warwickhunt

[quote name='redstriper' post='961713' date='Sep 19 2010, 11:29 PM']GHS precision flatwound strings have purple wraps.[/quote] Thanks for the info, I do recall that in this instance it was a PG set of strings that I installed. However, it's always good for reference if anyone is searching Basschat in the future.

[quote name='gareth' post='961501' date='Sep 19 2010, 08:02 PM']Has she considered taking up bass guitar?[/quote] We did go down that route some time ago... just after she'd tried Guitar... but before her dalliance with the Saxamaphone... and before the Penny Whistle; luckily I've managed to stop her becoming proficient in any of them! [quote name='The Burpster' post='961502' date='Sep 19 2010, 08:03 PM']I'm saying nowt - I'm just sat here smug in the knowledge that the PRS was getting so much attention!!!! :wub:[/quote] Hmmm hence my dilemma. [quote name='JTUK' post='961504' date='Sep 19 2010, 08:05 PM']If she is that close to knowing what is what..then she worth listening to...as opposed to being your partner and you have no choice, sort of thing The thing about people in the audience is that such a small percentage ( possibly no-one ) knows anything about bass apart from the low-end sound and those that know more might be miles away from what you are looking for but that doesn't stop them saying their piece. I could say that about quite a few musos on the band-stand as well, ( not knowing much about bass tone ) so if they don't say anything, then it isn't an issue with them. I quite like it when the band leader gets into it to that degree, though, and talks to you about the gig afterwards. Assuming they aren't fishing for compliments as well.. [/quote] Don't get me wrong I'm just opening this up to debate, I already know what I am going to do. I can go and see a band and love listening to the sound of a P or a J bass and I don't think I've ever thought that the sound of the instrument wasn't right, it's just what that instrument sounds like and I accept it. On the other hand I can hear a bass tone and can form an opinion on whether that is a good representation of that particular brand, I then have to decide if it is the bassist or his gear that I like/don't like the sound of.

[quote name='gjones' post='961420' date='Sep 19 2010, 06:56 PM']Yes.....unless the sound is strikingly different I would assume your average punter probably wouldn't notice. Maybe they were commenting on the colour not the sound?[/quote] Would you consider the difference between a Jazz and a Precision to be striking? I suppose to a high percentage of non-musos watching a band then bass is bass and the actual instrument and inherent tone is lost on them. However for the kind of listener who can differentiate between a Ric and a Ray then the difference in tone may well be striking. As an aside; after being with me for 25 years my Mrs can listen to a recording and a surprisingly large number of times she can accurately identify the make of bass used (so long as it is one of the common/standard types and nothing too obscure)... she really is a god send/nightmare when I want an honest opinion on tone.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='961244' date='Sep 19 2010, 03:25 PM']I'd say it sounds as though you still haven't found quite the right bass for that particular band. These days there's no reason why you should have to compromise on any one of tone, playability or looks.[/quote] I know exactly what you mean by 'the right bass for that particular band' as I've found over the years that certain basses tend to sit better in the mix with particular guitars. The funny thing is that this thread has me thinking more and more about what we as bass players want from our instruments (in particular tone) and what punters might want. The sound that I liked the most was not something that the majority of people talking to me seemed to like; oh and the audience contained a range of professional and 'Weekend warrior' musicians as well as a director of the local music education authority. So where does that leave us as musicians who are trying to please our audience? It would appear that the sound that I want the audience to hear may not be what they particularly want and btw I'm not talking about extremes of sound here just differences that discerning listeners might identify. <edit for OCD typo>

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='960956' date='Sep 19 2010, 09:54 AM']For me it's tone all the way. We are the variable in this equation and we have an inherent ability to adapt. We have a duty to the audience to offer the best we can. They don't care if if we find the profile or balance a bit off.[/quote] An interesting view and not one that I am criticising or saying is wrong but an audience will have as many variations on what they like in a bass sound as we do as players. Hence you as the player (unless you are a session player and [u]told[/u] what the sound required is) are deciding what is the best tone for your audience, which you are entitled to do but then again if the next bassist happens to think 'I prefer this sound' does that mean the audience are getting short changed? Just throwing the thought out there for consideration!

I did a 'pair' of gigs last night; me playing with my current band, supported by my band who reformed for the occasion. Seeing as it was a party for a friend and a no pressure gig (though massively enjoyable as everyone was into music and up for it), I took along a bunch of basses to see what felt/sounded best/right; PRS EB IV (Pyramid Gold flats), Bolin NS (DR Sunbeams) & Warwick Streamer Ltd Ed (DR Sunbeams). I played each bass for a couple of numbers and swapped whenever the guitarist took time-out to change from Les Paul to Strat (less disruption). During the first set I pretty quickly established that the playability (overall feel of the bass hanging and moving around the fingerboard etc.) of the Warwick closely followed by the Bolin were streets ahead of the PRS, which is a traditional shaped/styled Fenderish design BUT on stage the PRS seemed to have a nice old school tone; I was unsure if this was the strings (flats v rounds) or the pups, fingerboard wood, electronics etc etc However I came off after the first spot and every one I spoke to comment on how good the PRS sounded and how it had a nice 'bright' tone ...it had flats on that have been swapped between 3 other basses and sounded as 'unbright' as an unbright thing in a dark room! Mrs WH even commented that it sounded great in the little bit of string popping that I did in one of the songs (don't worry I didn't try to slap the RHCP with flats it was 'Jack & Diane' John C Mellancamp). People who've seen the band on various occasions even commented that they heard certain things that they'd not noticed I did before (tsk no surprise there then ). Right! I whipped the flats off the PRS and put them on the Streamer and vice versa, quick word with the Mrs to have a listen to the sound of the bass, then on for the second spot. Same as first set; feel of the Warwick was slightly better than the Bolin which both felt better than the traditional PRS. Obviously the PRS and Warwick had a different tone now but I had a nagging suspicion the tone of the PRS was carrying better. After the gig it became apparent that out front (no PA support just my Aggie DB12's and Thunderfunk) the tone of the PRS was the flavour of the night. I have to state at this point we are obviously talking opinion here and everyone will have a different one; added to which we aren't talking masses of difference in sound, especially as I could tweak my amp a bit to compensate (which I did btw for the varied outputs) but it certainly left me posing the question about playing bass in a gigging/live setting... Do I/we play a bass that 'feels' great but is maybe a 95% as good as the tone of a bass that doesn't feel as good OR do we go for the best sounding bass? I'm not asking anyone to make my mind up for me, I've already established in my head what I think and if anyone bothers to comment I'll give my verdict later but for now I wondered what others thought.

I have no experience what-so-ever with the P bass Special but from past experience of active basses it might pay to see if there is a trimpot built into the preamp/board so that you can match the active/passive output.

This talk of truss rod problems; it stems from a few of the earlier basses and as has been pointed out, it's likely as much to do with ham-fisted adjustment as it is too do with anything else. I have to say that I've owned dozens (and I mean 'dozens') of Warwick basses and I've NEVER had an issue with a rod. I did have one rod that someone had been using the incorrect size allen key to adjust and it was a bit chewed but that was easily sorted. The other thing is that 99.9% of the problems with a Warwick truss rod are an easy and relatively inexpensive fix (the truss rods are removable without recourse to taking off fingerboards etc.). However, their is one BC owner who had a problem with his TR and unluckily for him the rod wouldn't tap out so his luthier did need to do a major bit of work to get it out. Saying that there probably isn't a large scale manufacturer out there that hasn't had some kind of issue with some aspect of their bass but things can end up being blown out of proportion. I personally have no problem or worry with Warwick TRs but if I couldn't try one in the flesh before buying I'd reckon on worst case scenario maybe £75 to fix any problem... then again I'd only be buying an old model anyway not one of the new ones!

Even though the bass has sold previously on here for a very low price (sure Gaf was gutted) I'd say it's worth about what you paid for it! In an ideal world the NT Streamers should be selling for about a price mid way between a Euro and a USA Spector, alternatively about 33% less than new price (+/- 10%) and the BO/LX Streamer should be a bit less than a Euro Spector or about 25% behind the Streamer NT. However we don't live in an ideal world and Warwick prices are massively variable; hence it's a case of throw a price out there and see if anyone bites!

The nitro 'can' react to the rubber on certain stands/hangars but only if left on for a long period. The answer is to either wrap a piece of soft cloth around the stand or put it back in its gigbag/case.

[quote name='Kuniva' post='958325' date='Sep 16 2010, 02:04 PM']Can someone tell me what are the best suited strings for Warwick bass guitars? Its a streamer model[/quote] IMHO I don't think that there is such a thing as a string that best suits a Streamer. I love DR Sunbeams on my Streamers but then again I love DR Sunbeams on ANY bass... the next poster might hate nickels! I think its a case of establishing if you prefer flats or rounds, choose your fave gauge then decide if you like nickels or steels... after that you start to get nit picky.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='959092' date='Sep 17 2010, 08:15 AM']Bass Doc.[/quote] +1 for The Bass Doc

Unfortunately (for the seller) I've seen some Rays ending on eBay for less than £600!

I had an SWR 220 yonks ago (oddly though I don't remember the piping/lettering being that greeny/blue) and they are a decent amp, as is the cab. The BBE preamp was another of my passed bits of kit and other than being a tad noisy (not that you'd notice in a gig situation) at 'some' settings, that is a very under-rated bit of kit as well; the sonic maximiser circuit can do wonders for some set-ups.

[quote name='grahamd' post='956354' date='Sep 14 2010, 06:39 PM']Great player, usually plays Lakland. His stuff with Lyrics Born is funky sh*t[/quote] Lakland DJ with EMG's I assume... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or8M3C6GuCs&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or8M3C6GuCs...feature=related[/url]

Pyramid Golds they almost certainly are... no issue with any string snapping though!

I have a set of flats with lilac coloured silk wraps, which I bought from someone on here and for the life of me I can't remember what make they are... anyone help me out as I'm tired of looking through threads trying to trace them! Cheers

Rules is rules, you have to state a price for this bass... or at least put it in the right section!

[quote name='Linus27' post='955694' date='Sep 14 2010, 08:33 AM']OK, mmm, why does the neck feel longer and more of a stretch on a Warwick then? It has to be because it has more frets/another octave??[/quote] All to do with where the top strap button is in relation to the 12th fret and the placement of the bridge (specifically the saddle break point) in relation to the back of the body.

[quote name='Linus27' post='955573' date='Sep 13 2010, 11:39 PM']The bad points, 1. Well, its 34" scale which is hard to get used to if you have played Fenders for 23 years. Its still an uncomfortable stretch.[/quote] Fender Jazz/Precision etc are all 34" scale! Unless you've been playing a shortscale Musicmaster or similar you've been playing a 34"

Are you talking the new Squier CV or a JV, SQ, Chinese, Jap? It does make a difference. It'd be just as easy to get The Bass Doc to make you a one from scratch (no pun intended) and you'd be sure of the holes lining up, he uses only the best ply and they are spot on for quality and fit.