artisan Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 So i know someone who is selling one of these pretty cheap but it is a long drive to go get it which, i can't be bothered to do,so would get him to ship it,so no chance to try before i buy. I have owned 3 Warwicks in the past but they were all active basses but i have never actually played a fully passive Warwick before. Have any of you guys owned or played one & if so was it as good as i think it will be. Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 (edited) Since you got no replies I'll offer what little info I can. I have three Rockbass models from 2005 to 2007. All have MEC pickups and one of the basses, a fretless Corvette 5, is passive. While the active pickups (in my Fortress 5 and Corvette 4) are fine in my opinion, I find the passive MECs a bit poor, TBH. As I said, I'm talking about Rockbasses as opposed to real-deal Warwicks "with a W on the headstock", which are far awesomer ( ), so this info may well be misleading; I hope this bump will get you some more relevant replies, at least. Edited April 22, 2014 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender73 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Hi I had a passive Corvette Pro Series, and loved it. Only thing that was slightly negative was a bit of hum from the pickups, but tone wise they were great, really cut through a band mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 thanks for the replies i can't decide to go with the passive one or just get my hands on an active model as they seem to have a passive setting too,so best of both worlds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 FWIW I had a Warwick Corvette 4, German made version. It was ok-ish but I can't say I was blown away. I traded it for a Warwick Streamer Stage 1 which is passive/active with the push pull and it's far better, even in passive mode. The other point that I found I didn't like at the time with the Corvette is the slab-flat body. The Streamer body is scalloped in on the back, so it lays far better against the body. But, that said; each to their own. Good luck, whatever you decide to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Going off-topic for a moment, the scalloped body on the Streamer is one thing I don't like! It makes it unnecessarily thicker - unless maybe the player has a large belly? I'm perfectly fine with the flat Corvette and Fortress bodies, which are only shaped for comfort at the top. So it really is a matter of personal taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1398190327' post='2431464'] Going off-topic for a moment, the scalloped body on the Streamer is one thing I don't like! It makes it unnecessarily thicker - unless maybe the player has a large belly? I'm perfectly fine with the flat Corvette and Fortress bodies, which are only shaped for comfort at the top. So it really is a matter of personal taste. [/quote] *cough*.... pardon madam. I'm not fat The shaping, I guess, does make the body bulge more. I found something about the positioning of the Corvette gave me back pain. I think it may have been the position of the strap button and me trying to crane my neck to see the strings (being a noob to playing). But, as I say... each to their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 (edited) LOL I never implied you in particular had a large belly! Honest I just thought that it might be more comfortable for someone with a large belly. Not sure about the strap button position, as I didn't notice any difference when I tried the Corvette and the Streamer in the Warwick shop. They definitely are heavy basses, though, which may have something to do with back/shoulder pain. Edited April 22, 2014 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 i had a Streamer LX4 & while it was a great bass to play i just couldn't get on with the shape of it,i always thought it was an ugly bass,each to their own i guess. But i do indeed have a fat belly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I just parted company with a 1995 passive Corvette, and instantly regretted it. It was very heavy, so I couldn't really gig it anymore. But, it was beautifully built and sounded great. It could do that growly tone, but not like a jazz bass. It sounded very well defined and clear too, through a Markbass setup. Even though it was heavy, it was a real players bass. I only moved it on as I wanted another Precision. This was a bubinga one btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Agree with Bluejay, the passive pickups on my Rockbass corvette were so so, active circuit on German fretless corvette gives a good boost. I changed the passives to Dimarzio humbucking jazz bass pickups. A corvette with Dimarzio P bass pickup would be something else in my dreams.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadilla Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I have the active Corvette and I rarely switch it to "passive". If you can get a German bubinga , jump on it. Passive is like a Jazz Bass, only a Warwick. You should travel to where it is and play it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I had an active ash 'vette a few years back. Found the passive setting more than usable, but the active did give the bass a lot more flexibility in a live setting. If the price is good then go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboy1984 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I use to own a passive warwick corvette, it sounded like a warwick should sound but a little bit darker and more thump in my opinion. Altho I like the bass but the dark tone is not what I wanted so I swipe out the MEC pickup for a set of active EMG and put a 2 band John East preamp on the bass. After the two mod the bass still sound like warwick but the tone is insanely good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I've got a passive German Corvette but to be fair it wasn't particularly well looked after by previous owners...needed a good looking at before it was playable...the p/ups are pretty weedy compared to my other gear and the range of tones is pretty limited. Nicely balanced though and the hardwear is pretty good. I like the body shape and don't find it particularly heavy. The passive models can be picked up for a couple of hundred quid which isn't bad compared to what else you get for this sort of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I had a German Corvette $$ for a while that had a passive mode when you popped up the volume pot. It sounded great... I always though a fair proportion of the Warwick sound came from the preamp, but in passive mode it still had loads of mid range growl... bet it would have sounded great as a fretless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregBass Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I have had a fair spread of Corvettes - a passive 4 string (1997), active 4 string (2005) and active 5 string (2010). I thought the passive sounded really feeble compared to both the actives, even in when using the actives in passive mode (if you see what I mean). The flip side was that the neck was superb - so I swapped the necks on the two 4 strings and sold off the bits I didn't want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 cheers for all the replies guys after reading all your comments i have decided not to buy the passive (he's decided to keep it anyway) & to go for an active bass instead. so i just pulled the trigger on a new Pro Series Corvette from Thomann at a silly price as they have been discontinued so cleared out. brand new Korean Warwick for £570.00 ---- just crazy not too. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I was gassing for one of those the other day - in fact, the other night, before going to bed. Only, I'm after a 5-string fretted Corvette, and they only have the black model I'm after (lefty) with passive electronics. I'm not keen on the other colours/wood combinations offered, at least I'm not until the next fit of GAS has the better on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 [quote name='artisan' timestamp='1398339222' post='2433074'] cheers for all the replies guys after reading all your comments i have decided not to buy the passive (he's decided to keep it anyway) & to go for an active bass instead. so i just pulled the trigger on a new Pro Series Corvette from Thomann at a silly price as they have been discontinued so cleared out. brand new Korean Warwick for £570.00 ---- just crazy not too. cheers. [/quote] Bargain! Good find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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