Value of a Warwick Fortress stage one 90's model

[barklama]

Hi everyone,

Was wondering on what value i would put on my WARWICK FORTRESS STAGE ONE in oiled red colour, All the usuall stuff babunga body / wengeneck...Mec Pickups / active circuit...

The bass is 16 years old and plays mint, has nice action.. Has usuall wear and tear on the back of the body.. Apart from that the bass is faultless.. Much better than new warwick, i orignally bought it from the bass centre.....

Any idea on price/value, any ideas would be much appreciated...

Thanks Ant

[hamfist]

My imprsssion of the market is that a nice one of these would go for about £500. Maybe a fraction less.

[Dread Bass]

Are you sure it's a bubinga body? Fortress basses usually had a maple or ash bodies.

[fretmeister]

I got mine for £400.

[voxpop]

£400 - £450 tops for a fortress.
I had one ten years ago and they are great basses.

[mart]

Yep, £400-450 is probably the best you're likely to get at the moment; it was the original budget Warwick model, after all.

And it's almost certainly not a bubinga body - I think most were maple, with maybe some made of ash.

[megallica]

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1369142351' post='2085340']
Yep, £400-450 is probably the best you're likely to get at the moment; it was the original budget Warwick model, after all.

And it's almost certainly not a bubinga body - I think most were maple, with maybe some made of ash.
[/quote]

I thought the Corvette standard was the budget model?

Is a £700 instrument really a budget model though?

I think the Fortress sold for £1K new in the 90's

Edited May 22, 2013 by megallica

[barklama]

The fortress is no budget, especially when u see all these over priced corvette!! These were fitted with good electrics, good wood and have a nice tone Especially through my ebs 4 x 10

[mart]

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1369234970' post='2086703']
I thought the Corvette standard was the budget model?

Is a £700 instrument really a budget model though?

I think the Fortress sold for £1K new in the 90's
[/quote]
I'd love to see a Warwick pricelist from the 90's (although 1999 was probably quite different from 1991!) but I'd be surprised if the Fortress was as much as £1k even at the end of the decade. (I bought mine in '98 for about 1600 deutschmarks IIRC). In any case, when I say "budget" I mean relative to the whole Warwick range.

The Rockbass Fortresses have a list price higher than the Corvettes which suggests you might be right that the Corvette is more of a budget model than the Fortress, but something I read somewhere made me think otherwise. The only supporting evidence I can find at the moment is the slightly ambiguous quote in [url="http://forum.warwick.de/showthread.php/16300-The-History-of-Warwick-Bass"]http://forum.warwick.de/showthread.php/16300-The-History-of-Warwick-Bass[/url] about the introduction of the Fortress (one year after the Corvette): "The Fortress is positioned a bit 'lower than the Corvette, which then takes the role of entry level instrument."

I'll see if I can find some old magazines from the 90s with prices in - that would give the best comparison of the models' relative standing.

[megallica]

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1369307240' post='2087499']
I'd love to see a Warwick pricelist from the 90's (although 1999 was probably quite different from 1991!) but I'd be surprised if the Fortress was as much as £1k even at the end of the decade. (I bought mine in '98 for about 1600 deutschmarks IIRC). In any case, when I say "budget" I mean relative to the whole Warwick range.

The Rockbass Fortresses have a list price higher than the Corvettes which suggests you might be right that the Corvette is more of a budget model than the Fortress, but something I read somewhere made me think otherwise. The only supporting evidence I can find at the moment is the slightly ambiguous quote in [url="http://forum.warwick.de/showthread.php/16300-The-History-of-Warwick-Bass"]http://forum.warwick...of-Warwick-Bass[/url] about the introduction of the Fortress (one year after the Corvette): "The Fortress is positioned a bit 'lower than the Corvette, which then takes the role of entry level instrument."

I'll see if I can find some old magazines from the 90s with prices in - that would give the best comparison of the models' relative standing.
[/quote]

I can imagine there could have been a definite overlap in the prices of these two ranges as there were a few different models released.
I've still got a few issues of Bassist magazine from 95-96, I seem to remember the Corvette was £700 new and the Fortress was 1K. There were a few options with the Fortress, maybe the passive ash models were cheaper than the active Corvette at the time. I'll see if I can find the ad I'm thinking of tonight.

[barklama]

I pulled the original receipt out and the body is two piece maple with a wenge neck..

[The Dark Lord]

Have you got pictures?

[mart]

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1369316963' post='2087689']
I can imagine there could have been a definite overlap in the prices of these two ranges as there were a few different models released.
I've still got a few issues of Bassist magazine from 95-96, I seem to remember the Corvette was £700 new and the Fortress was 1K. There were a few options with the Fortress, maybe the passive ash models were cheaper than the active Corvette at the time. I'll see if I can find the ad I'm thinking of tonight.
[/quote]
Ok, it looks like you were right, and I was right! I've just come across a review of the Streamer bolt-on in Guitarist, May 1993, and it quotes the prices of Warwick's various bolt-ons as: Fortress One (passive) £773, Corvette Proline £999, Streamer bo £1132, Thumb bo £1178. So the F1 was the "budget" model, but yes, it probably was around £1000 by the end of the decade.

But yes, I'd expect you are right that there was some overlap between the prices of the Fortress range and the Corvette range.

[megallica]

This was the advert I mentioned from the old Bassist magazine.

[url="http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww129/darkskies/scan0001-5_zpsb255b9d6.jpg"][URL=http://s712.photobucket.com/user/darkskies/media/scan0001-5_zpsb255b9d6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww129/darkskies/scan0001-5_zpsb255b9d6.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/url]

[barklama]

My fortress is not passive, This is take a 9v battery in it and has a push pull pot on one of the pots too... To me what makes it active

[Raslee]

I've just recently sanded down my green fortress to reveal a lovely maple grain, two piece - love it! They're great basses for the money although I put a passive set up in my bass with wizards for a more traditional sound. I paid £350 for mine about a year ago, the previous owner I believe had it from new and paid over £1k back in the 90's. My Fortress has become my main gigging bass for my soul band especially now that I've ditched the bogie green colour, much prefer the oiled natural looks, superb slim necks too and top Warwick build quality. Mine is definitely a keeper

[megallica]

[quote name='Rasta' timestamp='1369375121' post='2088419']
I've just recently sanded down my green fortress to reveal a lovely maple grain, two piece - love it! They're great basses for the money although I put a passive set up in my bass with wizards for a more traditional sound. I paid £350 for mine about a year ago, the previous owner I believe had it from new and paid over £1k back in the 90's. My Fortress has become my main gigging bass for my soul band especially now that I've ditched the bogie green colour, much prefer the oiled natural looks, superb slim necks too and top Warwick build quality. Mine is definitely a keeper
[/quote]

If it didn't have the super slim neck I think I would still have mine, the active preamp in mine gave it a really versatile sound.
One day I'd like to own the five string version just to have that sound with a wider neck.

[Muzz]

[quote name='Rasta' timestamp='1369375121' post='2088419']
I've just recently sanded down my green fortress to reveal a lovely maple grain, two piece - love it! They're great basses for the money although I put a passive set up in my bass with wizards for a more traditional sound. I paid £350 for mine about a year ago, the previous owner I believe had it from new and paid over £1k back in the 90's. My Fortress has become my main gigging bass for my soul band especially now that I've ditched the bogie green colour, much prefer the oiled natural looks, superb slim necks too and top Warwick build quality. Mine is definitely a keeper
[/quote]

We (more specifically I ) need pics! Ahh, go on, go on, go on.

BTW, how,long did it take you to sand it down? The finish on mine looks bomb-proof!

Edit: sorry, bit of a thread derail there. I'd say 400-450 depending on condition, finish, etc. As you were.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Muzz

[Raslee]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1369380818' post='2088466']
We (more specifically I ) need pics! Ahh, go on, go on, go on.

BTW, how,long did it take you to sand it down? The finish on mine looks bomb-proof!

Edit: sorry, bit of a thread derail there. I'd say 400-450 depending on condition, finish, etc. As you were.
[/quote]

Haha keeping to the thread, i'd say £400-500 too, i think they're a lot of bass for the money and easily worth more IMO.

Going off thread, well it took about a week to sand, blood sweat and fears. It still isn't perfect but its livable. I so much prefer the bass now though. Despite going all passive with Wizards trads it still retains some of that woody growl of the Warwick tone. Its a weird one as i didn't really believe all that 'it's in the wood' milarky but i guess now i'm a believer

Anyhow, i've said it a billion times...great basses!!!...and now my main gigging bass...again

Link here to build thread & pics [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/207017-advice-on-finishing-a-maple-warwick-body/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/207017-advice-on-finishing-a-maple-warwick-body/[/url]

[barklama]

You have done a real nice job of sanding your bass back to natural... If i had the time would do the same

[Dread Bass]

I love my Fortress!!!