What is the sound of a Warwick?

[D.I. Joe]

We've already had this discussion about MusicMen (MusicMans??) so what about Warwicks?? What defines a classic Warwick sound?

[LemonCello]

"The sound of wood" is the company's strap line. I had a Corvette $$ a while ago and it did sound immense due to the huge MEC pick ups positioned right in the middle of the body. Long and short is that you can get one to sound like almost anything!

[warwickhunt]

Many and diverse Warwick sounds now but I'd suppose the Streamer tone of Stuart Zender (Streamer Stage I 4 string on the early Jamiroquai albums then a Stage II 5 string) or the sound of a Thumb bass would be the classic Warwick 'Sound of Wood'... in fact I might dig the camera out and do a quick recording of my SSI.

[thisnameistaken]

The sound of my Thumb is a big middy burp sound. With the actives it can do more, and switched passive it sounds different again, but flat it's a burpy, proddy sort of sound. I like it a lot.

[Chris2112]

Nothing else really sounds like a Warwick, does it? The Thumb especially. Instantly recognisable!

I couldn't stay away from the Warwick sound for long. I have one coming to me now, a Thumb 5 string.

[Lfalex v1.1]

I have 3.
And they're all completely different!
Considered as a whole (including discontinued models) the range ably demonstrates the established hierarchy of contributory factors to an instrument's tone:
(technique)
(strings)
Pickups/placement
Eq/electrics
Materials
Construction
They Do have a family sound of sorts, and I reckon that's down to the MEC pickups and eq (and the fact that no-one else uses them)

[xilddx]

[quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1345927571' post='1783340']
We've already had this discussion about MusicMen (MusicMans??) so what about Warwicks?? What defines a classic Warwick sound?
[/quote]
It's whatever you want it to be.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346018125' post='1784260']

It's whatever you want it to be.
[/quote]

You're not playing the game, Nige - where is the bark, growl or snarl?

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1345969662' post='1783558']
Many and diverse Warwick sounds now but I'd suppose the Streamer tone of Stuart Zender (Streamer Stage I 4 string on the early Jamiroquai albums then a Stage II 5 string) or the sound of a Thumb bass would be the classic Warwick 'Sound of Wood'... in fact I might dig the camera out and do a quick recording of my SSI.
[/quote] please. While It's out do a few wicks

[xilddx]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1346018770' post='1784265'] You're not playing the game, Nige - where is the bark, growl or snarl? [/quote]

What about squeak?

[b]Streamer ChromeTone / POD X3 LIVE[/b]

http://soundcloud.com/silddx/summat-weird-where-the-eyes

[b]Streamer ChromeTone / POD X3 LIVE[/b]

http://soundcloud.com/silddx/london-zulu-may-2012-umlhalho

Edited August 26, 2012 by silddx

[skankdelvar]

I think the sound I most associate with Warwick is the 'Sound of Would'.

As in someone saying "Apart from Jack Bruce and that Swedish bloke, who the f*** are those endorsees? Never heard of any of them, but that Italian totty with the ear-rings? I would."

[drTStingray]

Not surprisingly, I've heard of quite a few of them - Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins etc etc.

The sound of Warwick to me is a thick, focussed bassy/low mid sound which cuts through great but sounds very smooth. A sort of..........well woody sound!

[Chris2112]

I've always thought of the German Warwick basses as having that quality of never sounding out of place. Like a Fender Jazz Bass, you can get away with using them at any gig and they still sound great!

[D.I. Joe]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346018125' post='1784260']
It's whatever you want it to be.
[/quote]

I remember a friend of mine telling me that he once spoke to a local bassist about his Corvette $$ and he took him through all these different EQ settings like, "If you want a Precision sound - do this, this makes it sound like a Rickenbacker" etc etc. I'm trying to find what signature characteristics, if any, make a Warwick instantly recognisable. From my experience, the Warwick sound is usually bad slapping and pointless fretw**kery!

[xilddx]

[quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1346065957' post='1784678']
I remember a friend of mine telling me that he once spoke to a local bassist about his Corvette $$ and he took him through all these different EQ settings like, "If you want a Precision sound - do this, this makes it sound like a Rickenbacker" etc etc. I'm trying to find what signature characteristics, if any, make a Warwick instantly recognisable. From my experience, the Warwick sound is usually bad slapping and pointless fretw**kery!
[/quote]
Almost any bass can sound like almost any bass. Warwicks are played in most genres, and most of any bass tone comes from the player's mind and fingers.

You seem to be talking about the players more than the bass. Maybe your question should be 'What is the sound of a Warwick player'. If you have some sort of prejudice regarding what you think is the sound of Warwick players, do more research on YouTube. FWIW, I don't think you are the slightest bit interested in what a Warwick sounds like.

Now go and find me a bass you think has 'instantly recognisable' tone, and I'll point you in the direction of a good psychiatrist.

Edited August 27, 2012 by silddx

[Ghost_Bass]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsD1zoI7NYo[/media]

[D.I. Joe]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346066612' post='1784689']
Almost any bass can sound like almost any bass. Warwicks are played in most genres, and most of any bass tone comes from the player's mind and fingers.

You seem to be talking about the players more than the bass. Maybe your question should be 'What is the sound of a Warwick player'. If you have some sort of prejudice regarding what you think is the sound of Warwick players, do more research on YouTube. FWIW, I don't think you are the slightest bit interested in what a Warwick sounds like.

Now go and find me a bass you think has 'instantly recognisable' tone, and I'll point you in the direction of a good psychiatrist.
[/quote]

I am aware of all of this. You seem to be missing the point, or perhaps I'm not being as clear as I should be.

I know that just about any bass can produce just about any sound for just about any application. I have no prejudice against Warwick players.

[quote] and most of any bass tone comes from the player's mind and fingers.
[/quote]

This is exactly my approach to playing.

Anyway, we're wondering off topic here. I see you're a Warwick owner, do you find any nuances in the sound?

[xilddx]

[quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1346067295' post='1784705']
I am aware of all of this. You seem to be missing the point, or perhaps I'm not being as clear as I should be.

I know that just about any bass can produce just about any sound for just about any application. I have no prejudice against Warwick players.



This is exactly my approach to playing.

[b]Anyway, we're wondering off topic here. I see you're a Warwick owner, do you find any nuances in the sound?[/b]
[/quote]
No. It's just a beautifully made, great looking, great playing active bass.

[Doddy]

[quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1346065957' post='1784678']
From my experience, the Warwick sound is usually bad slapping and pointless fretw**kery!
[/quote]

I think you'll find that that has absolutely nothing to do with the bass and everything to do
with your opinions of the players.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1346068367' post='1784739']
I think you'll find that that has absolutely nothing to do with the bass and everything to do
with your opinions of the players.
[/quote]
Yeah I just pointed that out to him but he denies it

I'm not he knows what he wants to know. Seems to me that Joe wants some confirmation that Warwick players are daft c***s

I don't know what's on topic or off topic in this thread

[drTStingray]

For me, the signature sound is a nice fat sound like a Wal, or perhaps a Musicman with the bass boosted.

I was listening to an Incognito album the other day and one particular track stood out and almost said 'this is a Warwick bass' to me - there are a lot of albums from the 90s with these or Stingray 5s. I've never owned one (largely because I don't particularly like the neck profiles) but lots of R and B and funk players seem to favour them - indeed a number of famous ones are current endorsees.

Maybe they're coming back into fashion - hope so - they sound fantastic! I am hopeful that the current fashion/fad for a couple of basses designed in the 50s/60s (perhaps could be considered the Ford Anglia and Ford Popular of basses - certainly have analogies based on era, simple design and sometimes apparently, variable build quality) will diminish and open a little more space for some of the richer sounding instruments to be the holy grail for the aspiring bass player.

[thisnameistaken]

If you want to hear what a Thumb bass sounds like, listen to The Reality Of My Surroundings, or Give A Monkey A Brain And He'll Swear He's The Centre Of The Universe by Fishbone. Thumb 5s were used on everything and Reality has a lot of fretless on it. There's a range of tones in use too - some dubby deep stuff, the odd bit of slap, etc.

[D.I. Joe]

Thanks guys I'll check out some of those tracks

[D.I. Joe]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1346068367' post='1784739']


I think you'll find that that has absolutely nothing to do with the bass and everything to do
with your opinions of the players.
[/quote]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1346068755' post='1784747']

Yeah I just pointed that out to him but he denies it

I'm not he knows what he wants to know. Seems to me that Joe wants some confirmation that Warwick players are daft c***s

I don't know what's on topic or off topic in this thread
[/quote]

Come on guys, that remark was only meant in jest

[DiMarco]

Vintage Warwicks sound very different from the current ones as a long time ago they weren't using MEC but EMG and Bartolini pickups a lot.

Modern ones are all growly and hifi sounding, the differences are for a great deal caused by wood types and pickup placement. Most wicks I played have a throaty, metal kinda growl going on with exception of the streamer stage I which has a huuuge palette of tones and is the allrounder of the bunch.

I chose the Dolphin pro1 because most wicks lose their growl when slapping, this one keeps growling and has the beefiest n most agressive slap tone I have ever heard.