SOLD - Warwick Dolphin Pro II - 1990 in black/brown £650 Worcester, UK

[72deluxe 17]

PRICE DROP: £550 £475. I have dropped the price to meet demand!

I am selling my Warwick Dolpin Pro II as I am just not using this, plus my wife has been made redundant.
This historic bass deserves someone else to play it as it's great! There's very few of these around, from what I can tell. Very few in the UK anyway.

The story behind these basses is that they were made by Warwick in Germany when Warwick was still small (before 2000). Warwick was too small to make them in great quantities so subcontracted to another company, which made items with bad necks and was selling these "out the back door" and thereby giving Warwick a bad name. So they eventually shut them down and moved production to Japan. This is one of the few that actually came from Germany, from what I can tell - 300 originally made I think?

Unlike post-2000 Warwicks, this has a fairly thin neck. It has Just-A-Nut I on it (brass) where each string has an adjustable saddle to sit in on the nut. This is from 1990 so a super early one. Someone has done a bit of mix-and-match with the colour of the knobs (gold/black), tuners and bridge but I think it looks alright.
Although the labelling has worn off the pickups, this has MEC pickups in it and a two-band EQ. Unlike some others, this DOES NOT have a passive toggle on the volume control so is active only all the time (9v battery at the back).
This looks to have been bashed around before I owned it (perhaps it fell off a stand due to its awkward shape) so has spots of damage on the edge and a ding on the body that someone has filled. I've tried to photograph these as best I can, but it is nearly 30 years old, remember.

Pictures and a demo video are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BNQtEDbgzp42jifoiISAjXjr3M3pUwrp

Any questions please ask. I am just outside Worcester, Worcestershire and would prefer not to ship this as I have no case for it (didn't go outside the house) and I have no cardboard to package it. I am happy to drive up/down the M5 a bit if this helps you for travel purposes.

If you feel this is priced too high, please make an offer.

Cash or Bank Transfer please, ideally bank transfer when we meet.

POLITE NOTICE: I've had timewasters on other sites like Gumtree and those that think this bass should be 20p or free due to it not being a Streamer / Fodera / a thru-neck / not made of titanium / more than they want to pay. I've had quite a few daft requests and people believing I should be giving this away because it doesn't quite fit with their hazy dream of an ideal bass, eg. it's not a thru-neck... I've had people not show up when they said they'd buy it and all sorts of clowns and jokers. Let's leave them at the circus!

Edited August 13, 2020 by 72deluxe
Sold

[4000 1,790]

I’ve owned 3 Dolphins, a ‘91 Pro I, a ‘96 Pro I and a Pro II just like this. The ‘91 Pro I was the best, but the Pro II wasn’t far behind and was every bit as good as the ‘96 Pro I. A friend has it now and it’s his main bass. 

[karlfer 884]

This was tempting me when it was on Faecesbook. Tried to get @bagsieblue 's off him for year & the rat sold it very quickly when I was skint for 3 days. Yes, You Martyn 😬😆

Surf Green re-fin, hmmm.

I'm going to Leominster in two weeks, a lot closer than Darlington. 

[Kev 522]

I absolutely love that!

[vmaxblues 87]

This might well have been my old one!   I bought the red/black one off Bagsie because it was my main bass for years before I sold it to him, so it had a lot of history for me.

These are massively underrated basses and I love them, but value is a tricky thing on them, the Warwick community sees them as a mistake and make them out to be less than a rockbass, but I have gigged mine for many years and it is such a nice instrument to play, I bought full blown Dolphins on the back of how good these were and was underwhelmed.

This is also dangerously close to me......

[72deluxe 17]

16 hours ago, karlfer said:

This was tempting me when it was on Faecesbook. Tried to get @bagsieblue 's off him for year & the rat sold it very quickly when I was skint for 3 days. Yes, You Martyn 😬😆

Surf Green re-fin, hmmm.

I'm going to Leominster in two weeks, a lot closer than Darlington. 

@karlfer I have never listed this on Facebook so not sure which one that was?

@vmaxblues I had difficulty pricing it because I see 2 others for sale "on the Internet" abroad and they are very highly priced.

I like the bass and the very burpy sound you can get out of it, just needs must unfortunately.

As I said, offers welcome!

[warwickhunt 419]

I'll add my £0.02 worth... 

I've owned 5 Dolphin basses; 1989 Pro I (one of the first), 1990 Pro I,  Set Neck Tone Chamber, Pro I 'custom shop' and a Pro II.  

I presently own said Pro II and all others have been sold, that speaks volumes.

They share the Dolphin shape but the neck location, feel is superior (IMHO) on the Pro II.  Added to which they are lighter and the Ash body maple neck sounds unlike any other variant.  What is sometimes over looked is that the neck/horn position means the first position sits closer to you on a Pro II than a Pro I.  

They do sound 'burpier' than the Pro I and you well never get the distinct tone of a NT Dolphin from one of these BO.  One caveat is that the rear (bridge) pup solo is far to thin to be used in isolation, unless you are really trying to get that sound.  

Footnote - the German 'Shadow' made basses 'v' the Japanese ones; I've yet to see or have a definitive way of identifying which is which... and I've done a fair bit of research over the last 30 years.   

Great basses and not to be dismissed as an inferior Pro I, they are a distinct and different bass.  

[karlfer 884]

3 hours ago, 72deluxe said:

@karlfer I have never listed this on Facebook so not sure which one that was?

@vmaxblues I had difficulty pricing it because I see 2 others for sale "on the Internet" abroad and they are very highly priced.

I like the bass and the very burpy sound you can get out of it, just needs must unfortunately.

As I said, offers welcome!

Perhaps Bumtree or FeeBay. I'm certain I've seen it before.

There again, I'm old & usually confused 😚

[72deluxe 17]

@warwickhunt thanks for the info

@karlfer might have been Bumflea!

[ebenezer 141]

Had a pro 1 5 string broad neck in boire rosewood with Bart soapbars.... lovely bass but boy was it heavy.

[4000 1,790]

8 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

I'll add my £0.02 worth... 

I've owned 5 Dolphin basses; 1989 Pro I (one of the first), 1990 Pro I,  Set Neck Tone Chamber, Pro I 'custom shop' and a Pro II.  

I presently own said Pro II and all others have been sold, that speaks volumes.

They share the Dolphin shape but the neck location, feel is superior (IMHO) on the Pro II.  Added to which they are lighter and the Ash body maple neck sounds unlike any other variant.  What is sometimes over looked is that the neck/horn position means the first position sits closer to you on a Pro II than a Pro I.  

They do sound 'burpier' than the Pro I and you well never get the distinct tone of a NT Dolphin from one of these BO.  One caveat is that the rear (bridge) pup solo is far to thin to be used in isolation, unless you are really trying to get that sound.  

Footnote - the German 'Shadow' made basses 'v' the Japanese ones; I've yet to see or have a definitive way of identifying which is which... and I've done a fair bit of research over the last 30 years.   

Great basses and not to be dismissed as an inferior Pro I, they are a distinct and different bass.  

I definitely found my Pro II more comfortable than the Pro Is, but not for reasons of weight (my Pro II was not a very light one, like some I’ve played have been). 

[warwickhunt 419]

8 hours ago, 4000 said:

I definitely found my Pro II more comfortable than the Pro Is, but not for reasons of weight (my Pro II was not a very light one, like some I’ve played have been). 

My Pro II is 8lb so a lot lighter than 99% of Pro I basses.

[Henrythe8 67]

Ahhh, thing of beauty. Dolphin Hoarder, here. I had a 89 Pro 1n blue, a 91 Pro1 5 boiré/BArts (the one Ebenezer talked about) a 91 Pro1 Boiré and a 19 Pro2. 

The story as already been told, not much to add. 

The real way to tell if it's a (poorly ? ) german made or a japanese is the serial number/Color combination.

If it has NO Serial (stamped at the top of the head), AND if the color is SOLID (Red, blue black see below),

 

it's a german one.

If the color is transluscent, it's definetely Japanese. If solid Color with a serial, again, Japanese. I heard of but never saw a transluscent without serial number. 

This bass doesn't sound like a traditional warwick. The more standard woods are the culprits. Wengé fingerboard and bronze frets do however retain the growl. 

It is also a very special neck, 42mm nut but very, VERY thin and fast. The pickup placement is in the Thumb range, and makes it a nice bass for the virtuoso stuff with harmonics, tapping and slap. 

Mine was modified (at the Warwick Factory) with a pair of DiMarzio DP123 and a change of blend pot (to accomodate the passive pickups). This changed the bass into a real Rock and Metal monster, played, approved and signed by no other than David Ellefson. 
 

Final thing to say is that it's probably the better balanced Warwick there is, with a very lightweight. Mine was 3,7kg. 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Henrythe8
correction

[warwickhunt 419]

 

30 minutes ago, Henrythe8 said:

The real way to tell if it's a (poorly ? ) german made or a japanese is the serial number/Color combination.

If it has a SN (stamped at the top of the head), AND if the color is SOLID (Red, blue black see below),  

it's a german one.

If the color is transluscent, it's definetely Japanese. If solid COlor with a serial, again, Japanese. I heard of but never saw a transluscent without serial number. 

So if it has a serial number and is a solid colour it could be German OR Japanese?    

Yep that pretty much is where my research lead me as well.    

[4000 1,790]

11 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

My Pro II is 8lb so a lot lighter than 99% of Pro I basses.

Mine was a bit heavier than either of my old Rics, probably a shade over 9lb.

[72deluxe 17]

I think this is a German one as it has the SN on the headstock and is solid, but I’m not sure if the colour has just faded as you can see the subtle grain of the body through the paintwork.

Not sure if that helps anyone but my thoughts anyway.

As others have said, the neck on this is very narrow (and subsequently “fast”) particularly compared to later post-2000 Warwicks with their baseball bat necks (which I also like).

Thanks.

[Henrythe8 67]

On 06/07/2020 at 15:00, warwickhunt said:

 

So if it has a serial number and is a solid colour it could be German OR Japanese?    

Yep that pretty much is where my research lead me as well.    

Nah, I made a mistake : no serial = German. Serial was stamped at Warwick's after inspection. 

[72deluxe 17]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to mention that offers are very much welcomed and I emphasise that I am very happy to travel a bit to reduce any travel time you have. Thanks.

[72deluxe 17]

Price dropped.

[inthedoghouse 243]

I wish someone would buy this asap and put me out of my misery of trying to think how I can scrape the money together!  If I hadn't built a lovely lockdown project P this Dolphin would have been gone as soon as I saw it!

[72deluxe 17]

@inthedoghouse Sell the P! 

Just kidding! 

[karlfer 884]

Crazy low price for one of these fabulous basses.

GLWTS

[inthedoghouse 243]

16 minutes ago, 72deluxe said:

@inthedoghouse Sell the P! 

Just kidding! 

Ha ha - which one?  Who needs two Ps anyway?  I should know better than to ask that on here, ha ha  🙂  (One with flats and the other with rounds)  

I've got a pedal (not bass related) on eBay at the moment in an effort to raise funds for this.  It's got 4 days leftt.  If it sells for anything like the asking price and you still have the Dolphin I'll take it off your hands.  I reallllly want it!

Edited August 3, 2020 by inthedoghouse

[72deluxe 17]

Sold subject to collection / payment.

Thanks everyone for your informative input and interest in it, much appreciated.