Warwick Necks

[NKUSigEp]

Ok, so after reading a bazillion posts on the subject, I'm seriously confused. Everyone talks about the "baseball bat" necks and someone even went as far as to state that his Warwick's neck was a telephone pole in a previous life.

But I've owned a neckthru Thumb 4-banger and the neck on that bass was WAAAAAAAAAAY thinner than any Jazz bass I've ever played. I've tested out a lot of Katanas which were the same. And the bolt-on Thumb 4 was a lot thicker than the neckthru 4-string, but still not HUGE as well as a few Corvettes.

So my question is: "Is everyone smoking something or am I missing something?"

 

[KarateKid25]

My thumb BO 5 has a flat back on the neck making the profile quite thin. I really like its neck

 

[82Daion]

I've played some that have huge necks, and some that were quite comfy-it seems to vary from model to model and from bass to bass.

 

[BassBastard]

I have a streamer stage one 5. The other day I played a Washburn 5 strings and the neck was significantly thinner...but I still love mine, very confortable!

 

[nuno.ka]

The neck on my Fortress One isn't thin but I find it rather comfortable.

 

[nickbear]

i find warwick necks have a thicker profile but i think they are comfortable and feel different to any other necks.

 

[SuperDuck]

Just like Fender's purportedly abysmal quality control, Warwick's neck profiles are greatly exaggerated by the forum. My Corvette is about like my P-Bass. It's really not a "baseball bat", "telephone pole", or "tree trunk", but it is thicker than a jazz bass.

I think that people read something like that enough times on the forum that not only will they say it if they've never even played a Warwick, but if they have a chance to play one in passing the will be predisposed to have already expected the neck to be huuuuuge and will report it as such. Ah, the wonders of stereotypes!

 

[BassManPatsFan]

My Corvette std. has a pretty big neck. It's 1.5 inches at the nut, but front to back it's quite the porker. I don't play it much anymore, this being part of the reason why.

 

[bassteban]

I had a '98 Thumb BO 4. Narrow, very fast neck(average, Fender-J front-to-back thickness). For 2 or 3 years I tried several 5 & 6 string Warwicks, looking(to no avail)for the same feel. The regular-spaced 5/6s were too narrow but very thick & the one wide(5)I had for awhile was very thick. Beyond that, EVERY ovangkol-necked Warwick I ever played(at least a dozen)*seemed* to exaggerate this feeling, as well as being of a generally much sloppier overall build quality. No hard feelings, really- just my experience. I still vow to one day own another 4-string.

 

[elpelotero]

older Warwicks have a THIN wenge neck. Newer Warwicks have a THICK Ovangkol neck. Change was around June 1998

 

[capnsandwich]

I've got a 4 string corvette with the thicker ovankol neck. To me the thickness of the neck fits the actual profile of the instrument since the body is made out of a hefty piece of bubinga. The body needs to be balanced or you'll have a heck of a time adjusting that thing during a 2 or 3 hour gig. I think it's an aquired taste. You don't like coffee as a child because it's bitter but as you grow and mature you end up drinking a pot of it before you go to work. That's how I feel about my wick neck. At first I was used to my thin and flat Ibanez neck but as I grew as a bass player, I realized that the neck actually helped me get a "feel" of the wood I was playing on. So now I play it on all my upbeat song at church. It's a great slapper.

 

[Rick_no7]

The only necks I would consider overly thick are those corvette standards I find at Guitar Center. You know, the ones with NO figuring of the bubinga, strings 2 inches too high, the kind of crap I haven't seen at independently owned bass shops.

Though the neck is shaped different, I really compare them to Stingray necks. My bud Phil owns a stingray and its a joy to play because its so similar in thickness. Takes like no adjustment.

 

[jdthecrazy]

I own a Corvette Standard fretless and I think the neck is very comfortable. It's not thin, but then I like necks a little thicker. I think that it may just have to do with your body and what you are use to. I need to get a fretted version. For some reason I like the Corvettes more than the more expensive models.?

 

[TheBassBetween]

I love my Corvette Std. The neck is just like everyone is saying. Not thin, but not thick. I'd say it's jussssssst right.

 

[NKUSigEp]

older Warwicks have a THIN wenge neck. Newer Warwicks have a THICK Ovangkol neck. Change was around June 1998

This is definitely not the case. Mine was a 2001 and all of the others I've played were post-1998, and almost all of them had regular-sized necks. And like I posted before, the Neckthru Thumb 4 I owned was actually a LOT thinner than a Jazz bass (front to back) and was the same width.

The only consistency that I've come across is that the Corvettes seem to be the problem, being thicker than the rest somehow. I guess that everyone bases their opinions on Corvettes. That's like saying "hey, ALL Fenders have thin necks, just because a Jazz bass does!"

:scowl:

 

[Sandwich Man]

Part of the reason I love Warwicks are the very solid necks. I can't even play my jazz bass anymore because I can't stand it because it's too thin. As a previous poster said, P-bass like unless something went horribly wrong. Rockbass necks can vary much more and be really bad or superb.

 

[ster]

Thinner necks doesn't mean easier playabilty, IME.
I was quite surprised at how easy it was to get around on a 'wick. Despite what I have heard I find their necks to be extremely comfortable. I also love the feel of the wood.
I don't think the neck is that thick anyway. Alot of folks make it sound like
your fingers won't reach the strings!

 

[LifeIsBass]

older Warwicks have a THIN wenge neck. Newer Warwicks have a THICK Ovangkol neck. Change was around June 1998

I believe that in general this is true. My Thumb 5 Bo has a wenge neck-fairly thin. My Streamer Stage II has a wenge/afzelia neck-fairly thin. My '04 Corvette Proline has an ovangkol neck-considerably thicker (though definately not tree trunk-like). Every ovangkol 'Wick I've played has had a thicker neck than the wenge ones I've played, and I've played a lot of different 'Wicks.

 

[SuperDuck]

One great thing I'll throw in about my Warwick neck is that it is rock solid. I have adjusted it ONCE, when I first bought the bass. While my Fenders have needed to be tweaked once in a while to account for the seasons, my Warwick hasn't budged. Sweet.

 

[reens]

I believe that in general this is true. My Thumb 5 Bo has a wenge neck-fairly thin. My Streamer Stage II has a wenge/afzelia neck-fairly thin. My '04 Corvette Proline has an ovangkol neck-considerably thicker (though definately not tree trunk-like). Every ovangkol 'Wick I've played has had a thicker neck than the wenge ones I've played, and I've played a lot of different 'Wicks.

aye, I think the SSII neck is almost like a guitar neck, in the way your hand rests around it. Reasonably thin but balanced, and quite fast.