Alas...Poor Warwick???

[Macko1968]

[quote name='Josh' post='212549' date='Jun 4 2008, 03:31 PM']Isn't that purely subjective?[/quote]

In the same way all opinions are, yes.

The older stuff with the brass nuts, wenge necks & EMGs were consistently exceptional instruments, I just find the current range, whilst still good, lacking that little extra. If I was dropping £1k, my money would be going on an early example.

[Josh]

[quote name='Macko1968' post='212556' date='Jun 4 2008, 03:48 PM']In the same way all opinions are, yes.

The older stuff with the brass nuts, wenge necks & EMGs were consistently exceptional instruments, I just find the current range, whilst still good, lacking that little extra. If I was dropping £1k, my money would be going on an early example.[/quote]

Fair enough man

[thumbo]

If there was ever a good time to get a great deal on a second hand Warwick, now is the time. Keep your eyes on ebay but try some out before you commit your money to it.

I fully agree with the sentiment of Warwicks being like "marmite". If you get the chance to try out any older Warwicks you'll really notice the slimmer necks and slightly smaller frets, IMO these two aspects quite massively change the playability of the old ones against the new ones.

My 98' Warwick Thumb plays much nicer than my 06' Streamer Stage 1 because it's really worn in and has the slimmer wenge neck.
However the Streamer is *almost* my perfect gigging and recording bass because it sounds so good and it's light. My Thumb stays at home in my room on a stand and it gets played a lot but I doubt I'll ever play another gig with it.

You'll find that the range of Warwick basses varies a lot within that signature "growly!" tone. It's important to try out as many as you can to get a good idea for what they offer and how all those different body shapes feel.

[jerseytrev]

[quote name='thumbo' post='212570' date='Jun 4 2008, 04:05 PM']If there was ever a good time to get a great deal on a second hand Warwick, now is the time. Keep your eyes on ebay but try some out before you commit your money to it.

I fully agree with the sentiment of Warwicks being like "marmite". If you get the chance to try out any older Warwicks you'll really notice the slimmer necks and slightly smaller frets, IMO these two aspects quite massively change the playability of the old ones against the new ones.

My 98' Warwick Thumb plays much nicer than my 06' Streamer Stage 1 because it's really worn in and has the slimmer wenge neck.
However the Streamer is *almost* my perfect gigging and recording bass because it sounds so good and it's light. My Thumb stays at home in my room on a stand and it gets played a lot but I doubt I'll ever play another gig with it.

You'll find that the range of Warwick basses varies a lot within that signature "growly!" tone. It's important to try out as many as you can to get a good idea for what they offer and how all those different body shapes feel.[/quote]
very happy with both my warwicks ,the double $$ is awsome . but try first its a personal thing some like some do not . not keen on fenders but that does not mean they are bad just not my thing at present . end of the day its what you like

[markyboy2106]

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='212545' date='Jun 4 2008, 03:21 PM']I have 2 Warwicks at present and I love them - A Streamer Stage One and a Streamer LX5.

The Stage One is a 4 string and is for sale/trade at the moment purely because it doesnt get played much next to my LX5 and Vigier Passion III - your best bet really is to play a bunch and see what you like.

WHere are you based? You are welcome to pop in and have a go on my babies if you want to mate![/quote]

That's a great offer, but I'm based up in Manchester.

Anyone know of a Warwick stockist Manchester way

[martthebass]

I've had a Corvette active standard and a Thumb BO4.
Both IMHO sounded the mutts. I personally had no problem on the neck of either and I was swapping between Jazz, MM and Warwick - also both were the 'less desirable' ovangkol necks which according to Talkbass are like bass ball bats?

In the end I did sell the warwick Thumb but it was a balance issue - I hated the twice per minute position adjustment on a 2 hour gig. However not everyone has this problem but the moral is definately try on a strap for half an hour before you buy.

[Thunderthumbs]

markyboy......you have a PM

[NJE]

Hi,

just going to add my pennies worth as I had a very similar situation to you and asked the very same questions about warwicks.

As everyone has said on here it really is best to try as many as possible, but I did not and ended up still winning.

I wanted a five string and having palyed fender or fender type instruments for ten years I automatically looked to Lakland, Musicman, Fender, Sadowsky and sandberg when I was looking. I own a musicman 4 and loved the stingray neck and low B, on the 5 string version, but after much looking I couldnt get one in my budget not even used. I looked elsewhere at G&L and nearly bought one after being told that they were every bit as good, if not better than a stingray 5.

After some looking around on ebay i saw a warwick streamer Pro M 5string, single pickup discontinued model from the 90s. It looked gorgeous, flamed maple body gold hardware just stunning. I asked so much about the necks and the B strings and got the same replies as you are getting here, "big-ish necks" "sloppy b string" etc. i also got some brilliant advice from people so I went and bought it without trying it, crazy!

The result? IT IS AMAZING. the neck is really comfortable and a lot smaller than some laklands and fender 5s I have tried. The B string growls so much and notes across the whole neck are clear as a bell (probably the bell brass frets) The one thing you may find is that the sound from a warwick is almost compressed in my opinion. It is ultra clean but I love that especially after my sloppy rocky musicman. My stingray doesnt get played anymore simple as that. The warwick build quality is in my opinion far better than any fender or musicman, it just oozes quality. Its light its comfortable thanks to the contours, It sound brilliant, the versatility of the hardware (the nut and bridge) is amazing it is just all round stunning and I am seriously considderring shifting the ray for another warwick.

The best bit about the purchase was the price. £380 for mine, full warwick made in germany all the right hardware in mint condition with a case. For some stupid reason Warwicks are slumping slightly and they are going for stupid money secondhand. You may even get something amazing for less than your budget. I would say look for older models as a few other people have said. Some of the new corvettes I have played are horrendous in comparison, I played a double $$ the other day and hated it, fire wood compared to mine to be honest but at the end of the day everyones opinions are different. I took a risk with warwick and im never going back.

[BigBeefChief]

I love Warwicks.

[Doc B]

My Streamer Std 2 is the most comfortable bass I've played on and I loved the feel of it as soon as I picked it up - it felt like it was made for me. Strangely I have small hands for a man. The new price at the time was a bargain as it was on a par with MIM Fenders and was way ahead in quality. The best £400 I spent. My bass was so good I couldn't justify buying one of the more expensive Warwicks but a Thumb NT is my lottery win bass.

[Dubs]

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='213326' date='Jun 5 2008, 04:36 PM']I love Warwicks.[/quote]

and I'm the pope

[rjb]

I'm a Warwick player (a 2000 Streamer Std that is no longer made) and am on the lookout for a Thumb BO4.

I personally would ascribe their current relative unpopularity to the whole post-punk revival trend at the moment - the Fender look is "cooler".

[tauzero]

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='212368' date='Jun 4 2008, 11:10 AM']I’m not into 5 stringers so I’ve never owned one but I’ve played a few and IMO they feel nicer than other 5 string basses I’ve played. I find it hard to believe people when they say “I don’t like Warwicks” because I always think “have you actually played [i]any[/i] Warwicks?” cos I think they’re great and can’t really understand what there is to not like about them [/quote]
I don't like the current Warwicks, and the 5-string necks are pretty clunky (and one day the two that I have will be put onto a body...) Would like a JD-era 5-string and 6-string Thumb though.

[bremen]

[quote name='rjb' post='213656' date='Jun 6 2008, 09:32 AM']I'm a Warwick player (a 2000 Streamer Std that is no longer made) and am on the lookout for a Thumb BO4.

I personally would ascribe their current relative unpopularity to the whole post-punk revival trend at the moment - the Fender look is "cooler".[/quote]

I had a very nice old Thumb NT, absolutely beautiful piece of wood - it just wasn't for me. Sure, Fenders are mass-produced and thrown together compared to Warwicks but for me a Precision (or copy) just hang right, and fit my hands. Soundwise my Warmoth with Quarter Pounder P and J pickups is just as good as the Thumb, just different.

[tanuki]

to me warwicks have always smelt funny, never really got past that!!!

[sshorepunk]

I know where there is a Warwick Dolphin, 5 string for sale in Manchester :-)

T

Edited June 8, 2008 by sshorepunk

[Kev]

[quote name='dmz' post='212455' date='Jun 4 2008, 01:25 PM']Lakland covers the more classic Fender feel/sound - which can be tweaked a little bit to sound more modern - [b]great B string sound

Musicman is kind of the opposite[/b] in my opinion whist retaining the Fender feel - obviously, given its lineage (!)[/quote]

if you mean by that to say the musicman's B string isnt that good, i totally disagree, my stingray has the best B iv ever played, althought admitdly not played a lakland, but certainly beats the fender us 5 string jazz i tried

Edited June 8, 2008 by BassManKev

[Dubs]

[quote name='tanuki' post='214890' date='Jun 8 2008, 01:59 PM']to me warwicks have always smelt funny, never really got past that!!![/quote]

That’s the smell of the wax combined with some real wood ("The Sound of Wood") – their not some glossed over Fender don’t you know, they’re pieces of art

[clauster]

I've got that Warwick love

Dunno why people complain about fat necks - they've got a deepish profile but the fretboard's not too wide. Comfortabel for me and my hands are quite small.

I'm gassing for an Ash $$ NT at the mo (even better if I could afford a custom shop one).

[simondee]

i'm a big warwick fanboy too. never looked back.

i've noticed a big drop in 'famous' rock bassists using warwick (lostprophets, story of the year, incubus, etc etc), wonder why that is?

I rarely see other Warwicks when I play shows these days :-(

I would literally kill for a streamer stage II and the custom jobbies that Stuart Zender had back in the day were amaaaazing.

[molan]

I had a [i]very[/i] early Streamer with all the "desirable" bits & bobs of the early models - it even came strung with those Maxima Gold strings to set off the gold hardware.

Trouble was I never got on with the damn thing!

Could never put my finger on it but felt like a clunky old beast next to the Kubicki I traded it for.

Obviously this was a big mistake financially, the Warwick would probably be worth twice what I paid for it now whilst the Kubicki is close to half the value. Having said that the Warwick wasn't for me and I've always enjoyed playing the Kubicki. It really is "horses for courses"!

[SteveK]

[quote]i've noticed a big drop in 'famous' rock bassists using warwick (lostprophets, story of the year, incubus, etc etc), wonder why that is?[/quote]
At one time (late 80s early 90s) Warwick were giving them away like they were Smarties...jeez! they even gave me 3

Steve

[simondee]

[quote name='SteveK' post='217124' date='Jun 11 2008, 07:21 PM']At one time (late 80s early 90s) Warwick were giving them away like they were Smarties...jeez! they even gave me 3

Steve[/quote]

heh might try for an endorsement then if next year's arena tour happens!