Good news, the headstock on these now just has a 'W'...order one right away! I'm takin mine to church in all it's orange glory tomorrow.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why do people hate/shun warwick rockbasses?
- Thread starter jacksonguy95
- Start date
Good news, the headstock on these now just has a 'W'...order one right away! I'm takin mine to church in all it's orange glory tomorrow.
i don't like the changes to the body shape of the Corvette.. the curves are different.. and the knob placement is different.. they do this to prevent counterfeiting, but it looks "wrong" IMO..
i'd rather have one of the early STDs than the more recent RBs..
they are German and the neck is Ovangkol/Wenge.. my nephew has a early Streamer STD w/2 pickups and without the strat jack plate.. it's a very nice bass.. the bridge is cheap, and is bent like most of them are.. the wood is incredibly soft, though.. it's a type of spruce.. you look at it hard enough and it will dent.. drilling/plugging the screw holes and a hard poly finish on it would take care of those problems..
if the new RBs came with Ovankol/Wenge/Brass frets and relocated the knobs, i'd think about it.. otherwise, Auf Deutsche..
i'd rather have one of the early STDs than the more recent RBs..
they are German and the neck is Ovangkol/Wenge.. my nephew has a early Streamer STD w/2 pickups and without the strat jack plate.. it's a very nice bass.. the bridge is cheap, and is bent like most of them are.. the wood is incredibly soft, though.. it's a type of spruce.. you look at it hard enough and it will dent.. drilling/plugging the screw holes and a hard poly finish on it would take care of those problems..
if the new RBs came with Ovankol/Wenge/Brass frets and relocated the knobs, i'd think about it.. otherwise, Auf Deutsche..
I'm confused. What does this have to do with RockBass?
I assume it's the 'asian knock-off' connection?
BOY I wonder about the popularity of instruments built to look old and abused....I remember the movie 'Crossroads' when the old bluesman told the young guitar blazer 'I bet you bought that guitar because it's old and beat up'....I never thought they would make them new, old and beat up.
And anything named AXL is questionable IMO...guitars, Roses, ex-presidential advisors, etc.
I have a black fretless 2010 rockbass. looks like a beast and has the sound to match. great craftsmanship, it gets scarily close to matching my 08 german corvette
I'm confused. What does this have to do with RockBass?
oops. i meant to post this in the music123 pricematch deals thread and somehow got confused.
My understanding is that the Rockbass pickups are the same as the German Warwicks, but he preamp is not. FWIW, The preamp in my 'Vette Rockbass is a good one, IMO.
My corvette basic is made of alder, with the 7-piece neck. The pickups are MEC gold tops but the preamp is a Crystal Sounds.
Mine's apparently an early one from the new series (made in Oct 09), but has the W headstock and 2-piece bridge.
The pre is a little noisy with treble boosted, and I had to shield it for RF. But it's got a very wide tone pallet and I actually don't mind the 16.5mm string spacing at all.
Bob
Mine's apparently an early one from the new series (made in Oct 09), but has the W headstock and 2-piece bridge.
The pre is a little noisy with treble boosted, and I had to shield it for RF. But it's got a very wide tone pallet and I actually don't mind the 16.5mm string spacing at all.
Bob
i use all warwick gear..a warwick streamer lx 5 string my amp is a warwick pro fet 5.1 500 watt head and a neo pro 2x10 and neo pro 1x15 each at 8 ohms making 4 ohms to get the full power. its my first encounter with warwick bass amps as previously hung around with the trace elliot and ashdown gang. love the warwick rig..great tone without too many gadgets to twiddle with, however it seems more like 300 ish watts as apposed to the 500 but has plenty of power for my needs and will be a long long time before i change.....unless its stolen or blows up lol
I think alot of people that shun them are warwick players themselves. You'd be hard pressed to find a music store outside of NY or LA that actually stocks their nicer german models. Your average bass players perception of warwick basses comes from trying rockbass models unfortunately and that think that doesn't sit well with the guys that play the $5k models.
although i now own a german made warwick streamer i have previously owned 3 different rockbasses...a streamer rocbass 4 string, a corvette 5 string and a corvette 5 string fretless. i dont have them anymore but i only sold the corvettes to fund another leg up the ladder to a german made warwick. I.M.O....the corvettes were fantastic...in build, finish, and sound, especially the 5 string fretless. the fretless was just beautiful to play. at the end of the day it doesnt matter what it says on the headstock because if it feels right to YOU and plays and sounds right to YOU....then go for it
I own a couple of excellent real Warwicks, but have not taken much notice of the Rockbass range. The ones I've seen have been plain coloured basses, or not very attractive sunbursts, rather than the normal Warwick exxotic 'wood look'. Don't have much against them, but they don't look as attractive as what I own already.
Link Removed
Streamer Chrome Tone and custom shop Thumb NT.
Link Removed
Streamer Chrome Tone and custom shop Thumb NT.
I tried a few Rockbasses. They are not bad at all. If you can't or are not willing to spend a high amount of money, they're worth a try. Sound great, many components are equal. Craftsmanship is a little less classy. But the concept is good, they're cool basses.
I play german Wicks myself, because I want my basses custom. But I'd never make fun of a Rockbass player.
You might find that same comparison for other companies, and still I don't see a reason to hate, make fun of, or whatever!
I play german Wicks myself, because I want my basses custom. But I'd never make fun of a Rockbass player.
You might find that same comparison for other companies, and still I don't see a reason to hate, make fun of, or whatever!
I own a 2005 rockbass fortress that is easily a better player than my MIM jazz or my MIJ jaguar. Yes, it has the cheesy headstock logo, and yes, id prefer a brand new german custom shop wick, but this is an amazing instrument and I love it. Every bass is different. Get your hands on one before you trust anyone elses experience or opinion. Ymmv.
I have an older rockbass Corvette. Single piece bridge. (Given to me as a gift from the wife) It plays fine, sounds fine. Nothing remarkably bad about it. Still there is nothing remarkably good about it either. Tone is fine with very fresh rounds(2-4hrs) and becomes lifeless very quick. The treble boost is noisy and shrill. The tone is roughly equivalent to any maple neck jazz bass with active preamp. Doesn't sound anything like a German or proline Corvette. So either its not the same MEC electronics or the tone-wood thing is real.
Pretty with its dark transparent finish but not remarkable.
Now the best redeeming quality is its adjustable nut. Big strength for any bass IMO. A few tweaks between bridge, truss, and nut and any fret has the same feel as any other fret. Worth a lot in relation to a Squier to me. Still we buy basses for how they sound.....
Never would have brought it home on my own.
Pretty with its dark transparent finish but not remarkable.
Now the best redeeming quality is its adjustable nut. Big strength for any bass IMO. A few tweaks between bridge, truss, and nut and any fret has the same feel as any other fret. Worth a lot in relation to a Squier to me. Still we buy basses for how they sound.....
Never would have brought it home on my own.
