Warwick VS RockBass

[SUFFERTHEJOY777]

So I was at Guitar Center the other day. I live two hours away and I don't get to go there often...

Anyways, Ive always loved the body styles of Warwicks, and I always have believed you get what you pay for. Under that rule, Warwicks should be top of the line basses. Rock basses on the other hand are cheaper then Warwick basses, but they aren't cheap by any means.

When I was at GC, I saw a Rock Bass hanging on the wall, and of course I had to check it out. WOW, what a pile of crap!!! I know it probably wasn't set up, but I don't know that I could UN set a guitar to have action that high. It was bulky and felt disgusting. Not for me. They had it marked for 300 bucks I think, something like that.

Im wondering if anyone has gone from a rockbass to a real warwick. Did you notice the difference, not necessarily in tone, obviously the wood and electronics make a difference between the two, but in the playability and the feel of the guitars, the quality? I just feel like after playing that rockbass I shouldn't even look at warwicks at all, and I have no place to really go try one out either.

 

[Jon Moody]

It really depends on the Rockbass you tried. The original ones (that had ROCKBASS in large letters on the headstock) were really quite poor. The newer models of the past couple years (that say ROCKBASS only on the trussrod covers) are a huge step up from the old ones. Still not up to par with the German made 'wicks, but still giggable instruments.

Having said that, ever since 2010, the German made 'wicks have gone up in quality immeasurably. I had a 'wick from the "golden era" of Warwicks and my 2010 Streamer LX was the better of the two, by far.

 

[TechJunky]

It really depends on the Rockbass you tried. The original ones (that had ROCKBASS in large letters on the headstock) were really quite poor. The newer models of the past couple years (that say ROCKBASS only on the trussrod covers) are a huge step up from the old ones. Still not up to par with the German made 'wicks, but still giggable instruments.

+1

Old Rockbasses with the single piece bridges were, in my experience, terrible. I can't say I've played many, but those I have were noticeably cheap and of low quality. However, the most recent versions are actually really nice. I've played several in stores, and I was quite surprised by how well they played and sounded (speaking about ~2011+ if I had to guess on years). All the ones I've played were variants of the Corvette model, but the necks were slim, fretwork was well done, and they sounded really good. They didn't have that "real" Warwick tone (not a growly, most were passive so you didn't have the MEC eq, and the lack of brass frets does make some difference), but the tone they did have was still quite pleasing. If you're looking for the Warwick shape and like the tone, they're pretty solid basses. New, I still think they're a bit high priced for most models, but I see them used for reasonable costs pretty often. I would never buy one close to full price, though, since you could find a used German made Warwick in the same price range pretty easily, which will typically be a more high quality bass.

I would not judge MIG Warwick's on the Rockbass line, even the well built Rockbasses. I find that they feel and play quite differently, similar to how Epiphones and Gibsons feel and play differently. Doesn't mean one is better than the other, only that the details aren't the same, and you'll know it when you play them both.

 

[nurnay]

I had a Rockbass for a while that I loved. It was mean sounding as hell. Very growly and aggressive. I got it for about $300 and sold it for the same.

 

[Doctor J]

I would strongly urge you to try a MIG Warwick should the opportunity arise, they're really very, very nice instruments. I've given up trying basses in shops, the setups are invariably crap and rarely are representative of the feel and sound of the instrument once you take it home and set it up to your tastes. More often than not, they actually discourage a purchase.

 

[Photobassist]

I used to have a MIG 2004 Corvette Fretless Passive that I regretfully sold. That bass was the "one!"

After fooling around with several other brands I decided to come back to Warwick. I live in Japan now and MIG Warwicks are insanely expensive here, even with the excellent Dollar to Yen exchange rate. I looked around at several stores and found a Rockbass Corvette Fretted that fit the bill. The body shape, contours, etc. are exactly like the MIG. The store I bought it from had it set-up with silky smooth low action.

My MIG was bubinga with an ovangal neck and ebony fingerboard. My RockBass is alder with a maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Both fitted with MEC passive J's. I can dial in that same aggressive tone minus the mwah.

It was definitely less expensive than my MIG, but by no means would I call it cheap or crap. It looks good, plays great, and I didn't bust my wallet buying it.

 

[Li'l D]

Interesting body carving I recall mine was more flat and rounded horns

 

[Maxdusty]

I had an older Rockbass and actually mine was pretty playable. The action of my Rockbass was actually really nice and low-maybe I lucked out then as it was better than a few other ones I tried. As mentioned, the newer Rockbasses are closer to the German Warwick basses in quality and features- no comparison- if you were to get a Rockbass, bypass the older one piece bridge versions and go to the current ones. I sold my Rockbass and plan to pick up one of the newer ones later on down the road, or a German one- just got sidetracked and bought other basses I hadn't really planned on buying.

 

[ii7-V7]

I had a Thumb 5 BO years ago. It was so neck heavy that I sold it. But, the tone....the TONE! I still don't know if I regret selling it. I don't have those kinds of funds to spend on a bass any more. So, I'm very interested in the OP's question. I'm between an Ibanez SR655 or a Rockbass.

 

[bassman10096]

Good comments. I've tried out a lot of RBs and MIGs. I currently have an MIG Corv $$ that was dirty and dinged up when I got it. After it got cleaned up and set up, it grabs me as worlds better than any of the RBs I've ever played. Much more comfortable neck and frets, well-put together electronics and ash body sound... One thing I discovered about the evangol neck was an accident: since I was sanding, smoothing and reoiling the finish, I took 800 grit sand paper and smoothed the neck down to a nice matte finish (essentially, taking out the feel of the grain). I applied the oil finish to the whole bass (Danish oil) and the neck is the smoothest, sexiest neck I've ever played. Apologies to those purists who abhor modifying instruments and/or who love the "raw" feel of wood grain on the back of a natural neck. But smoothing and reoiling the neck has given me the best playing W'ick I've ever touched. Not sure you'd get the same result from the maple neck on the RB version of the $$.

 

[Sammuell92]

i have never tried a rockbass, but I think the wood package is similar or even better than MIM Fenders.
Both of them have maple necks and rosewood fretboards with nickel silver frets.
But the body of the rockbass, i think they are around 2 -3 pieces. but the MIM fender, they were like gluing scraps together (my MIM P body was made out of at lease 3 pieces of alder according to the glue marks at the neck pocket).
But I think RB have bad electronic components compared to a MIM Fender (Pots, jacks, wires, not pickups), other than fortress. RB Fortresses comes with MEC 2 band electronics.

 

[anavar]

IME i have owned...

Made in China Rockbass $$
Made in Korea Corvette Bubinga and thumb bass BO
Made in Germany Infinity NT 4 and Thumb NT 5.

i still own the thumb NT and the Bubinga 'vette. Honestly, hand on heart...There is almost nothing between them. once i had set them all up the only thing setting them apart was the pickup configuration and pickup style. Obviously this changes the sound but none were "better" then the other.

My rockbass got its actions as low, the neck as straight, the intonation as good as my german basses. Once you tick them boxes the rest is up to you and your amp/fx.

That being said, my MIG Thumb NT is my baby because that pitch black ebony board on bell bronze frets is just such a pleasure to look at.

 

[Tbone76]

I've owned a first-gen Rockbass Corvette 5 active, a second-gen Corvette $$ 4, and I currently own a MIG 2006 Corvette Standard Active 4.

I didn't care for the 5er, but I was new to bass at the time so memory is a bit foggy on it. I remember the finish was blue with several surface flaws, and the string spacing was tight. It was also really heavy, but it sounded good.

The Rockbass $$ was much better overall, and it had a massive sound. The push/pulls on the 2 volume knobs also split the humbucker coils, which opens up the tonal possibilities, especially because it's a passive bass. It was also too heavy for me. The neck/body fit was extremely tight, and the satin neck was fairly thin. Overall the qc was top notch, imo. In the end I just didn't bond with it, though.

My current Warwick is a German-made bubinga/ovangkol/wenge monster. It's a baseball-bat era neck shape (1.5" nut width, fairly chunky front-to-back), which I find to be extremely comfy. The sound is totally modern, up front-and in your face. The active 2-band eq also allows for the tone to be easily shaped, it also has a passive push/pull pot, and the bass weighs in at just over 9lbs. The tuners need to be replaced because the bushings are stripped (fairly common problem), and the tabs on the ends of the Just-A-Nut II are broken (very common problem),but those are the only downsides. I absolutely love this bass, and it cost less than a new Rockbass.

If the neck shape works for you, the 2000-2007 era Warwicks are a steal. The oil finish is higher maintenance than a regular poly or nitro coat, but it's worth the hassle.

Hope this helps!

 

[ClassicJazz]

I may be one of the rare ones, but I actually like the new Rockbasses better then the standard Warwick basses. My biggest issue with almost all German Warwick basses I have played is the neck is way too chunky for my taste. That is not so with the Rockbass basses. My first Rockbass was this beautiful Fortress.

This bass was not only beautiful, but built like a tank! Beautiful grain on the ash body, high quality hardware, perfect fretwork on the neck (which BTW is a three piece neck) and played with super low action. And it sounded wonderful, one of the best sounding PJ basses I have owned. My only complaint was it was heavy, which is typical of most Warwick basses. I regret selling it (but got a Roscoe in its place!)

This is my second and current Rockbass, a Streamer LX 5 string Fretless. I won this bass at Victor Wooten's Bass Camp.

Also zero complaints about this bass. The setup was a bit out when I got it, but nothing I could not fix. I have not owned a 5 string in many years, but I must say this bass plays silky smooth! Very nice profile on this neck. Wonderful growl from this bass and you gotta love that Tiger Stripe Ebony fretboard! Not many fretless basses in this price range that sport an Ebony fretboard! And the weight of this bass is much lighter then the Fortress I had. Again, high quality hardware and sports passive MEC pickups coupled to an active preamp. This is a keeper for sure!

I know sometimes it is hard to judge a bass that has been hanging on a wall in a store for some time, they usually are abused and have not been setup. But I have nothing but high marks for these Rockbasses. And considering my main basses are Roscoes, that says allot!