Chris2112

I'd go for a 4 string personally, but thats just me! I used to own one of the Rebop DLX basses, a 4 string 34" scale model with a lovely Zebrano top. I sold it long ago for very little, which is crazy considering they now cost over £1000 new! It was an absolutely stunning bass, which makes it all the more crazy that it cost me just £549 new! The EMG HZ pickups were excellent and the Tone Pump was marvellous. Don't listen to the guff spouted about 'Tone Dump', the Tone Pump preamp is very good indeed and I'd only choose Bartolini or Hazlab ahead of it in a Spector. The NT models do sound a little softer and a little more rounded but they are still what I would call bright and aggressive basses. If I was buying again I'd pay a little more and go for a NT Spector (simply because I've played and loved loads and never owned one!). If I had to have my rebop back I'd be very happy with that too. It sounded so damn good and it played brilliantly too. What a joy that bass was, sadly missed!

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1271890' date='Jun 16 2011, 05:44 PM']He built this about 4 years ago for a guy I know in the USA. Gorgeous machine, I'd love one myself but couldn't justify the price-tag, either to myself or the other half.[/quote] I never thought I'd see it but there you are, an ugly Jaydee! In fact, that might be one of the most hideous basses I've ever seen. It looks like the kind of thing that would have been burned for firewood in the 70's!

I think it's fair to say that Warwick have been hideously unfashinable for a long time now. I remember when Talkbass was taken up in their hype and they were the 'in' bass, everyone had one and then a few months later they were being dropped in their droves as they moved onto the next trend. With bassists in this country, they've never been a massive hit but I suppose thats the dealer network's fault as much as anything. Mind you, we are behind the times in the UK, we're only just getting round to accepting handmade boutique stuff as the best and the market for hoary old rubbish like vintage Fenders is still huge!

Best get your 16th note slapped triplets nice and sharp, Pete!

The thing I always think when I see things about writing essays about musicians is, who actually reads these things?

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1270882' date='Jun 16 2011, 12:38 AM']The most impressive thing by far is that your mum is a stand up comedian.[/quote] That and you heard her complimenting his length on the phone!

I suspect that John's time is mostly spent making Mark King-alike basses so the 6 strings/Calibbas models are accordingly rare!

[quote name='dc2009' post='1270344' date='Jun 15 2011, 05:18 PM']I don't know what this nu-metal association is, I know some nu-metal bands used warwicks but ibanezes were far more prevalent in that scene.[/quote] Ibanez guitars, maybe! I don't think their basses were that prominent in nu metal. Aside from Fieldy and his K5 I don't think they had many notable players on the books. By the time Paul Gray got an Ibanez signature bass nu metal was well over the hill and Slipknot had distanced themselves from it (a progression which started with Iowa, you could argue). Mind you, their guitars have always been top notch. Whatever field you play in, be it fusion, metal, jazz or whatever an Ibanez is still the best guitar you can get and has been for years IMO.

Christ, are they still going? I remember 'Growing on Me', that was nearly a decade ago!

What this really comes down to is...who is the hottest?

Indeed, Mangini is far better than Portnoy so thats a plus.

[quote name='Wolverinebass' post='1269203' date='Jun 14 2011, 08:54 PM']That's why I like the all graphite ones. As Rich (Out To Play Jazz) suggests ones which are foam rather than wood encased in graphite. Harsh? Thank you. That's what I want. Virtually unlimited cutting brutality on tap. I don't have to use it and I frequently don't, but it has enabled me to have the requisite amount of cut when I need it in demanding situations. I've never experienced this from any other bass I've tried other than all graphite ones. When I tried a Mark King (which was the graphite skin version) it just didn't have it though it was a fantastic bass. Even when I played a normal S2, it just wasn't the same. Hey, I'm biased. I love my buzzard. Plus I thought the Stealth I tried a few years ago was great as well. I fully suspect that I'm in a minority of one with this statement, but this is what does it for me. [/quote] I'm not sure if my amplification affects my opinion. At the time I had my Stealth I was using Trace Elliot amps and even then, flicking the bright switch was like a cheesewire to your ear. With it off, the bass sounded great. I now have an Ashdown Mark King amp which really gets those high frequencies singing, so I expect it would be too much to expect a Stealth to sound palatable through that with the bright switch on! I have to say, I love a bright, up front sound but I have never been in a situation where the brightness the Stealth could deliver is needed. If you listen to the Status sound Mark gets on the 'Physical Presence' live album, thats the sort of sound and mix I like to go for. I suppose I should be thankful my bandmates love that sound and style of playing as it's kept me away from long periods pedalling the root note for years! I have the Big Country and Level 42 records spinning now, ready for the bass coming. I think I'll treat myself to one of Stuart Clayton's Level 42 books to brush up on a few tunes. I really want to learn '43' and 'Dune Tune'.

[quote name='sime17' post='1269208' date='Jun 14 2011, 08:58 PM']Was it p.o.d? or p.o.a? I'd never have heard of them if it wasn't for the endless warwick ads in mags like bass player full of other endorsees I'd never heard of.[/quote] That was it, they were crap. In any event, I started playing bass as a young lad at that time, and whilst I wasn't a nu metal fan [i]per se[/i] I was listening to a lot of metal, though I tended to gravitate towards death metal and thrash metal. Still, I was convinced that Warwick made the ultimate bass guitars and I was intent on owning one. I don't know what gave me that idea, as I knew very little about bass guitars when I first started being the first musician in my family. Still, if I were just playing metal a Warwick, a Spector and Modulus Quantum would about do it for me. I still think that if you only have one bass for metal, it has to be a Warwick thumb. Mind you, I've been there and done that and my Thumb was an amazing bass. Great up front in the mix of a fusion band or played along to my Big Country records!

[quote name='bottlebassman' post='1263000' date='Jun 9 2011, 05:58 PM']Lol! I really love DT, everything they have ever done. Especially with Jordan in the band. Gotta laugh at some of the above ^ comments about him. Everyone entitled to their opinion, but there is just no way you can criticise his talent, just no way! I have seen them live countless times and he is a truly amazing musician. [/quote] ] He is 'talented', in as much as he has a working knowledge of the piano and clearly knows his theory. But his actual 'voice' on the instrument is dire, and his ego controls his playing. I think this is something echoed by a lot of DT fans. They love Petrucci's pyrotechnics but they aren't willing to entertain Ruddess and his awful soloing. He really is a monster out of control in that band. They were much better with a keys player like Derek who added colour and showed restraint instead of endlessly trampling over everything the band was trying to create.

Dave Weckl, as distinctive and as great as ever!

EBMM always have been impossible crooked and difficult to deal with. It doesn't surprise me that they'd put out some rubbish and let their 'attack dog' forums and customer services defend them!

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1268915' date='Jun 14 2011, 05:30 PM']but as someone pointed out none of the major players in the numetal scene used warwick.[/quote] err...yes they did! Dirk Lance of Incubus, P-Nut of 311, Sam Rivers of Limp Bizkit, Paul Gray of Slipknot etc etc. They had loads of exposure and not just the big names but loads of crap players from crap bands like Traa Daniels of...that band he used to play for. The name escapes me but they sucked.

The thing with those 'all graphite' instruments is they can be extremely harsh and bright. A little wood and graphite softens the sound ever so slightly and seems to give it a more characterful midrange.

Quite frankly this all just sounds very shoddy!

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1267897' date='Jun 13 2011, 09:10 PM']early 2000's numetal - they sold lots but screwed up their brand.... who knows what they're up to now- but i like my old warwick- but wouldn't dream of getting a new one[/quote] I think Warwick have always had a core customer and the nu metal fans who ended up buying them bolstered them. But they'd been doing very well for well over a decade at that point with their own niche fans. Warwick saw it as an opportunity to cash in and the advertising was swept up with nu metal stuff. Now that genre is long dead they seem to have returned to what they were before, trying to look like a specialist marque but they haven't managed it terribly well. I remember when you could walk into Sound Control in Manchester and see a wall filled with different Warwicks. I suppose its as much a sign of the times as anything else to note that Sound Control isn't there anymore! The ever spiralling prices haven't helped because I can remember years ago laughing at the price of a Thumb bolt on 4 string, the RRP was well in excess of £1000 and dealers couldn't talk down much on the price because Warwick changed them so much for the basses in the first place. The used prices have also collapsed, even a couple of years ago I got my Thumb for £590, and that was a 90's model with a slim wenge neck that looked brand new.

I haven't got it yet, I am expecting delivery on friday (I had to pay by cheque). When I get it I'll see what I can do about getting some video clips.

[quote name='stenobass' post='1267354' date='Jun 13 2011, 02:50 PM']Very nice Series II, congrats Chris![/quote] Stenobass, if I recall correctly you have the Series II with the lacewood top? If so, that comment is very much appreciated as that Series II is one of the best I've seen so I see my bass is attracting compliments from those in a position of knowledge and taste! I am listening to my Level 42 records in time for it arriving on friday and I think I will give it a good playing when it gets here. It hasn't been played since it last went to Status so it should be cleaned to perfection and set up excellently, as the last keeper has merely held the bass and not played it. All I have to do now is hide the Kubicki, because if my lass spots three basses on the landing she'll know I've bought another one!

[quote name='witterth' post='1265767' date='Jun 12 2011, 09:25 AM']What the hell is that? its been giving me nightmares!?!!?[/quote] It's a badly photoshopped picture, intended to look like Bin Laden.