Warwick Question

[kbakerde]

The knobs in the photos are just like my 05 fna jazzman. Stacked is blend/volume with push-pull for active/passive. The other three are bass middle & treble.

This layout is correct, I also had a FNA Jazzman of this era.

 

[kbakerde]

These basses are excellent, I'd say it's defiantly worth cleaning up and keeping. I miss my old one and regret selling it. Hopefully the preamp is still in good shape. Do you have any experience doing electronics in a bass? I've done tons of work in passive basses, but messing around with the Warwick electronics I was a bit leary of. do some homework and see if there is a good luthier around who can help you with that aspect. Some parts might need replacement, or at least cleaning.

As a side note, I was able to pick up a 4 string Warwick Corvette on the cheap several years ago, and the onboard was iffy at best. I kept the stock pickups, and had my tech put an Audere preamp into it, and it turned into an AMAZING sounding bass. If the preamp is toast, that could be a good way to go as a replacement if necessary.

 

[kbakerde]

This is my uncle’s extremely heavily gigged 2003 Warwick Corvette FNA Jazzman 5. He’s had some pretty serious medical issues, and had my mother bring the bass to Colorado with her (he’s in East Texas, which I suspect contributed to the corrosion on the metal parts). I have stewardship over it for the time being. I don’t know much about Warwick basses, and so I’m not sure about the control layout. Volume, treble, mid, bass, and a little pickup selector? I’ve read that the double looking volume knob on some pulled up and was either an active/passive function or engaged a sort of a slap contour. This one doesn’t pull up (nor do the two parts turn separately, if they are supposed to). The other knobs turn pretty roughly and it’s hard to find the center detents. It sounds pretty good, but I’d like to get everything working properly. I don’t mind the corrosion as long as the knobs turn correctly. Can anyone with knowledge of Warwick basses tell me what that front knob is supposed to do (and also the mini toggle)? And does anyone know what would be involved in making sure everything works well? I live in a fairly small town not really close to any major cities.

Vol/Balance stacked knob - Pull for Passive control
The three individual knobs are Treble, Mids, Bass
3-way switch should be Series/Parallel/Split(Humbucker as a single coil)

 

[68Goldfish]

I have two Streamers, a four string stage one and a stage two fiver. I actually prefer to play them passive. Something to consider if the preamp is toast.

 

[Reedt2000]

I have two Streamers, a four string stage one and a stage two fiver. I actually prefer to play them passive. Something to consider if the preamp is toast.

I run mine passive 95% of the time

 

[Rooster009]

I have the same exact bass. For the push pull active/passive switch problem, I suggest loosening the set screw on the knob and taking it off the potentiometer. Next see if you can move the potentiometer post up and down. A lot of times people will use this setup strictly in passive mode, so they will take the knob off, pull the post up and then put the knob back on all the way down resting on the balance knob then they will tighten the set screw rendering it a passive only bass. To make it active and passive again, simply make sure that the potentiometer post is in the down position when you put the knob back on and tighten the set screw. I suggest replacing the battery also. It’s likely drained.

 

[Keger Jupit]

Wow. I’ve never seen oxidation and corrosion like that on Warwick hardware. Looks like the poor thing was ridden hard and put away wet! Highly recommend a pro tech give it an inspection and set up. Hopefully the neck/frets haven’t suffered too much from exposure. Other than that, great bass and worth taking care of!

Man no kidding, can you believe how corroded those strings are!?!?!? They're GREEN!!!

 

[dkelley]

I regret selling my jazzman also. damn. sometimes this board gets me down.

LoL

 

[bassgtarman]

That's east Texas (North Louisiana) humidity at work. The poor thing might've been in a storage building with no AC during the brutal and wet summers. Longview, Tyler?
Get some of this for the pots.

That general area.

 

[74hc]

That bass looks like it spent time hanging on a wall in a flooded room.

 

[bassgtarman]

Update: I took the bass to my physician, who builds guitars and has worked on a couple of other basses for me. He got all the knobs working properly (the control cavity was in good condition and had no corrosion), replaced the jack, cleaned up the fingerboard, and gave the neck a bit of adjustment (the truss rod worked fine). I didn’t ask him to clean up any of the metal parts, because that seemed like it would be a nightmare. I brought it home and installed the black version of the coated DR strings that were on it. The neon green was interesting, but not my cup of tea. I took it to band practice the other night, and it sounded great. The action might still need a little lowering, but it’s not bad. It certainly looks better than it did!