Warwick - Ovankol vs Wenge - Am I going crazy?

[deathbyguitar]

I'm trying to figure out why my 2 basses sound radically different. They're both Warwick Corvette $$ models, a 4 string and a 5 string. The 5 string sounds basically perfect to me, with a pleasant mid-range scoop. The 4 string has a sort of crappy mid-range stuffiness that I hate. This is with both at flat EQ settings. Bought them both used and electronics seem to be identical.

The one thing that sticks out to me is that the 5 string has a much darker colored neck. However, the Warwick serial number identifier says they both have ovankol necks with wenge fretboards. Doesn't usually wenge have a darker, reddish color like my 5 string's neck? If so, wouldn't that alone be enough to explain it? Could it just be that this particular 4 string sounds this way and I should just buy another? Any insight would be helpful.

 

[JimiLL]

Wood can vary a lot within species. Some ovangkol is very dark others not do much

 

[FRoss6788]

Both of those are ovankol necks.

Wenge generally has a very straight almost vertical looking grain, chocolate brown to ebony in the darker spots of the grain.

 

[Marcury]

Looking at they grain on the Fiver it's definitely Ovakangol. Wenge has a much more open grain that is easily recognizable.

 

[deathbyguitar]

Interesting. Thanks for the insights, guys. Do you think there's a chance that a different Corvette $$ might sound different? Kinda like how different instruments have different mojo sometimes? I spent a lot of money on this bass and I'm just not happy with it as it is.

 

[direktor]

Check to see if you can get the 4 to sound like the 5 if the 4s controls are just a little off center detent (assuming you’re comparing to the 5 with its controls centered).

The values of the pots at center almost certainly won’t be identical.

Also, even though the pres and pickups might be identical, components age differently and they do make running changes.

if you like the 4 otherwise, I’m sure you can get it sounding to your liking with some small tweaks to the electronics. I’m seeing two ash bodies with Ovangkol necks. Gotta be the pickups or the pre.