Warwick ad - See we do look at them!

[4 Strings]

I noticed the Warwick ad, at the bottom of the page while I type, is for a 'distressed' (prefer that to the non-word 'reliced') bass that now appears to be in such poor condition that it would have had to have had a nightmare of a life, given the length of time this model has been available. Surely it looks like the present owner either hates his bass (in which case it would have plenty of digs and knocks) or had an accident in the garage with some brake fluid and has so little respect for his bass that he's not bothered to clean it up.

Are Warwick trying to change from the sort of geeky reputation of their basses to one of unglamourous hard work?

If so it looks to me like they tried too hard.

Or, not being a fan of the movement for fake distress, am I missing something?

[LukeFRC]

Personally although their pr is way way better, and the YouTube stuff is good i don't think they are that good at advertising and branding.

[molan]

I just looked at this too - just looks 'wrong' to me somehow (and I don't have an issue at all with relic'd basses usually!)

[Machines]

My personal opinion is their prices way exceed what I consider fair for the product. Their custom shop price list is eye watering. I think they advertise too much and have so many endorsing artists I no longer pay attention.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1347738585' post='1804557']
I just looked at this too - just looks 'wrong' to me somehow (and I don't have an issue at all with relic'd basses usually!)


[/quote] but it probably makes the dude who has it happy - a bit like your steed bass.
Though your steed bass is like an ultimate of a good looking bass! oh, and you've got a 50th Anni Jazz.... ok going way off topic!

[Chris2112]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1347739236' post='1804571']
My personal opinion is their prices way exceed what I consider fair for the product. Their custom shop price list is eye watering. I think they advertise too much and have so many endorsing artists I no longer pay attention.
[/quote]

Their pricing is ridiculous for new stuff. Used they are a very smart buy.

[molan]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1347739284' post='1804572']
but it probably makes the dude who has it happy - a bit like your steed bass.
Though your steed bass is like an ultimate of a good looking bass! oh, and you've got a 50th Anni Jazz.... ok going way off topic!
[/quote]

And an original '65J due to arrive soon that's the same colour scheme as the Steed but, if anything, even more 'knackered' looking, lol.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1347748276' post='1804679']
And an original '65J due to arrive soon that's the same colour scheme as the Steed but, if anything, even more 'knackered' looking, lol.
[/quote] can't wait to see that. I remeber when there were photos of the steed it looked pretty awesome.

[molan]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1347749269' post='1804685']
can't wait to see that. I remeber when there were photos of the steed it looked pretty awesome.
[/quote]

This is the Steed (but without the new neck that's just been fitted:




And this is the '65:

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1347750105' post='1804689']


This is the Steed (but without the new neck that's just been fitted:




And this is the '65:






[/quote] nice! i think i prefer the look of the steed! why the new neck? The '65 is nice too of course you can have a blue bass-off

[xilddx]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1347739236' post='1804571'] My personal opinion is their prices way exceed what I consider fair for the product. Their custom shop price list is eye watering. I think they advertise too much and have so many endorsing artists I no longer pay attention. [/quote]

You know what, I don't care about their marketing, their endorsees, their pricing, their weird looking customs like this one .. All I know is that they have a fabulous sustainability policy, the design and build quality is exceptional, the ergonomics and usability features are outstanding, they are superbly consistent in their quality control, they play wonderfully and sound absolutely beautiful. I can't think of many large scale manufacturers that can claim those attributes. I am pretty sure that I'm a Warwick player for life.

[Machines]

I had a German Corvette $$ 5. It was flawlessly made, just a couple of small things put me off such as the neck profile, string spacing and absence of fret markers. I think if it wasn't for that I might even still have it.

I like the product but the marketing puts me off (same as Apple).

[Chris2112]

Quite. Though in Warwick's case, their product is generally very good and I love playing them. Their adverts are terrible though. Their nu-metal-centric adverts of the early 00's were cringeworthy. Traa Daniels as a main page endorsee? Please. They have managed to distance themselves from that long-dead genre now, but their adverts are a still a bit tacky. If they marketed themselves as a high value, slightly niche mainstream brand they would be much better. I think this is how most bassists see Warwick; as an innovative company that has successfully carved a sizeable market niche by sticking to their core values whilst offering something quite different than just another Precision or Jazz bass. But their adverts still reek of trying to tackle Fender as a mass market product.

I guess they haven't been wholly unsuccessful, even off the back of these adverts.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Chris2112

[pietruszka]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1347751962' post='1804702']. All I know is that they have a fabulous sustainability policy, the design and build quality is exceptional, the ergonomics and usability features are outstanding, they are superbly consistent in their quality control, they play wonderfully and sound absolutely beautiful. I can't think of many large scale manufacturers that can claim those attributes. I am pretty sure that I'm a Warwick player for life.
[/quote]

Yes! Their sustainability polcy is excellent, I'm surprised every company doesn't have this. Though they might do and we haven't heard about it, after all, everything is in place to allow it to happen.

As for the bass in this thread, I love it! Though I'm not sure I'd own one, but I do like it! Its not as nice looking at the CT one they did, is it you Silddx that has it now?



Dan

[xilddx]

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1347789978' post='1804895']
Yes! Their sustainability polcy is excellent, I'm surprised every company doesn't have this. Though they might do and we haven't heard about it, after all, everything is in place to allow it to happen.

As for the bass in this thread, I love it! Though I'm not sure I'd own one, but I do like it! Its not as nice looking at the CT one they did, is it you Silddx that has it now?



Dan
[/quote]

Yep, I have the Streamer CT, best bass I've ever played.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Right, as a Warwick fan I'd love to take part in this debate, but I only own Rockbasses, and it would be unfair to judge the company's products only by their low-cost lines. Note to self - This is by far [b]the best excuse[/b] to get yerself a real Warwick Corvette

As I have mentioned in the past, I love the uncluttered, stylish look (which means I'm not keen on Metallica Rob's green distressed thingy advertised below), and the small size and light weight, and I'm infinitely grateful to Warwick for producing so many left-handed models, all of which cost the same as their right-handed ones (including the cheapos).

In my opinion, the company should concentrate on being more accessible to individual musicians, as opposed to focussing almost exclusively on distributors and retailers. That implies not just inviting us to travel and see their headquarters in Germany, as they did very recently (still gutted I couldn't attend) but also showing their bass guitars in stores and at events in countries where they have a market.

There was a thread on the Warwick forum a few months ago where I lamented the absence of a Warwick stand at the last two Bass Shows in London. The company itself didn't reply, but other contributors expressed the view that it wasn't worth a manufacturer's while to court the likes of you and me - trying to achieve bulk sales to music shops and similar made more economic sense. I was a bit appalled at this arrogance. I repeat, the replies came not from Warwick but from other members of their forum, but that led me to believe that such view is common. If we, the final users, are not worth bothering with, then who is? And looking at an ad on a website just isn't the same as laying hands on a real instrument. Warwick could save some of that advertising money and instead come to a few more events in this country and elsewhere outside Germany and the US.

Edited September 16, 2012 by bluejay

[RichF]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1347777587' post='1804761']
I had a German Corvette $$ 5. It was flawlessly made, just a couple of small things put me off such as the neck profile, string spacing and absence of fret markers. I think if it wasn't for that I might even still have it.

I like the product but the marketing puts me off (same as Apple).
[/quote]

i have a $$5, occasionally after a few weeks on the Jazz I think, I will move it on. Then i play it. Since I first got a Warwick in about 89 I have just loved something about them. Back playing mine now in advance of a wee trip to the studio and its shown me again how much I love it. Still wouldn't buy one of the mental finish ones/

[Silvia Bluejay]

Another recent change I'm [b]not[/b] keen on is Warwick's decision to advertise their basses together with Framus guitars. Admittedly gorgeous instruments, but someone who isn't remotely interested in electric guitars, or has only a limited time or attention span for gassing, would be annoyed rather than intrigued. I love looking at all kinds of musical instruments, but I do find that such strategy dilutes the impact of the ads and our potential interest in them.

Edited September 16, 2012 by bluejay

[steve-soar]

As I've said befrore, it's a Rob Trujillo custom, built for him. I love his Warwick basses, the ones his wife designed are very cool.

Would I like one, er, yes please.

It suits him and his band very well.

Would it look so good on a guy playing Mr Brightside in a Macclesfield pub, on a Saturday night? Who cares, as long as the bass player was happy.

[Jacqueslemac]

I don't think the horrid green one should be mistaken for a roadworn one. Those try to replicate the damage that would have been picked up after years of use (and, presumably, are bought be people who want to pretend either they, or their bass, has lived through the experience).

That green one is just a designer's idea of an off-the-wall finish, I would guess. You'd be pretty unlikely to pick up that kind of damage using it for years and years. I still think it looks pants.

The basses themselves are excellent, although I've only played and owned German-made ones.

[flyfisher]

I've never had a Warwick bass but I'm quite prepared to believe they are wonderful things.

However, I really don't buy the "sustainability" thing. Sustainability isn't really about planting a new tree to replace a bit of wood, it's fundamentally about energy and the fact that our lifestyles are seriously in the red as far as energy is concerned. For the time being we're living the high-life by spending our 'fossil fuel savings', but we know it can't last. It's simply not sustainable.

The amount of energy we use is proportional to the amount of money involved. The more money involved, the more energy is used. These are high-priced luxury items and people have to earn a lot of money to pay for them. Earning that money involves using a lot of energy and spending that money sustains a lot of other people in their similarly high-energy lifestyles.

So, yes, the wood involved may be 'green' and the low-energy lightbulbs and solar cells used in their factory may be 'green' (although are you aware of the energy-intensive manufacturing processes involved in both those items?), but that's a long way from being truly sustainable.

Just a bit more 'greenwash' marketing, I'm sorry to say.

[pietruszka]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1347805018' post='1805186']
I've never had a Warwick bass but I'm quite prepared to believe they are wonderful things.

However, I really don't buy the "sustainability" thing. Sustainability isn't really about planting a new tree to replace a bit of wood, it's fundamentally about energy and the fact that our lifestyles are seriously in the red as far as energy is concerned. For the time being we're living the high-life by spending our 'fossil fuel savings', but we know it can't last. It's simply not sustainable.

The amount of energy we use is proportional to the amount of money involved. The more money involved, the more energy is used. These are high-priced luxury items and people have to earn a lot of money to pay for them. Earning that money involves using a lot of energy and spending that money sustains a lot of other people in their similarly high-energy lifestyles.

So, yes, the wood involved may be 'green' and the low-energy lightbulbs and solar cells used in their factory may be 'green' (although are you aware of the energy-intensive manufacturing processes involved in both those items?), but that's a long way from being truly sustainable.

Just a bit more 'greenwash' marketing, I'm sorry to say.
[/quote]

Yes, I suppose sustainability isn't just about planting a tree for every one that gets cut down, but it's good to see a company taking some responsibility for putting back what they take. After all, some basses use some rare woods which have become endangered post art deco period when they were cut down in the masses. I did get the lecture form my GF who has a PhD in remote sensing, so cutting trees down as companies see fit to make instruments out of is a bit of a delicate subject!

Personally, I'm quite pleased to see guitar manufacturers doing this, after all it make sense in this day and age. Toilet paper companies do it, as do printing paper people and most packaging these days is FSC. So it only makes sense.




Dan

[flyfisher]

Sure, it helps, but only a teeny weeny tiny little bit and certainly nowhere near in proportion to all the marketing claims generally made about such things.

[steve-soar]

Have you seen the upcharge for the FSC woods?

As Flyfisher points out, you would have to spend so much energy to earn the money to pay for the smugness it would bring in knowing you are saving the planet.

It's all bollocks.

[steve-soar]

Take a look at page 14 of the German basses and Custom Shop option price list.

Over £500 upcharge to have your body made from FSC woods.

£206 upcharge on the price of an ebony fingerboard, or you can pay £911 for a Rio Rosewood fingerboard, totally endangered but for the right money, Warwick will build it.