mart

If it's active, then it'll be one of these that you need: [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/6.35mm-stereo-long-reach-chassis-socket-223988"]http://www.maplin.co...s-socket-223988[/url] If it's passive, then that'll do anyway, just leave the ring tag unsoldered.

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1369316963' post='2087689'] I can imagine there could have been a definite overlap in the prices of these two ranges as there were a few different models released. I've still got a few issues of Bassist magazine from 95-96, I seem to remember the Corvette was £700 new and the Fortress was 1K. There were a few options with the Fortress, maybe the passive ash models were cheaper than the active Corvette at the time. I'll see if I can find the ad I'm thinking of tonight. [/quote] Ok, it looks like you were right, and I was right! I've just come across a review of the Streamer bolt-on in Guitarist, May 1993, and it quotes the prices of Warwick's various bolt-ons as: Fortress One (passive) £773, Corvette Proline £999, Streamer bo £1132, Thumb bo £1178. So the F1 was the "budget" model, but yes, it probably was around £1000 by the end of the decade. But yes, I'd expect you are right that there was some overlap between the prices of the Fortress range and the Corvette range.

[quote name='megallica' timestamp='1369234970' post='2086703'] I thought the Corvette standard was the budget model? Is a £700 instrument really a budget model though? I think the Fortress sold for £1K new in the 90's [/quote] I'd love to see a Warwick pricelist from the 90's (although 1999 was probably quite different from 1991!) but I'd be surprised if the Fortress was as much as £1k even at the end of the decade. (I bought mine in '98 for about 1600 deutschmarks IIRC). In any case, when I say "budget" I mean relative to the whole Warwick range. The Rockbass Fortresses have a list price higher than the Corvettes which suggests you might be right that the Corvette is more of a budget model than the Fortress, but something I read somewhere made me think otherwise. The only supporting evidence I can find at the moment is the slightly ambiguous quote in [url="http://forum.warwick.de/showthread.php/16300-The-History-of-Warwick-Bass"]http://forum.warwick.de/showthread.php/16300-The-History-of-Warwick-Bass[/url] about the introduction of the Fortress (one year after the Corvette): "The Fortress is positioned a bit 'lower than the Corvette, which then takes the role of entry level instrument." I'll see if I can find some old magazines from the 90s with prices in - that would give the best comparison of the models' relative standing.

[quote name='Hamster' timestamp='1369213528' post='2086253']...It may be much easier to make Basschat a totally 'Rickenbacker Free Zone' so the admins don't get any more bullish emails and live under constant threat of legal action. [/quote] Could you add R*****r to the profanity filter?

Yep, £400-450 is probably the best you're likely to get at the moment; it was the original budget Warwick model, after all. And it's almost certainly not a bubinga body - I think most were maple, with maybe some made of ash.

If it says "Rockbass" in big letters on the headstock, it's the earlier ones (pre 2010). The later ones are better spec in many ways (e.g. 2-piece bridge, and much better QC), and had higher RRPs. But both had cheaper woods and electrics, and sometimes less contouring on the body, than the German Warwicks. But of the two, I'd recommend you get a later one if you can.

A member on here called 4candles had some experience with the college, I think. ;-) http://basschat.co.uk/topic/106669-leeds-college-of-music/page__hl__leeds%20college

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1368270598' post='2075131']...Aren't they the ones who have taken them over?... [/quote] No, it's not Thomann that have taken them over, it's a different (but similar) German music shop. There's an interesting take on the story here: http://theeccentricblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/digital-village.html?m=1

The EF407 would originally have had 12s on, Daddario EXP16s. So it should certainly handle those, and probably some a little heavier too. And yes, heavier strings should give more volume.

Looks like DV247 have just gone into administration, but probably will be rescued by Music Store Cologne: http://www.gear4music.com/news/article/DV247com-owners-go-into-administration/5YP/2013-05-10

Yep, Warwick produced this cheap line of slab-bodied Streamers for around a year in 1999/2000, in Germany, but quickly moved production to China and relabelled them as Rockbass. I've heard it claimed that these German ones are slightly higher quality than the RB ones, but I've never been too convinced. I'd say it's a fair price - no great bargain, but not really overpriced.

You may not need to adjust the nut. I'd put the new strings on, and then see if you need to or not. If you then need some help, then you'll need to tell us if its the Just-a-nut 1 (with a threaded saddle for each string), or the Just-a-nut 3 (with just an Allen bolt on either side of the nut). I can't remember exactly how to adjust the Warwick bridge, but on their forum there are some stickys that tell you everything you need to know. And on their main website I think you can find the manual that also tells you how to do this.

[quote name='Sharkfinger' timestamp='1364695504' post='2029823'] Well, there is a slight improvement. Obviously difficult to tell without wearing it for a couple of hours, which is pretty pointless without a string! Still hard to tell if it's £140* of improvement. Would really like to hear from someone who's done it, whether they thought it was worth it. * Price based on Gotoh Res-O-Lite. [/quote] Did you weigh the tuner while you had it off the bass? Apparently some P tuners are close to 100g, in which case if you switched to lightweight tuners, which can be 40-50g, then it would have the effect of removing TWO tuners, not just one. On the other hand, on some basses (such as my Thumb), the original tuners already weigh only 57g, so there's little room for improvement. My guess would be that the Squier's tuners wouldn't be all that heavy, but it is worth checking.

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1361616568' post='1988258'].... Although it might come in handy the next time I gig in Atlantis [/quote] Or play a gig on the Titanic?

Didn't the drummer and bassist in REM start off hating each other? They seem to have managed to resolve their differences ... So yes, it does happen, and sometimes it's the end, and sometimes it isn't. You have to decide which it is.

Those fretlord ones definitely look different to the fretfx ones: the fretfx have lots of separate LEDs and no optical fibre. I'll agree with mcnach about the appearance of the wires and battery pack - that's why I put up the photos, so people can see how (un)tidy they can be. Personally I can live with it, but I'd understand people who can't. As for brightness, on the ones I've got there is no way of adjusting this. And they are BRIGHT. I've had a few comments from people in the audience about how bright they are, so they certainly are not only visible to me. And that was with the house lights on!

I think Rics originally have independent volume controls (I.e. if you turn one down to zero, while the switch is in the middle position, you still get the sound of the other pickup, unlike a LP where you'd get no sound). But you could try swapping to Les Paul style wiring - it's an easy mod, so worth a try.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1360971725' post='1979408']... I just couldn't see what he thought that >6-minute video was achieving.... [/quote] I agree with pretty much everything in your post, even the bit about Clutterbuck. (An excruciating noise to listen to, but I had a chat with him at the London show last year and he was absolutely lovely). BUT. Complaining about this video being pointless is like complaining that those "Papa ... Nicole" car adverts from years ago don't tell you anything about the car's spec or what it's like to drive. We thrive on technical information and details of what the product is like. Most people don't. Even most bass players. I reckon Warwick probably spend enough on marketing to know pretty well who is likely to buy their basses and what will persuade those people.

The scrolling back isn't so hard: click on the time right at the top of the screen, and this will take you to the top of the page you're currently on, then use the double left arrow to click back to page 1. Ok, not perfect, but not bad. Alternatively, do as I do and just scroll to the bottom, and click for the "full version" of basschat, not the simplified mobile version.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1360936259' post='1978611'] Indeed. Or should I say "Inti-ed"? My spider-sense is tingling... [/quote] Glad I'm not the only one thinking along those lines.

I dared to say there were no Warwick dealers in the UK and got shot down by Warwick's PR department: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/192222-gak-needs-you/page__p__1872414#entry1872414"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/192222-gak-needs-you/page__p__1872414#entry1872414[/url] Unfortunately the dealer named there still doesn't have any mention of Warwick on their webpage. Personally, I would look into one of the German web shops. Thomann might be worth a try, or Beyer's. Or you could look on ebay. de for Warwick basses and you'll find several more dealers, or hit the Warwick website and search for dealers in Germany. They generally have the best stocks, and often reasonable prices. And there'll be no surprise taxes to pay since it's within the EU.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1360531299' post='1971982'] Well to measure current you need to 'break' one of the power leads and put your meter (set to amps)in series with the circuit. Not very convenient though. .... [/quote] I have done this a couple of times with my basses: just disconnect the battery from its clip, then rotate it 90 degrees so you can connect one terminal but not the other, and then put the multimeter across the two unconnected terminals. That will tell you how much that particular circuit is drawing. But although that is interesting, icastle's approach is more use in practice.

Theoretically you can buy a replacement zip, but the hassle of sewing it in is more than I would be able to face in that scenario. A local haberdasher might be able to do it for you. But I probably only typed that so as to try to be the first person ever to use the word "haberdasher" on basschat.

I see where you're coming from, but it's not something that bothers me too much. But if it did I'd see it as a challenge to find the 1 or 2% that is actually new: what little tiny twist are they bringing to the show? There's always something. Even with Oasis ....

I've got half a dozen basses, but I mainly alternate between two of them. The rest are lovely, but more specialised: the acoustic for when I need that particular sound/vibe/look, the stick bass for when portability is crucial, the fretted bass for the occasional times when I'm sharing the set with my son (who isn't quite as comfortable on fretless as he could be, though he is surprisingly good for his 12 years), the cheap bass for when I don't trust the audience ....