Warwick basses are instruments that are loved and hated amongst bass players, some for the right and some for the wrong reasons. They have been through many transitions in the three decades of their existence. Models made in the eighties and nineties were hand-built and are desired by many over any others. It seemed to become more about quantity than quality as the nineties progressed, with features like brass bridges and nuts being taken away and the introduction of cheaper neck woods (Ovangkol) and, of course, the switch to machine made instruments. My personal experience of basses made between 1999 and 2009 has been dim and, due to the sheer number Warwick were pumping out their factories during this time, these are probably the most played Warwicks of the lot. This is a shame, as many people's opinions of Warwicks are based on these instruments. Don't get me wrong, some basses made during that period were top notch, but many lacked the quality and finish of the earlier basses. I would go as far to say that a Streamer LX 5 I owned was one of the worst basses I have owned for both finish and tone.
However, Warwick have now really tidied up there game. Mass production of basses has now moved to the far east and as such concentration on making German instruments has improved exponentially. Features such as brass hardware has been reintroduced, superb IFT (invisible fret technology) and glow in the dark side markers have been developed and wenge is once again the primary neckwood. As of 2013, only around 250 are made in Germany a year, which is less than some boutique manufacturers I know of, and the basses are a world apart from the basses of the previous decade. In my opinion, the instruments being made now are the best they have ever made, fitting as they are also the most expensive!
Up for review I have now is my Warwick Streamer Stage I Broadneck 5 string, built in 2013. I am the first owner, purchased as ex-demo following it being used for Warwick promotional material and in shows as a demo instrument.
[i][b]Features: 9/10[/b][/i]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]34" scale 5 string bass, 47mm nut with 20mm spacing at the bridge give this the feel of a 4 string with an extra string. A broadneck, but I only have small hands for a man and have no problems whatsoever. I am used to 5 strings with 18mm spacing but this was an easy transition. Perhaps not such an easy transition from a 16.5mm spacing fiver (standard Warwick and many other basses spacing).[/font][/color]
The bass has two active MEC soapbar pickups in traditional Warwick positions, hooked up to a 9v 3 band MEC preamp. The preamp has a very musical voicing, standard treble, mids and bass, with a balance control and volume control stacked pot. Pulling up the volume knob bypasses the preamp, however it is important to note that the bass will never be passive due to the active pickups. A mistake often made by Warwick when describing this setup! Access to the electronics is easily gained through the quick release cover on the back of the instruments.
The bass has highly figured AAA flamed maple body wings (not a top) with a 4 piece wenge through neck, complete with a wenge fingerboard. The bass is finished in a wonderfully smooth satin finish that feels fantastic under the hand. The neck is a flattened U shape and fits perfectly in the hand. The neck tends to feel larger than you may expect but this is simply due to it being a broadneck. The shape really, really works and fits your hand absolutely perfectly. All this wood comes at a price; the bass weighs in at a little over 12lbs. It is however perfectly balanced with not even a hint of neck dive and feels lighter than some basses weighing a couple of pounds less.
Holding the strings in place is the superb Warwick 3D 2 piece Brass bridge, together with a Brass Just-a-nut III. In my opinion, this is the best intonation system out there; the bass can be set up exactly as you want it. Standard Warwick (gotoh) tuners on the headstock, not the best tuners out there but ones Warwick have been loyal to since about 1987-1988.
Warwick Strap Locks complete the bass. I do not trust any straplock other than Schaller and so do not use the system. Schaller buttons fit to the bass without any modifications required.
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The bass comes with the full Warwick user kit and tools, a fresh set of their best strings (EMP Coated) and a heavyweight aluminium/plywood flightcase.[/font][/color]
[i][b]Sound: 8/10[/b][/i]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The bass has a very punchy sound with deep lows, musical midrange and crystal clear highs. The rich tone of the bass is attributable to that weight, I have never come across a lightweight instrument that can achieve this kind of tone. [/font][/color]
[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]With the pickups balanced, you get a deep powerful tone with slightly scooped mids. Adjustment of the MEC preamp dials any missing mids straight back in or scoops further for a more 'heavy metal' sound. Rolling towards the bridge pickup gives that typical snarl with strong mids presence. Boosting the bass here really helps the sound thicken out with fat, punchy lows. Dialing towards the neck pickup and you have a wonderfully woody rock tone. Again, not being shy with the preamp works superbly here too. A very Warwick tone at all settings with a nice level of signature growl. I have set the bass up with DR nickel strings and they compliment the bass well. In my experience, all Warwicks sound best with nickel strings.[/color][/font]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Overall, a great modern sound that can be tweaked to your liking with the EQ. You will not get vintage P or J bass tones out of this and if you have bought the bass for these sounds I would question your judgement. What it does it does very, very well indeed, and the variance between pickups makes this wonderfully versatile. The pickups are silent, no hum of any kind, and the general quality appears top notch. The only slight criticism I have of the sound is the extremes of the preamp; you will not get silly over-the-top eq'ing like you will get with preamps made by John East and similar, which will bother some.[/font][/color]
[b][i]Action Fit and Finish: 10/10[/i][/b]
[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]The fingerboard is basically flat (47") and as such the action is very low, lower than my Dingwall. The bass is built superbly. A huge advantage over the fit and finish of these new Warwick instruments is the fact they are [/color][/font][i]not[/i][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828] hand built. Warwick have invested an awful lot of money in top end machinery and environmentally friendly production techniques that get everything just right. The Nirvana Black oil finish looks so classy and really shows off the grain of the woods well. The fretwork is quite incredible, the best I have ever encountered. No flaws whatsoever in the finish. As mentioned, the intonation system in place will allow any setup you want. The truss rod is extremely responsive and access is gained very easily behind a plastic cover. No points lost here at all.[/color][/font]
[i][b]Reliability/Durability: N/A[/b][/i]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The Instrument is too new to me for me to comment on this with any accuracy, so it would not be fair.[/font][/color]
[i][b]Value for Money: 7/10[/b][/i]
These instruments are not cheap. The RRP of this particular model I believe is in the region of £4,400, which is a significant investment. Street value tends to be a good £1k or so less, but given these are not sold by guitar shops in the UK this may be a little harder. The basses are not hand made but it is important to consider that this is not Fender, Musicman or any other company that turns out thousands of instruments a year. Warwick build around 250 instruments a year at their German headquarters. Warwick now take real care in their production, have invested heavily into state-of-the-art machinery and also now take great care in the environment, sourcing sustainable wood sources only etc. The quality is top notch, but I appreciate many wont be able to see past the fact these are not hand made by Hans himself.
[i][b]Customer Support: 6/10[/b][/i]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I will speak for Warwick in general. Their support is often questionable. I have had many enquiries in the past go unanswered, or with length delays in communication. They are notorious for not knowing much about their older instruments and I am fairly sure you will much more likely get the correct answer from a Warwick owner on here than you will from Warwick. My experience in purchasing this bass directly from the UK Warwick representative was good. They are appointing representatives to appear in discussion forums like this and, as with every aspect of their business model, appear to be attempting real improvements.[/font][/color]
[i][b]Overall rating: 9/10[/b][/i]
The instrument will not cater for all bass lovers, and she is a heavy but well balanced beast. However, these newer Warwick instruments completely put to bed the blanket claim that all the older handmade Warwicks are the best instruments they have made. I have owned more Warwicks than I can really count, majority of which have been vintage, and this is the best of the bunch. Sadly, their high RRP and likely various other issues have meant there is little market for these basses in the UK anymore, in fact I do not believe there is a UK dealer. They are, however, making very positive steps in repairing their brand image as a top quality bass maker and if they keep pumping out instruments like this they certainly will be back to the top. It is a simply fantastic, top quality instrument and more than competes with the increasing number of hand built boutique instruments that are becoming increasingly popular.
A couple of pictures and a review by Andy Irvine using the actual bass finish this review
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Aye, I'v had a fair bit of interest and trade offers galore but nothing that has ever come of anything when it has come to the crunch! I'm not in too much of a rush to sell it, but it is currently sitting in its hardcase inside a cardboard box in the spare room, which doesn't seem right for such an instrument!
Is it just the picture, or does that Alder have an almost birdseye maple type appearance?
Buy it you buggers! The Six Pak sale seems ages ago now mate and I thought this would go first, how is it still here! Here is a sold second hand one that went for a good chunk more! [url="http://www.bassgear.co.uk/product/hellborg-preamp/"]http://www.bassgear.co.uk/product/hellborg-preamp/[/url]