Warwick or Fender Jazz?

[David Jayne]

Nice, SurferJoe. They are both GREAT axes.

I happen to feel that Fenders work better live. Usually.

But, Wicks can work better in the studio, sometimes. They have that unusual pickup layout.....sometimes it just works....but it sounds 'modern', and that's great....or maybe not....but sometimes yes....


I dunno. I've played, literally, everything there is, and I'm back to a custom P bass, so, whatever. Good luck.

 

[badboy1984]

Fender Jazz i will say. I got experience with both bass. Own Fender Classic 60 currently and own a Warwick Corvette before. Both have John East preamp and both sound bery good, i had a long battle to myself before I sold the warwick because of various problem. I want to make it clear before I get bash, this got NOTHING to do with the Sound and Quality of the bass. Weight and the neck dive make me want to sell it. I keep the Fender because it sound good on anything i play and also the neck feel so good and the bass balance well.

Your choice at the end.

 

[David Jayne]

...,Weight and the neck dive make me want to sell it. I keep the Fender because it sound good on anything i play and also the neck feel so good and the bass balance well.

Your choice at the end.

We do hear quite a lot of neck-dive stories about Wicks, and frankly, I just don't get it. Such a high-quality instrument, with modern design, and we still hear about neck-dive problems decades after their debut? Why does this still happen?!?
Sure, we have 'neck-divey' Fenders, but they really are mostly confined to the Tele style instruments, so we accept it because it really can't be fixed. Deal with it, or move on.

So, what do you say to the person who's recently 'upgraded' to a Wick, from a Fender, in order to get better ergonomics/tone, and they find that their new $3000.00 bass sounds fantastic but is uncomfortable to play, because of neck-dive?

 

[tombaker]

get a warwick

but thats me, i hate fenders. warwick have a nice growl and always go to 24 frets

 

[bh2]

Borrowed a wick for about 6 months... studio and gigs. Great sound. No mojo, no vibe, no personality.

 

[David Jayne]

Borrowed a wick for about 6 months... studio and gigs. Great sound. No mojo, no vibe, no personality.

No choice? Why stick with it?

 

[badboy1984]

your choice at the end, play both if you can.

Sometimes you think you like something but it end up might not be the one.

 

[bh2]

No choice? Why stick with it?

Good question... I was bassless at the time and thought I would try something different. It was okayish but when I got my Fenders back it was like coming home.

 

[musicbikeman]

Its all about the playability. If you like jamming on baseball bats, hit it man, they do sound amazing!

The double humbuckers get in the way of slapping for me though, Maybe I do it wrong or something, but there isn't a ton of space under the strings, it being mostly filled with awesome bassness.

Play tons of them.

PS, the price difference is insane... I picked up a jazz for 250, and I'm sure it sounds just as good as the MIA. Jaco played Fender...(gonna get flamed outta here for that one... YIKES)

 

[KsPiNeSh]

Borrowed a wick for about 6 months... studio and gigs. Great sound. No mojo, no vibe, no personality.

I play Warwick and feel the exact same way about Fenders

 

[bebop1]

I won't help much here. I use my 2 Warwicks and 2 Fenders about equal. Love them all. I tend to use the Fenders more often live and the Warwicks more often in the studio. I couldn't do a Sophie's Choice between them.

 

[bh2]

I play Warwick and feel the exact same way about Fenders

Heh... I certainly won't rubbish them... just not for moi, whatever floats your boat I guess.

 

[kenfxj]

I would look for a used 90s Warwick with a wenge neck. But in any case, I prefer the very flat fingerboards on Warwicks to the very arched fingerboards on pretty much all Fenders... and that alone keeps me from ever getting another fender

Funny, I'm the opposite. I generally prefer the lower radius fretboards.

 

[Scottgun]

Weight and the neck dive make me want to sell it.

That's a killer in my book. Definately try before you buy and pay attention for the above.

 

[EarlTroutman]

We can fuss about the comparisons all day long. Look at what pros use. I go to a LOT of concerts (everything from Christian to Country to Rock to Jazz to Blues) You almost always see the SVT tube amp and the SVT 8X10 and a Fender P-bass 4 string. 80% of the concerts I go to have this combination. Having said that, I'll say that many of these artists are playing songs that were hits in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And that is what is on the recordings the audience wants to hear. I'd love to have a Fender Jazz 5-string fretless but I'd use it on only one song at most. I would use my Warwick on maybe 6 to 8 songs. But I'd use the P-bass on all the songs. If you could have only one I'd get either a Jazz or a P-bass. But if you can tote around two, take a Warwick and one the the Fenders. Just my opinion.

 

[Menelaos.erg]

Hello there my friend. I recently bought a warwick double buck lomited edition ...and its payability and tone is like a dream to me.

I owm a fender stu hamm 1 '93 model and pkayed with it all these years... Doesnt sound better but i still have an emotional connection with it ....

 

[ExurKun]

We can fuss about the comparisons all day long. Look at what pros use. I go to a LOT of concerts (everything from Christian to Country to Rock to Jazz to Blues) You almost always see the SVT tube amp and the SVT 8X10 and a Fender P-bass 4 string. 80% of the concerts I go to have this combination. Having said that, I'll say that many of these artists are playing songs that were hits in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And that is what is on the recordings the audience wants to hear. I'd love to have a Fender Jazz 5-string fretless but I'd use it on only one song at most. I would use my Warwick on maybe 6 to 8 songs. But I'd use the P-bass on all the songs. If you could have only one I'd get either a Jazz or a P-bass. But if you can tote around two, take a Warwick and one the the Fenders. Just my opinion.

*looks at previous post date*
why???

 

[RFord04]

While I prefer a lined fretless neck (because I don't play much fretless) like my fretless jazz, I really do still want a fretless Corvette like one I played at Guitar Center one day and fell in love with. It was something Like $650 new... a German Warwick, believe it or not. If I had to do it over, I'd get the Warwick. It's got a great growly passive tone.

 

[Absentia]

I've played a Corvette for teh past 7 years and while it's served me well and is a great bass there's always been something about it.
A few years ago I bought a VM squire Jazz, now i never really liked the whole "fender" thing I guess it'd be it seems too "standard" like everyone has one (ha youth, "imma individual"). Once I got to play it I found the neck fits me like a glove and I can play much better on a jazz style neck than my warwick.

Now it's completely replaced the more expensive Wick and I'm thinking I really need a real fender to upgrade and thump on.

Oh and setting up a warwick can be a nightmare more adjustments on those bridges than my student loan payments.

 

[Duplo42]

Did Warwick make Katana in fretless version? Katana is great instrument, doesn't look like warwick beside headstock, sounds and plays really good, can be a bit pricey thou.