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Warwick SSII 5 neck question wenge/ovankol profile....

MikeBass

MikeBass

Supporting Member
Nov 4, 2003
11,943
3,140
Fowlerville MI
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Endorsing artist- Suhr basses, PedalTrain, GHS, Ultimate Ears
#1
I know when Warwick went from the wenge neck to the ovankol, the profile changed (for the worse for me anyway).

I've owned a bunch of Warwicks over the years, pretty much only older wenge necks, none with ovankol.
My question is, did they also change the profile of the SSII 5 neck like they did on the other ovankol neck basses?
Someone said it stayed pretty much the same. But as you know, there was a big change in the profiles on all the basses. I just never played a ovankol neck version of the SSII 5 string.
 
#2
I can't give you a solid answer as I haven't played a 5-string Wenge neck from '98 or earlier (my '07 thumb has a Wenge neck, but it's made to same profile as the regular '07 Ovangkol profile). However, I know the earlier Wenge necks from '98 and earlier were supposed to have a thinner profile, and I know for a fact they do on the 4-strings. I'm almost positive I've read the same about the 5-string necks though, and I've seen pictures which look thinner (but being that they're just pictures, not the most reliable source).

I also know that the 5-string Stage II neck from at least 2000+ made with Ovangkol does have the thick profile. I've played them and owned one for a very brief period. So with the assumption/reviews/statements/pictures regarding a Wenge 5-string being thinner than Ovangkol 5's, and my experience with the Stage II Ovangkol-neck 5, I'm fairly confident saying the profile was changed and Ovangkol is thicker.

Also to note, I owned a 2009 Corvette 5 with the new, thinner profile, and many have said that the current/thin profile used by Warwick is very similar (if not identical) to the old Wenge necks, and that neck is definitely noticeably thinner than the Ovangkol necks (I had an '08 Corvette $$ 5 just before that corvette and an '04 or '05 Corvette Standard 5, both with the thicker necks, and the thin neck was one of the main reasons I dumped the '09 'vette)
 
#3
Yeah, I've onwned a bunch of Thumb basses and Streamers- never had a SSII though and none with that fatter neck.

I didn't know they went back to the narrow profile. That's cool!
 
#4
I owned a 2006? ss2 5 string and though the neck didnt have a thin neck as my 2009 pnut, it was nowhere near thick as my 2001 thumb bo 5 I had many years ago. It was a very comfy size for me and I have pretty small hands.
I've owned a 2007 $$ 5 which was pretty thin too and I owned an 88 thumb which was thin but I think my pnut has a real thin neck for a warwick.
 
#5
I'm looking for a specific answer I guess....seems no one here or on the Warwick forum can seem to answer it.
I have a line on a mid 90's wenge neck thru Streamer Stage II 5 and a mid 2000's ovangkol neck thru Streamer Stage II 5. (I don't have a chance to play either before hand let alone side by side)
Are the neck profiles same different?
I know the BO basses went to a chunkier neck, but not sure if the neck thru ones did.

I thought I read that ALL the neck thru basses- the neck profile remained the same (didn't get chunkier in the early 2000's)
 
#6
I had a 90s or early 2000s one and now have that same 2006. The profiles are different. Neither is very chunky, the 2006 is more of a "D" profile and the older one was more of a "C". Both are nice. I think I liked the old one a bit better, but the old one had a dead spot and the 2006 doesn't. The difference is greater as you move up the neck. At the nut they're very similar.

Never had a wenge neck ssii, but I had a thumb 5nt from that era. Neck was identical to my earlier ssii.
 
#8
Years 1999 and older have a thinner "flat" profiled neck, which were made of all Wenge.

Warwick went to the chunkier design on all of its models around the year 2000, called the "C-Shape" profile. All necks also became made of Ovankol. At this time the older "flat" shaped neck was still available upon custom order.

Warwick went back to the thinner design in 2009 (I believe), probably from people complaining about the baseball bat-like neck. This design (fat neck) is still available from warwick, via custom order of course.
 
#9
I owned a '99 5-string wenge-necked Corvette for a good while, and my 2004 SSII fiver feels very similar in my hands. I had my 2006 Thumb NT5 at the same time as my SSII, and while I never took any measurements the neck on the Thumb felt larger and thicker than my Streamer. Until I got my Streamer back in January, I'd been playing thicker-necked Warwicks as my main player since 2006 (first a Corvette fiver, then the Thumb).
 
#11
i had one of each a couple months apart, so i didn't have both at the same time to physically compare, but both necks seemed to be pretty close to the '98 thumb that i played for several years...regrettably, i didn't keep either, though i wish i had...i had a few pretty amazing warwicks
 

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