2 hours... guess they were never, never clean...in 17 years
Wenge from fingerboard drank a lot of lemon oil...it was not maintain well. etc...
So i tell you, if i take upclose pictures of the bass it's a different story.
I am in contact with seller because i am unhappy. I feel he mislead me with the description.
sorry to hear that - you should stop cleaning up the bass and just return it for a refund. I hope you get your money back, ebay is not good about partial refunds, it's all or nothing.
It seems lady luck is on my side today... Just agreed a deal on a '94 Fortess One 
Will be a few weeks before it's in my hands but I'll be sure to post pics when it arrives.
Will be a few weeks before it's in my hands but I'll be sure to post pics when it arrives.
i'm on the hunt for a fortress 5 string. had a 4 string masterman back in the late 90's. can you order the rockbass fortress still? i'd like to join WHEN i finally get another one
i'm on the hunt for a fortress 5 string. had a 4 string masterman back in the late 90's. can you order the rockbass fortress still? i'd like to join WHEN i finally get another one
there are still fortress rockbasses, yes - and the current rockbass line looks pretty decent. But I'd rather invest a couple hundred more in a wenge neck German fortress.
5 strings jazz types pop up pretty often. 5 string mastermans are a little scarcer, but not THAT rare. I wish they'd made a fortress 5-string double buck.
speaking of 5-strings, hey Bongo, how you liking yours?
bongomania
Commercial User
It just arrived today, and I actually haven't had time to play it amplified yet (or even through headphones). But it feels sweet, looks killer, and has a nice acoustic resonance. The one bummer is it's a heavy one (10.5 lbs) and I'm a "weight wuss", and I forgot to ask about the weight before buying it. But realistically, I'm not gigging lately anyway, so it's not like the weight will be a big deal--I can just play sitting down if my back gets sore.
If I like the amplified tone as much as I like the look and feel, I'm probably going to hunt down a lighter one ASAP (and keep this one).
It just arrived today, and I actually haven't had time to play it amplified yet (or even through headphones). But it feels sweet, looks killer, and has a nice acoustic resonance. The one bummer is it's a heavy one (10.5 lbs) and I'm a "weight wuss", and I forgot to ask about the weight before buying it. But realistically, I'm not gigging lately anyway, so it's not like the weight will be a big deal--I can just play sitting down if my back gets sore.
If I like the amplified tone as much as I like the look and feel, I'm probably going to hunt down a lighter one ASAP (and keep this one).
Interesting. I don't think I've seen any ash bodied 5-string fortresses, so I'm not sure how much lighter you'll get. The Ash body, non-2tek flashback I had was about 8 pounds. In any case, I suspect that you'll find the balance helps.
Is weight the reason you cut your Hamer Cruise bass loose? Still curious to hear how you dig the tone... at some point there's a Fortress J/J 5 in my future...
Guys-- need some advice.
I traded a fretless MM for a fretted F1 in January and just realized the guy traded me a bass with a broken trussrod. I have 2 choices-- sell at a loss or get the TR replaced for about $300. If you were me what would you do? I was thinking I could sell this as is, with some extras, for abut $500 shipped and whoever gets it can decide if they want to "pay market" by spending the extra $300 or fix it themselves.
Thoughts?
I traded a fretless MM for a fretted F1 in January and just realized the guy traded me a bass with a broken trussrod. I have 2 choices-- sell at a loss or get the TR replaced for about $300. If you were me what would you do? I was thinking I could sell this as is, with some extras, for abut $500 shipped and whoever gets it can decide if they want to "pay market" by spending the extra $300 or fix it themselves.
Thoughts?
bongomania
Commercial User
There have been some F1-5's where the seller claimed 9.5 lbs, and I can shave that down to about 9 with ultralight tuners and plastic knob caps. Yes, the weight was the main deciding factor with the Hamer--although TBH, I was not that into its tone anymore, and different strings didn't seem to help, and I found myself thinking "OK, if I replace the pickups, or install a preamp, or try yet another brand of strings, maybe I'll love the tone again--but it will still be heavy." So it was time to let it go.
I would have it fixed. You are in NYC and can get it to the custom shop a lot easier than most of us. If you sell it to me you are going to have to ship it to me only for me to have to ship it back to NYC to the custom shop for repair. Sure I could take it to a local Luther, but that is assuming I know one that I want working on a great old Warwick. I am sure most good lathers could handle it but if you are asking me I would sent it to Warwick and have them do it. Seems to me that in the end I would be shipping the bass a lot more than necessary if I am to buy and then repair. Just my opinion.
