Buying old basses

[Nos]

Hi, 

Always fancied a Warwick bass and from everything I’ve looked up the German made ones are really good but as they’ll be around 30 years old, should I be concerned about fret and fretboard wear as the purchase price will be top of my budget so paying someone to sort anything out on it will be out of the question?

Any advice appreciated 

Nos

[OliverBlackman]

You can get perfectly good German made Warwick’s that are 20 ish years old. The only difference being the necks are chunkier.

 

But to answer your question, it completely depends. Some basses will be played on occasion at home, others will be gigged 3-4 times a week all year round. Have a look at it and check for pitting and ensure the trus-rod turns. Also switchjacks often go on Warwicks.

[tauzero]

My 36 year old Thumb has no noticeable fret wear. It got 20 years of regular use and occasional use since then.

 

The barrel jacks do indeed pack up, but that's because they're barrel jacks which are inherently unreliable on whatever bass they're fitted to.

[Nos]

Thanks, unfortunately it’s too far away to go and play it but doesn’t look too bad in the pictures from what I can tell. 
I was told they had chunky necks but the ones I’ve seen seem to have thin necks which are closer to the Ibanez I’ve been playing for the last few years - something to check👍

More research before pulling the trigger I guess

[LukeFRC]

I had a very very well played streamer that I had the  Alpher guys sort the frets on. 
barrel jacks do just go. 
 

other than that, message @warwickhunt last time I checked he had a few pre 91 streamers he was selling 

[Burns-bass]

Always factor in the price of new strings and a full set up into the purchase of every used bass.

 

It may play perfectly when it arrives but in my experience, I’d say 75% don’t. Plus I like the peace of mind that comes from having it fully checked out, cleaned and set up.

 

I’d say this will cost about £150 (depending on strings).

 

if you’re buying from a shop of course they *should* (but don’t always) set it up to your requirements.

 

if buying privately, then pay PayPal proper so you have some recourse if it’s not as advertised. Tell the seller you’re going to get it checked out and set up by a professional and you’ll chat about any issues.

 

 

[Burns-bass]

Treat buying a bass like a used car!

[Doctor J]

A used bass is a lot like a beautiful woman...

[warwickhunt]

5 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

 

if you’re buying from a shop of course they *should* (but don’t always) set it up to your requirements.

 

 

In my 45+ years of playing bass and buying them, I've rarely (not saying it doesn't happen) seen a retailer that will specifically set up a bass for a customer... and that is new instruments never mind used.  I know of a couple of bass specific retailers who say this in their info but without a customer sitting next to the guy setting it up, I don't know how that is achieved.  

 

To answer the OP - all frets wear but Warwick frets do better than most but be aware that they are a wide(ish) low(ish) fret when new and some folk used to tall skinny frets can get jittery and think they are in need of a refret; as a generalisation, if the bass plays OK, leave them.  Barrels are £5 - £10 so no big deal and if it is 30 years old it'll likely have been done any way.  Electronics are standard and shouldn't be an issue.  However, check the preamp works OK as 'sometimes' they can die but if it operates normally don't worry about it.  Battery compartment lid WILL be broken but a strip of gaffa sorts it.  Truss rod shouldn't be an issue as shonky ones should all be sorted by now but worth looking at the nut/adjuster to be sure someone hasn't been chewing away and rounded it with a non metric key.

[LeftyJ]

To add to @warwickhunt's post: the old wenge necks without a volute (pre-1996) had interchangeable truss rods that just slide out through the access hole after removing tension. Replacement truss rods are still available from Warwick's own webshop. So any issue with them that is NOT an issue with the neck itself can fairly easily be resolved. 

 

Warwick neck issues appear to be most common in the early '00's, when they had just started using ovangkol for their necks and moved to a chunkier profile. I have two Streamer LX's from this period and one has a small microbend around the 3rd fret which prevents me from setting the action as low as I would like. Still plays well though, and sounds great, and as it has the old brass Just-a-nut I with individually adjustable string height I can still set it up pretty well. 

[Jono Bolton]

It's absolutely sickening to think that a bass made in the 90s would be considered 'old'.

[snorkie635]

17 minutes ago, Jono Bolton said:

It's absolutely sickening to think that a bass made in the 90s would be considered 'old'.

Agree with this, but if it was made in, say, 1991, it's now 33 years old. Don't know your age or when you started playing, but in my case, that was 1975, so a 90's bass to someone today, would have been like the younger me playing an electric bass from 1942 (and that would have been impossible and if it had existed, it would have been considered a 'relic', never mind 'old'). Time flies I'm afraid. 🤔

[LeftyJ]

13 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

a 90's bass to someone today, would have been like the younger me playing an electric bass from 1942 (and that would have been impossible and if it had existed, it would have been considered a 'relic', never mind 'old'). Time flies I'm afraid. 🤔

 

Unusual but not impossible. The Audiovox 736 "bass fiddle" by Paul Tutmarc was around from roughly 1937, with the 936 bass amplifier. And in the 1940's Paul's son Bud marketed the Bud-Electro Serenader solidbody bass. They went largely unnoticed though, so when Fender introduced the Precision in 1951 it was widely but falsely regarded as the first.

 

[LukeFRC]

27 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

 

Unusual but not impossible. The Audiovox 736 "bass fiddle" by Paul Tutmarc was around from roughly 1937, with the 936 bass amplifier. And in the 1940's Paul's son Bud marketed the Bud-Electro Serenader solidbody bass. They went largely unnoticed though, so when Fender introduced the Precision in 1951 it was widely but falsely regarded as the first.

 

is that he one where HP Wilfer claimed to have designed it all himself, and then got them to destroy the tooling? 

[Sparky Mark]

I've owned and gigged my Warwick Thumb NT for over 30 years. Admitted, I'm not a three gigs a week player, and I've always looked after my gear very carefully, so mine is as good as new having replaced the barrel jack a little while ago.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Jono Bolton said:

It's absolutely sickening to think that a bass made in the 90s would be considered 'old'.

 

In a couple of years time everything made in the Twentieth Century will be at least 25 years old.

[Burns-bass]

3 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

 

In my 45+ years of playing bass and buying them, I've rarely (not saying it doesn't happen) seen a retailer that will specifically set up a bass for a customer... and that is new instruments never mind used.  I know of a couple of bass specific retailers who say this in their info but without a customer sitting next to the guy setting it up, I don't know how that is achieved.  

 

To answer the OP - all frets wear but Warwick frets do better than most but be aware that they are a wide(ish) low(ish) fret when new and some folk used to tall skinny frets can get jittery and think they are in need of a refret; as a generalisation, if the bass plays OK, leave them.  Barrels are £5 - £10 so no big deal and if it is 30 years old it'll likely have been done any way.  Electronics are standard and shouldn't be an issue.  However, check the preamp works OK as 'sometimes' they can die but if it operates normally don't worry about it.  Battery compartment lid WILL be broken but a strip of gaffa sorts it.  Truss rod shouldn't be an issue as shonky ones should all be sorted by now but worth looking at the nut/adjuster to be sure someone hasn't been chewing away and rounded it with a non metric key.

 

Interesting. The OP is worried about technical issues (bowed neck, dodgy electronics and poor fret work). This is all stuff any retailer should be checking out and fixing it would be part of what I consider a set-up.

 

String heights, less so, of course. I know Bass Bros will do it and the last Fender I bought was set up from the shop by someone who really did know what they were doing.

[Nos]

7 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Treat buying a bass like a used car!

You’ve clearly not seen some of the cars I’ve bought🤣

[Nos]

Thanks guys for the really useful and constructive feedback.

The kit I bought SH in the 90’s I still play, doesn’t feel old, until I have to carry my TE amp and cab about but knowing I’ve had it 30years and looking at the gig scars from youthful exuberance and stupidity I know it’s old.

Sounds like it’s worth going for and factoring in a good set up/check over/strings etc 

[Burns-bass]

4 hours ago, Nos said:

Thanks guys for the really useful and constructive feedback.

The kit I bought SH in the 90’s I still play, doesn’t feel old, until I have to carry my TE amp and cab about but knowing I’ve had it 30years and looking at the gig scars from youthful exuberance and stupidity I know it’s old.

Sounds like it’s worth going for and factoring in a good set up/check over/strings etc 

 

I really want a historic Warwick. I had a 1986 Warwick one that I played at some monster gigs, but I sold it (like an idiot) for about £900 at the dawn of Basschat.

[Rayman]

I have 3 90s Warwicks….. and I’ve had a few others in the past. Fabulous bases…… but……. be careful of the Warwick neck twist….. it’s a thing. I’ve had experience of a couple of Warwick basses (not the current ones) with a twisted (not bowed/relief) neck (at the nut). I had a lovely $$ that was just unplayable because of it. Just something to watch out for.

[Nos]

15 hours ago, Rayman said:

I have 3 90s Warwicks….. and I’ve had a few others in the past. Fabulous bases…… but……. be careful of the Warwick neck twist….. it’s a thing. I’ve had experience of a couple of Warwick basses (not the current ones) with a twisted (not bowed/relief) neck (at the nut). I had a lovely $$ that was just unplayable because of it. Just something to watch out for.

Thanks - that’s really useful and something to look out for.

Having looked at what’s about and hearing about different neck widths, I’m thinking of trying to find a few to play first as well as considering some of the new China made ones and not rush into buying anything yet.

[warwickhunt]

1 hour ago, Nos said:

Thanks - that’s really useful and something to look out for.

Having looked at what’s about and hearing about different neck widths, I’m thinking of trying to find a few to play first as well as considering some of the new China made ones and not rush into buying anything yet.

 

You are talking miles apart in quality and price if you are comparing 90's German made basses with 'new' Chinese models!  

 

[Rayman]

Absolutely take your time. However German Warwick’s can be had on the used market for 500 quid. I would never go for a Rockbass when MIG basses are out there for that price.

 

The “entry level” German made Streamer Standard is a great bass, I love mine as much as the more expensive models I have. Lower output, but fabulous tone. I would be all over one of those rather than a Chinese version all day long.

 

A lot of folk turn their noses up at that particular model, claiming it to be inferior, basic, low output. It was the forerunner to the Rockbass line, but MIG, and is a great little bass IMO.

 

 

 

Edited April 18 by Rayman

[Nos]

Thanks for the feedback, probably worth waiting for a decent MIG one to come up then. There’s a nice looking fortress one on marketplace but too far to travel and try it for me at the moment and not keen on buying a bass I haven’t played before