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Warwick vs MM Stingray

#23
though i too would say EBMM all the way, i think when it comes down to it you should definatly find a way to give a warwick a try. it seems like you were more leaning more towards a wick and they do have a really piano like punch as well a freaking huge necks which would also be perfect.

but i'd say find an HH stingray to try as well. i just bought one and it has a great range of grindy cutting tones. try and find one with a maple fretboard too if you can. i can glide up and down my ray's maple board effortlessly in comparison with a rosewood ray i had tried recently. i'm sure you already found the ray's neck is very suitable to your big hands as well..
 
#24
To me nothing sounds like an growls like a Warwick. They have a much tighter sound in the mix then a MM and can still cut through the mix no problem. MM sound great but to me Warwicks sound closer to a studio tone. Like you wouldn't need to do so much post EQing to get a good studio tone. A lot more modern sounding too. So it's really preference.
 
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#26
sometimes it is apparent that different players have different opinions on the word "growl". But...I want to contribute to the discussion with only one concept. In the Wick family almost every model (or at least every line) has a unique tone. I owned a Vette, and own a Thumb and Jazzman. Very, very different instruments. The Thumb is very aggressive and hefty in the highs and tight in the lows, the Jazzman is round, ultra-warm, with a blooming lowend and polite highend and a super burpy midrange. Both have the ability to cut and are difficult to hide in a mix. I like them both. So, it is important to try every instrument. youtube has a good choice of videos, especially on the Jazzman, whereas the Thumb is more particular and sometimes has to be tweaked to give its best (string choice changes quite dramatically its tone, a very good thing).
The funny thing is that I hated the Stingray tone, and found myself in love with the Jazzman that sports a similar (but not identical at all) tone with the humbucker alone...
Warwick capability to cut and be heard with unsurpassed versatility and overall warm tones? Jazzman. Want hefty woody tones with lots of definition and personality? Thumb.
In the Thumb ergonomics suck, but when I play it I forget this thing. In every Wick the quality of the machine heads is good but they do not last forever. In my 10 yo instruments I changed two of them, the plastic ring the allows for a smooth feel when tuning tends to wear and break after a certain long use. they are cheap but it is a bad novel in a top notch instrument that plays and feels like a custom boutique.
 
#28
So after much deliberation and watching way too much YouTube I have settled on purchasing a Warwick Pro Series Corvette Bubinga 4. Although I believe a Ray will be in my future, right now I think this is the best deal for the money. The combination of a bubinga body, an ovangkol neck, and a wenge fingerboard are too hard to resist. Of course I am taking a risk by buying a bass I have never played, but the price of return shipping is not enough of a deterrent to prevent me from trying it. Something tells me that I won't be disappointed, but maybe I'll eat my words.

Anyone care to argue?
 
#32
tonymcbony said:
I've had both.

Once you get a Warwick you'll hear the Warwick growl everywhere. Unfortunately it's in a lot of Nu Metal, and even worse is that a great bass player using Warwick is in Limp Bizkit. Approach with trepidation, but a lot of their Chocolate Starfish album has great bass tone from a Warwick. I can't believe I just pointed someone in that direction but there you go. Contrast that to the first Rage Against the Machine album which is all Stingray.

I really hate Warwick Electronics, I find them anemic and EQs centered at frequencies that aren't particularly useful, but the unplugged bass growls like a mofo (I had a Streamer LX with Wenge neck). Warwick basses have a very fat low end thats more like a dog's growl.

Stingrays look a bit cooler and have a compressed aggressive bite in the treble. If a Warwick is a dog's growl, Stingrays are more like its bark.

On your experience, I'd be saying Stingray but GAS is a bitch and you might not be satisfied without at least dallying with a Warwick. Used or new, I would totally recommend buying the Stingray first as it'll take less of a hit being sold on later if you're not totally won over by it.

Hope that 2c is worth something to you.
Click to expand...

I think that's well put.

I've owned a handful of Warwicks (still own 2), and about 6 or 7 Musicmans. I have a Stingray HS. I love the sound of Warwicks, but in comparison to the MMs I feel they're very much 1 trick ponies. If the room is right, and I'm playing with the right people, with the right drummer, my warwicks can rip things to shreds. But there have been too many times where I felt I had to wrestle the EQ, and to no avail. A lot of boom or hiss and a really difficult time getting what I felt was needed. Doesn't happen with the Stingray. I can always dial in what I want.

Both basses have a signature sound to them, if I had to choose one of those sounds however it would be the MM. And I feel it goes way beyond in both directions.

Just realized I haven't read the whole thread, so you may have already made up your mind, but if not - from your OP I think you'll be happier with a Stingray. And I HIGHLY recomment getting an HS for the added versatility. The extra single coil really opens things up, a lot. And if you're open to other basses toss a Big Al into your consideratons. The Al has become my #1. It does anything and everything.
 
#33
matdras said:
Anyone care to argue?
Click to expand...

Looking back now, yes. :) See above.

I'd also like to add that I'm not a fan of the ovankle necks. I've only owned 1 warwick without a wenge neck (streamer jazzman), and for me (and I know others feel differently), a lot of the personality, growl, and vibe of a warwick comes from the old wenge necks. Not a fan of the new stuff, but just my preference.
 
#34
I had an EBMM SR5 and traded it. I have a Warwick thumb. I thought my jazz bass sounded better than the stingray. I don't like stingrays at all. I think people like stingrays because they are accessible. How many stingray players tried a Warwick? I also believe that most people believe in the "you get what you pay for" I thought I got ripped off when I bought the ray. I can see how people dislike Warwick ergonomics, but that TONE!
 
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#36
After hearing the tone range of the Stingray I definitely agree that it's the more versitle bass of the two. Im probably planning on switching out the preamp of the Corvette to something that has a 3 band eq with sweepable mids, because I find that quite useful for the music I play. That coupled with my Genz Benz's eq should be quite accommodating for most of the venues we perform at. Everyone in my band is very conscious of the overall mix (what a thought!!) so I won't have to battle with them to be heard.

Can't wait to gig her!
 
#38
So when did I say don't ask for advice?
My comment reffered to a good dilemma to have.
I have had both and currently have a MM.
He already made up his mind for the Warwick so mine and your .02 don't really matter anyways. If you quoted me then you know that because the OP stated that a few post above mine.

This was probably just an internet miscommunication is all.
 
#39
My 2 cents... I have owned a SR5 since '99 and had a Warwick Thumb Bolt-On 5 for 7 years.

I found that the StingRay was more versatile and also recorded much better. I actually loved the contoured back of the Warwick, but like some others I felt the Warwick was "hit or miss" tonally speaking. In addition the neck dive was kind of a pain at times.

Again, this is my experience/opinion. I will say that there are a lot of used corvettes out there, so going used will save you some dough.

Best of luck and enjoy the process!
 

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