Musicman20 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I think your best bet for a new Warwick is Darren at the Bass Merchant. I think they sell the majority of new Warwick gear in the UK now. Last time I went they had a lot of new models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='Linus27' post='1268525' date='Jun 14 2011, 12:34 PM']I have no idea what nu metal is [/quote] Definitely for the best! Youtube: Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc...any of that rubbish haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='Linus27' post='1268525' date='Jun 14 2011, 12:34 PM']I have no idea what nu metal is [/quote] Definitely for the best! Youtube: Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc...any of that rubbish haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewm Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Musicman20' post='1268632' date='Jun 14 2011, 02:00 PM']I think your best bet for a new Warwick is Darren at the Bass Merchant. I think they sell the majority of new Warwick gear in the UK now.[/quote] I bought a Streamer from Bass Centre about 18 months ago, but it looks like even they have stopped dealing Warwick. The Bass Centre! Who'da thought it. And Bass Merchant appear to have 3 Warwick basses in stock. 3! Edited June 14, 2011 by drewm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='Musicman20' post='1268637' date='Jun 14 2011, 02:01 PM']Youtube: Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc...any of that rubbish haha.[/quote] Fieldy played an Ibanez and Sam Rivers played a ....oh I get your point now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) [quote name='jonno1981' post='1268621' date='Jun 14 2011, 01:50 PM']That would be me! The shop went under sadly but we had made the decision to stop stocking Warwick's some time in the past. Whenever we would get inquiries from customers I would get to the meat of the conversation (price) and people were shocked with the prices we were quoting (and they were competitive!!!!). Put simply they priced themselves out of the market to customers. Every 6 months for 2 year period the cost price to dealers went up by 10-15% a time. As a dealer the commitment of goods you have to take on to be a Warwick Centre was prohibitive and unaffordable for us. To offer any German made Warwick's at all you had to have at least 12 in stock and a Hellborg system. Warwick offer no kind of credit account so you have to have the cash up front to pay for £20-30K of goods. [size=4] [b]The product is fantastic, the quality better than ever[/b] [/size] but at the prices they are now there isn't enough of a customer base to support sales at the prices they have set. £2.5k plus for neck through 5 string?? Double buck's with no options for over £1100?? That's why there isn't a UK dealer base anymore. Sad really coz the basses are great but at a time when the second hand value is so poor it's very hard to justify buying a new instrument. It was especially frustrating for us as we had always done well with the brand with many customers ordering custom shop instruments but we simply couldn't afford to keep stocking them. Oh and Sime I mentioned I had a white scratchplate for the DJ5 knocking around somewhere - I've found it. PM me if you want it and I'll drop it in the post.[/quote] I completely agree with this and have no real idea why people say their old ones are far better than the new ones. In my experience it just isn't true. Edited June 14, 2011 by silddx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Machines' post='1268256' date='Jun 14 2011, 09:20 AM']The Corvette $$ 5 I had was awesome, just the neck I couldn't live with. Warwick seem to be more concerned about their brand than credibility with musicians. The older stuff is marvellous and has a great vibe to it (I still want an old Thumb NT5) but to me, they're more concerned with <insert this years signature model> than their core product.[/quote] I love the neck on mine, oh well, each to his own I'm still in the market (probably in a year or two's time) for a nice set neck warwick infinity, ideally a fiver. No effing way it'll be a new one given the prices they are at now though, I'm glad I got in whilst the going was still good. My $$ set me back a smudge under £1k with the custom top wood, I just priced it up again now and the price would be comfortably double that, and the issue is, for that kind of price, you can be looking at Modulus basses (that's what I'd look at), seriously good USA fenders and spectors, laklands and sadowskys, or if you want some German engineering, you can get Sandbergs for even less, and I think I'd go to them every time. EDIT, got mine in late 2006, for reference Edited June 14, 2011 by dc2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='dc2009' post='1268695' date='Jun 14 2011, 02:42 PM']... or if you want some German engineering, you can get Sandbergs for even less...[/quote] At the kinds of prices being quoted in this thread you can get a new Ritter for less. Now that's quality German engineering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='Chris2112' post='1268857' date='Jun 14 2011, 04:41 PM']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.[/quote] but as someone pointed out none of the major players in the numetal scene used warwick. It would have been like I dunno fender going utterly britpop in the 90's in their marketing - and the main face was that fella from shed seven or something. Problem is that while the shed seven link could have distracted people for folk not into numetal the adverts of american metal players with warwicks down by their ankles didnt really make it seem like a high end well built instrument- esp if you couldn't stand the music. I remember though they were the bass everyone wanted to have, so they cashed in by making cheaper versions... and then later cashed in again with the rockbass line. And then it all seems to have gone belly up. I think I said a couple of years ago if I were them I would stick the prices right up to make the basses resirable high end stuff. Which they seem to have done- but still are shipping production of the cheap models out to the far east. But there doesn't seem to be a reason to buy one anymore. However second hand- and pre 1992.... are a a bargin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sime17 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) [quote name='jonno1981' post='1268621' date='Jun 14 2011, 01:50 PM']That would be me! The shop went under sadly but we had made the decision to stop stocking Warwick's some time in the past. Whenever we would get inquiries from customers I would get to the meat of the conversation (price) and people were shocked with the prices we were quoting (and they were competitive!!!!). Put simply they priced themselves out of the market to customers. Every 6 months for 2 year period the cost price to dealers went up by 10-15% a time. As a dealer the commitment of goods you have to take on to be a Warwick Centre was prohibitive and unaffordable for us. To offer any German made Warwick's at all you had to have at least 12 in stock and a Hellborg system. Warwick offer no kind of credit account so you have to have the cash up front to pay for £20-30K of goods. The product is fantastic, the quality better than ever but at the prices they are now there isn't enough of a customer base to support sales at the prices they have set. £2.5k plus for neck through 5 string?? Double buck's with no options for over £1100?? That's why there isn't a UK dealer base anymore. Sad really coz the basses are great but at a time when the second hand value is so poor it's very hard to justify buying a new instrument. It was especially frustrating for us as we had always done well with the brand with many customers ordering custom shop instruments but we simply couldn't afford to keep stocking them. Oh and Sime I mentioned I had a white scratchplate for the DJ5 knocking around somewhere - I've found it. PM me if you want it and I'll drop it in the post.[/quote] What are the chances Jon! There goes the anonymity (hope the witness protection scheme has more success!) - In the post (I was typing as you were doing yours) I even tried to depict a huggy-bear figure in an attempt to muddy the trail.... By the shop went under I hope you don't you mean recently?! Bugger me - just been to look online and you DO mean recently! Really sorry to hear it dude, hope you got something else goin on. And I never did come back for that Tanglewater but then not back been to see me outlaws Reading since... Edited June 14, 2011 by sime17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 LukeFRC, did you ever sell your Warwick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegallery Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Hi Warwick decided for some reason that to be a main stockist you need to have a very large stock commitment, which many shops like ourselves refuse to commit to. I have spoken to a few people at Warwick about this, and it frustrates them as much as it frustrates UK dealers, but it comes from the top, and for the foreseeable future there will be very few places in the UK you can buy a German Warwicks. The Rock Bass range is still readily available though. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I've been keen to try out a Warwick Streamer 4 LX and the Rockbass version of it but can't find anywhere that stocks them. A +1 to the stock requirements thing: I asked a local dealer about stocking Warwicks and he said they insisted that dealers had to stock their amps too and he didn't rate the amps at all and refused to sell them. Another local dealer also mentioned the £20-30 grand up-front cost of stocking them too. Real shame as the Streamer 4 LX ticks a lot of the boxes for me (jazz style/thin neck, natural wood look, small body, P/J pickup setup) so on paper is a good contender but the proof of the pudding as they say, is in the playing of the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sime17 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [quote name='Chris2112' post='1269061' date='Jun 14 2011, 07:23 PM']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.[/quote] 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 [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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 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. Having seen many of the top touring metal bands of the past 8 years or so, I can say that warwicks were very much used in metal bands. Whilst a few of the power metal bands had bass players with high end jazz-esque basses, and some of the most popular metal bands (thinking children of bodom and behemoth here) had ESP's through the endorsement deals the guitarists had, warwicks were frequently used by many players of the less significant bands, though think of Marco Hietala of Nightwish, the guy from ensiferum (who has recently changed from warwick to ibanez) who both played warwicks and were heavily involved in the vocals side of things, and were regularly playing in front of crowds of 50,000+ at festivals, in addition to their own gigs ofc. There was also wintersun who were starting to get big, and I think vortex of arcturus/dimmu borgir also used warwicks on occasion. I think many of their sales came from giving these guys endorsements, as pretty much ESP or Warwick were the bass to have in the metal scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 [quote name='Linus27' post='1269016' date='Jun 14 2011, 06:47 PM']LukeFRC, did you ever sell your Warwick?[/quote] nope, I managed to get it sounding pretty good now though so I'm a lot happier with it. Some point in the future if money allows a jazz bass will happen but I think I'll hold onto the warwick for now- its a lovely bass. Also the idea of selling a early version of a bass that is what £3k new for £800 or so....doesn't sound great time to sell! But if you've the money there has been some cracking early warwicks for sale on here recently. [quote name='Chris2112' post='1269061' date='Jun 14 2011, 07:23 PM']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.[/quote] my bad. I didn't pay too much attention..... i think i saw lots of aadverts with the crap ones in too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) anyway- one of the coolest thing ive seen a warwick used on: [url="http://youtu.be/EhxITFate5Y"]http://youtu.be/EhxITFate5Y[/url] and i cant stand slap! Edited June 15, 2011 by LukeFRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewm Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 When I were a lad acid jazz was all the rage. I used to look up to players like Stuart Zender of Jamiroquai and Andrew Levy of the Brand New Heavies, who at the time played Warwicks. I just thought they looked cool - much nicer than anything else. I still do, in most respects. Fenders don't interest me, I think Ricks look like the back end of a bus. Really the only other basses I like the look of are Stingrays (and maybe Bongos). So aged 16, I started saving up for a Warwick. I wanted a blue oiled Corvette (i.e. the least expensive model), but in the end got a great deal at the Bass Centre on a burgundy Fortress. The nu metal thing passed me by, but it's not the first bandwagon Warwick jumped on. There were riding on the back of Jamiroquai's success in the 90s too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 [quote name='Chris2112' post='1270494' date='Jun 15 2011, 07:25 PM']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.[/quote] An Ibanez Prestige labelled guitar is always a fantastic instrument, especially for the price. It's a shame their basses aren't a little more, interesting, I think is the word I'm looking for. I have to say they are undoubtedly solid - if someone handed you an ibanez at a gig, I don't think any player would struggle to get on with it or particularly dislike how it played or looked! Their Gary Willis fretless was lovely as well, only played one in a shop, and no doubt butchered it cos I'm poor at best with a fretless. IMO warwick still has rockbass sales with the metal (not nu-metal) crowds, the difference being now that the pros will use german made ones, and no bass player will buy a new one of those, but may settle for a rockbass, or a S/H one, whereas before, guys like me would save up for as long as it took to get a proper german one, which weren't as out of reach then as they are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 [quote name='Linus27' post='1268525' date='Jun 14 2011, 12:34 PM']I have no idea what nu metal is [/quote] old-hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficelles Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I'm intrigued by this whole Warwick thing... I have owned a couple of Warwicks and a couple of Rockbasses, all fretless, and personally I think the Rockbasses are great apart from the rather low-end electronics. Are Warwick maybe thinking of Rockbass being their standard offering and pushing the German-made basses up into the handmade and accordingly ultra-pricey territory? Either way I've decided to hang on to my Warwick Corvette Fretless for now. Incidentally the now-famous Big Mart has a lovely very early Warwick Streamer in natural finish. Just don't say "Rickenbacker" to him. ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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