ThomBassmonkey

I'd suggest a GK700rb-ii/210, can be picked up new for around £800 so I'm sure that there'll be some about 2nd hand under £500. I'd seriously look into getting a head too. If you're touring with other bands and they use cabs (which a lot of touring bands will) then maybe you could buy a head for your full budget and use their speakers which will give you more options than having to buy the speakers too. Or you can rent a cab if you're not gigging much for a few gigs then sort one out later on when you have more dosh to spend.

I'm seriously tempted by either a passive Corvette or (finances allowing) a $$ (I'd have to try the Streamer and Corvette out to decide) but I've heard varying things about the low B. I like a nice clear tone and some amps I've used at gigs over the years have been a minefield in squishy Bs. How do the various models from Warwick hold their low end?

As someone said earlier, if someone buys something, it's their right to do to it what they want. For a regularly gigging rock/metal musician, I know that people turn up to gigs to see the show, if they wanted to just listen to the music, they'd put on a CD. If you're terrified of damaging your instrument then you end up stood still or trying to avoid the guitarist who's giving the audience the show they came to see. One of the CLASSIC guitar moments is Hendrix lighting a candle on his guitar, that's hardly respecting his instrument but it's something that I'm sure everyone knows about because it's not just a guitarist stood about playing. In saying that, I believe any instrument should be looked after. It's ok having a pristine guitar but if none of the electrics work consistently, what's the point? I've seen FAR more guitars that barely look used but barely work than guitars that're battered about but never cut out and still have their original tone. None of my instruments are very battered (a few scratches, a ding where it fell on the edge of a cymbal etc) but without close inspection they all look near enough perfect. It's purely chance though, they've been battered about, they're just holding up incredibly well. But none of them cut out or have lost any tone which is way more important to me. And this ties in with the tools thing too, you don't keep your tools perfect because you want them to look nice, you keep them perfect because you want them to work perfectly. Edit: I ought to add that of course it's up to the owner and of course different music requires different stage shows. Just because you're not diving about, it doesn't mean you're not putting on a show.

I'm not sure I've played the SR specifically but I have a BTB406 that's never let me down. Had it for 8 years and the only repairs it's ever needed were a tuning head that'd snapped and some matchsticks in the strap pin holes. Both of which were problems when I bought it (somehow missed the tuning head in the shop ). Can't ever fault Ibanez on their prices either especially in the budget ranges.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='739518' date='Feb 8 2010, 10:47 PM']Rattle and Drum in Derby are a Warwick dealer. Bought my corvette from them last year, and although I could have bought it cheaper online, I felt it was worth the extra for the personal service and the opportunity to try as many basses as I liked for as long as I liked.[/quote] You leg end! I'll be off there to check them out at some point. Cheers mate.

I intend to play some before I buy, I just want suggestions so that I know where to go because none of the basses I'm looking at have stockists in the area. There's no point going 50mi in one direction, then 50mi in the other when I could just go 60 in one. That Corvette is a nice find! My preference is swaying towards the $$ though, not sure about Streamer or Corvette, I'll need to play them to get a good idea but with that amount of pickup settings, there must be a lot of available tones. They're both around for under a grand new though so there must be some deals to be had if I keep my eyes open within my budget. Like I said though, this is all just the kind of first look for 5 strings. I've been so happy with my Ibanez for so long that I've fallen out of touch with what's out there and even back then I had a much better idea of what I wanted so I went straight after the Ibanezes. I'll make sure to check out the G&L and Laklands too. I'll have a look around on the net tomorrow.

I like the first Warwick. It seems to have a nice amount of bass without losing any definition or punch. The other clips don't manage to hit that holy trinity in my eyes.

I played one of these at LIMS last year before they were officially released and it wasn't bad, but I wasn't massively impressed (though the Gallien that I played through left enough of an impression that I now own one). I was expecting it to be more along the lines of a squire price to be honest. I'm not a big fan of Fender style basses (very loosely Fender styling though) so my opinion was probably a bit bias anyway. In saying that, each bass is different and if you found a corker that you get on with, grats on your new bass.

I know £500 isn't really enough for some of the things I mentioned, but like I said, it's just a very rough idea as I've only just started thinking about it really. Probably £6-800 is more likely for a budget. Though I am very tempted by a 5 string Rockbass, they look amazing value for the money. What's the kind of minimum price a Warwick 5 Corvette could be had for usually? I have to be honest, that's the bass I've been drooling over for years. I've just never really liked the neck style, but after playing Ibanez for so long I think it'd be a great change. I wouldn't especially say I'm bored of Ibanez, I've just been playing the same bass (the BTB) through the same rig (Carlsbro Bassline 150) for years and years, by the end of the week I'll have a new amp (already have the 700RB II, ordering the 210RBH tomorrow), so I just thought a new bass for a bit of inspiration in feel as well as sound would make a nice change too.

I'm thinking of getting something new for a bit of a change from my Ibanez BTB406 and a Brice 6 string (which is very similar to the Ibby) that I've have for the last 6ish years and I thought that a nice 5 string would be something new and maybe inspire some new ideas. I want to move away from the classic Ibanez neck style (so I'm thinking shallow and round instead of wide and flat) so I've been thinking maybe Warwicks (which I've wanted for a long time) or MM. Probably the respective budget ranges unless a nice 2nd hand deal calls out to me. I've even (god help me because I hate how they look) thought about a Fender J as a possibility. Generally I like a very warm jazzy tone but at the same time with a fair bit of punch, it'll be ran through a GK 700RB II and a 210RBH so ideally something that compliments them. At the moment I'm just thinking about it, I want to get some ideas because there's no dealers for Warwick around the Nottingham area and no music shops stock MMs (though if I played one and loved it, I'm sure I could get a very nice deal at the music shop I work at which can get them in, just doesn't carry stock). So ideally if I'm going to travel away, I'd want to check out as many alternatives as poss. I've put up £500 as a rough guide, I've only recently started thinking about it so it's nowhere near concrete. I don't have thousands to spend though so new Warwicks and MMs (which I'd love) are out of the question. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Thom