Putting a new neck on a Warwick

[The Badderer]

Hi guys. I have a Warwick Corvette 2004 $$ with a bolt on neck. I LOVE the sound of the bass, but I am not a fan of chunky necks. I am considering now keeping the bass but getting a new slimmer, faster, better neck put on it. Where do I look for a Warwick Neck 2nd hand / new. I tried the Warwick website but it was terrible and super confusing. Looked at a couple of the standard websites to find spares but no success. Where should I be looking?

[Trueno]

I was on the Warwick forum for quite a while. The wisdom, as I remember it, was that you just can't get replacement Warwick necks, unless you can prove to them that your current neck has been comprehensively trashed. It was a few years ago. You may have to consider custom made, but hopefully someone else will have some more up to date info, or maybe a company that does cheaper necks.

[bubinga5]

Warwick do supply necks only. But they are expensive. There was a guy on Talkbass who bought one for $850. That was back in 2009. Better to talk to a John Shuker or another great luthier

Edited July 4, 2017 by bubinga5

[Graham]

If you want it slimmer, why not consider getting a luthier to shave it down?

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1499189539' post='3329842']
If you want it slimmer, why not consider getting a luthier to shave it down?
[/quote]Good point.

[Trueno]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1499189832' post='3329849']
Good point.
[/quote]

+1

[Guest Jecklin]

Slimming a Warwick neck down is not overly complicated, however they aren't actually very deep back to front. If you have calipers you can measure various basses to get a feel for this.
The chunky feel comes from the "wings" of the neck. Ie the profile is more like a C and you'll notice the benefits of having it shaped to a D.
Surprisingly little has to come off each side to be noticeable and you more than likely won't risk exposing the truss rod which you might if thinning from the back of the neck.

[simonlittle]

Definitely worth talking to a luthier about changing the neck profile. Martin Peterson at the Gallery would be my first port of call. Also sometimes the Warwick bolt-on necks have overly thick fingerboards. Martin took a lot off the fingerboard of my old FNA Jazzman and regretted it with slimmer frets and suddenly the beck felt amazing. And was less bowed...

[prowla]

I had one Warwick and the neck was too chunky for me, to the point I hurt my finger trying to play it. I have another one now and it is a lot better.

I have seen a Warwick neck on ebay, last year; I nearly bought it.

I reckon if you're going to go to the lengths of having a custom neck made, you might as well go for a whole new bass!

[Andyjr1515]

It's often a bit of a conundrum...

The problem is that any irreversible mod - even one clearly for the better - will generally reduce the re-sale value of the instrument. And for a neck re-shape on a classic high-value brand such as Warwick that would be certain and significant.

If you are never, ever, ever, under any circumstances going to sell it, then, as Jecklin says, it isn't complicated and shouldn't be overly costly, particularly if it's an oiled finish. As he says, basically the centre point is not touched at all - so there is no issue with breaking into the truss-rod channel. With a check that the neck will not have originally been fitted with additional carbon fibre rods, then basically the luthier takes away the meat from the haunches (actually heading away from a D towards a C or even V), usually with nothing more severe than a cabinet scraper, sandpaper and re-oil.

But if - as is more likely - you [i]might[/i] sell it in the future, then the only sensible option (assuming that selling the existing bass and buying one that suits better isn't the preferred route) is to make the change reversible - and that means swopping out the existing untouched neck and fitting a custom-made neck / bought neck / bought and modified neck, transferring the hardware, etc.. Then when you come to sell, you just swop it all back again.
For something like a Warwick, this can be quite expensive (the woods alone can be eye-wateringly expensive) - and you might find custom neck makers reluctant to reproduce the design-registered headstock shape exactly per original - but at least the original instrument retains its value.

Hope this helps

[TheGreek]

You could wait a few weeks (till my Andyjr custom build is finished) and get the man above to build you something [i]similar[/i]. Swap it back when you're ready to sell and get Andy to build you the rest of the bass to fit the neck.

[Grangur]

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1499187667' post='3329825']
I was on the Warwick forum for quite a while. The wisdom, as I remember it, was that you just can't get replacement Warwick necks, unless you can prove to them that your current neck has been comprehensively trashed. It was a few years ago. You may have to consider custom made, but hopefully someone else will have some more up to date info, or maybe a company that does cheaper necks.
[/quote]
I enquired about a new neck for a Warwick body someone was selling and was told the same by Warwick themselves.
There's not a lot of difference in the depth of the Warwick neck to a Fender P MIM. There might be a millimeter or 2. But don't forget there may be a significant difference in the tone after you've done it. Folk talk about the tonewood in the body and how that resonates (or doesn't). But the resonation in the neck is bound to be far more significant. I'm a fan of Warwick basses, but if you want that tone, but don't like the neck, I think you might be disappointed when you change the neck wood mass. It would be a shame to make a major change and find the tone, after the work is no longer "Warwick" and you've rendered it unsaleable.

I recon the luthier-built replacement neck is safer. You could do well to find a luthier who's experienced in making necks and talk about it more with them.

[Al Krow]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1499285267' post='3330576']
I enquired about a new neck for a Warwick body someone was selling and was told the same by Warwick themselves.
There's not a lot of difference in the depth of the Warwick neck to a Fender P MIM. There might be a millimeter or 2. But don't forget there may be a significant difference in the tone after you've done it. Folk talk about the tonewood in the body and how that resonates (or doesn't). But the resonation in the neck is bound to be far more significant. I'm a fan of Warwick basses, but if you want that tone, but don't like the neck, I think you might be disappointed when you change the neck wood mass. It would be a shame to make a major change and find the tone, after the work is no longer "Warwick" and you've rendered it unsaleable.

I recon the luthier-built replacement neck is safer. You could do well to find a luthier who's experienced in making necks and talk about it more with them.
[/quote]

Understand where you're going with that comment Grangur, particularly in relation to resale-ability. However Warwick have, themselves, changed from broad to narrow neck whilst keeping their "sound" and also use different neck woods with different densities, so how much the "Warwick growl" is to do with their necks and how much to the body, PUPs and electronics I think is debatable - I'm guessing it's overall more weighted to the latter?

I suspect that shaving the neck a touch to make it more playable may therefore not to have too much effect on the overall sound, but adjust it too much and, as you say, you risk ending up with something that a future buyer will discount as no longer being a "Warwick". But if the OP is planning to hold on to it, well that may not be such a big concern?

[Grangur]

If it's all down to pups and spacing how do all P-basses manage to not sound the same.
If the wood has no effect, why did you buy to have a Warwick? Just buy a cheap bass and adjust the settings to those of a Warwick.

[Al Krow]

Who is saying the wood choice has no effect? Not even close to what I was saying!

I was merely saying that shaving a small amount from the neck to make it more playable is not going to change the Warwick sound by very much, because there are a whole bunch of other factors that come into play here. Otherwise why do two Warwicks with different necks still sound like Warwicks?

[noise_art]

Why don't you go to local luthier in order to reshape neck?