From: warsaw@nlm.nih.gov (Barry A. Warsaw)
Subject: Re: Fretless: Yamaha BB200F vs. Warwick :-)
Followup-To: rec.music.makers.bass,alt.guitar.bass
Reply-To: warsaw@nlm.nih.gov (Barry A. Warsaw)
Organization: Century Computing, Inc.
Date: 11 Dec 92 23:16:28 GMT


The Warwicks are definitely incredible basses. A year or so ago I
bought a fretless 4-string Thumb and now I'm playing nothing but this
bass.  Spector...blech!  Rick...pah! :-).  I tried a lot of the ~$2k
basses when I was looking and none struck me the way the Warwick did.
Its truly a work of art in craftsmanship (I think I'll just hang it on
my wall :-) and it plays and sounds like no other bass I've ever
played. Its got that definitive fretless sound. I haven't played any
less expensive bass that even comes close to the comfort and fullness
of that bass.  It is heavy though, the wood (combination bubinga/wenge
body with an ebony fretboard, maple inlays) is extremely dense.  Long,
long neck too, but the neck width and depth are very reasonable for
this former J-bassists :-). Nice compact old-Spector style bodies. I
understand Warwick licensed the body design from Spector.

Warwick makes 4 different models of basses, if I remember correctly.
The top-of-the-line models do get expensive, but a Thumb 4 listed for
about $2700US. I was very lucky, getting mine for ~$1800. The Thumb is
supposedly built more for poppability (even the fretless is very
slap-happy), hence the Thumb moniker.  I've played their 5's and their
fretted basses and all are superb.  My drummer friend actually has 2
Warwicks, a Thumb identical to mine and a blue varnished Streamer (II,
I think).  The Streamer is a very nice bass, but I'm not as impressed
with it as the Thumb. Its a little less, um, substantial, for lack of
a better word. Perhaps that's because it doesn't have the oil finish?
Maybe.  *Definitely* get the oil finish if you do buy one.  Its more
work (you need to wax the bass every week) but its worth it!

You can get Warwicks with a variety of electronics including EMGs
(which mine has), Barts or their own MEC line.  The MECs I didn't care
for -- a little thin -- and I prefer the EMG sound over the Barts, but
that's all personal opinion anyway.  When I bought mine, you couldn't
get a Warwick hardcase (comes with a well padded gig bag) but there
are plenty of custom case makers you can get one from.  I like the gig
bag a lot, especially for lugging to practice.

One word of caution, and this is just rumor so take with a grain of
salt.  My bass was built in 1990 (and is in fact 2 serial #'s *before*
my drummer's bass :-).  Warwicks have gotten much more popular lately
and word is that the newer ones are not up to the same quality as the
older basses.  Happens a lot when a brand gets hot. I haven't played
any newer Warwicks so I can't speak from first-hand knowledge on this.
You can feel the quality when you play it though, so trust your ears
and hands.

BTW, I saw Toad the Wet Sprocket's bassist played one on Arsenio last
night, and of course John Williams does too, a big-$$$ Dolphin I
believe.  In addition to the players in the Warwick adds, I know that
Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) plays a very nice 5-string.  Every once and
a while I see a bassist on TV play one.  Look for the classic
swept-back tuners!
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.bass