MY lovely new bass!

[LukeFRC]

at high school music class we had to learn the some blues scale on the keyboard. then we went round the whole class and all 30 of had to do it. it was really dull so when the girl i was sharing our keyboard with started hers i very gently lent on the pitch jog control. Then detention and the end of my interest in playing music.

Move forward a few years and all my disposable income goes on CDs and NME and Q. Still no interest in playing. Tryed to teach myself guitar but didnt get it, like, why if i put my fingers here is it a G and here a C? Gave up.

Then in 6th form there was electives on the wednesday afternoon. ONe of them was called rock school and a unch of guys and girls generally went and made noise and listened to daft guitar players decideing to play muse guitar parts.
I had started a college magazine which was great cos we went and wrote stuff ate buscuites and could wander off to see what everyone else was doing.
I spent quite a while just hanging with the music folk. sometimes they let me sing although i have no idea why. One day the bass player gave me his 6 string peavey and showed me on the neck where the notes were for 7 nation army and then he went off, i sat there the next hour trying to make my fingers do what i wanted them too. It was great fun.
The next week i told a good older friend of mine. He went up and got his crazy early Warwick thump style thing that was worth about 2.5k and plonked that in my lap and told me to show him what i could do. I fumbled about with 7 nation army, and he gave me a few pointers. The feel and sound of that unplugged bass lingered in my mind.
I rang round all my friends and friends of friends and eventually found someone to lend me a really awful bass. It had been used as part of a tech project so i had to rebuild it and work out how a bass possibly should be set up.
The friend with the warwick lent me a big trace elliot head and dynachord cab which i had in my room at the lowest volume it could go and mucked around learning stuff all summer.
The end of the summer, 2 days before uni started I went an spent the money I had been saving up and for a very good first bass. a [url="http://www.statii.com/forum/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=9&thread_id=1825"]status shark 2 bass [/url]
Lovely.
Fast forward a few years and im in a band that is apparently one of the top tips for 2007 in scotland. The status just isnt curtting through. The tone it does it does well but its not a tone i need. I get frustrated with all the controls i just want one good sound, not to fanny around with a preamp and PUP selectors.
I go buy a lovely p bass. Does the job.

But I always had a thing for Warwicks. Just the look and shape of the things. And seeing Warwickhunt selling his collection got my mind racing.
I graduated last year and currently work 30 hours a week at an unpaid internship and 35 at a coffee shop. A lot of work but it has dropped my outgoings down a lot as i dont have time to spend money. I figured if i sold the unplayed status I could afford a new bass.... maybe even a Warwick!
The status was offered as a trade to a few folk on here (who made me good offers, big up to outtoplayjazz esp.) before being sold over on the statii forum.
Warwick hunt then had to put up with me pestering him about a certain blue bass untill he decided to sell it.
He then decided it would be easier to drive up to edinburgh to have a day out and give it to me than arrange posting. what a legend!
So anyway here it is my lovely new bass

[LukeFRC]

Initial reactions.
Powerfull preamp- actually adds something (compared to the sharks one)
Bell like tone. Makes the P sound so thuddy.
Really good tone right down to open E (or drop D)
thin neck, going to take some getting used to
erganomic. it curves where you want it to curve.
Many different tones all of which i can see a use for at some point.
very defined notes- boy can i now hear the inadequacy of my playing! practice practice practice!

anyway ill need to practice a bit more to get used to the thin neck, at the moment im not abel to just play without thinking. can not wait to play it live!

[MB1]

MB1.
What does the W stand for?........"'Ere Wheres my Washboard?"......Sorry i'll get me Coat!

[geilerbass]

Great acquisition! Those old Warwicks are where it's at. If one of the first basses you ever tried was an old-school Thumb, then you will no doubt have been yearning for something in the same league.

[LukeFRC]

yeah, its just the feel of the thing. Having said that I was fortuanate to pick up a very good P bass so i think they are both in similar leauges. but both can do different things which is what is important for me. With the neck pup on full and the bass preamp up full the warwick doesnt get close to the very low lows that the P can do, but it you can actually hear the top end and it has better definition in the mids.
I really cannot believe Warwickhunt was trying to sell this bass on the forum at the price he was for 6 months and no-one took it. your loss, my gain!
I now have a very german set up, Streamer into Hughes ad kettner Q600 into Tech Soundsystems CT-200 2x12. Better than a Mercedes or BMW!

Todays discovery is that I can actually play slap bass!

[ednaplate]

Beautiful guitar. I've been aware of Warwickhunt (is that the best name ever?) trying to sell this on the forum. It would have made a nice partner for my 92 Streamer and I was tempted had it not been for the fact I'm doing a load of work on my house and my wife would have killed me. A wise purchase at a silly price.

[The Funk]

Great looking bass. I do love Warwicks. Now I just need to find a 5-string FNA Jazzman going cheap and I'm sorted.

[JoeS]

Gorgeous bass, and I know what you mean about being able to hear the inadequecies in your playing. Whenever I switch from my ATK to the Corvette I can't believe how much clearer all those mistakes come through. Hope you do find time to enjoy it, I can't imagine how hard it must be to get any practice in when you're working 65 hours a week!

[OutToPlayJazz]

Thanks for the nice feedback, Luke... I've always liked the gloss finish Warwicks & your blue Streamer is no exception. "Status" who bought your Shark II obviously likes your old bass so much that he's selling his black passive one now!

[geilerbass]

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='193110' date='May 6 2008, 05:24 PM']yeah, its just the feel of the thing. Having said that I was fortuanate to pick up a very good P bass so i think they are both in similar leauges. but both can do different things which is what is important for me. With the neck pup on full and the bass preamp up full the warwick doesnt get close to the very low lows that the P can do, but it you can actually hear the top end and it has better definition in the mids.
I really cannot believe Warwickhunt was trying to sell this bass on the forum at the price he was for 6 months and no-one took it. your loss, my gain!
I now have a very german set up, Streamer into Hughes ad kettner Q600 into Tech Soundsystems CT-200 2x12. Better than a Mercedes or BMW!

Todays discovery is that I can actually play slap bass![/quote]

I totally agree about the feel - it's a real intangible thing, as I think I waxed lyrical about in another thread. They're just a joy to play and have such shape and definition to the sound.

I can't believe Warwickhunt was unable to sell an SS1 at the price he was offering either - but for some reason, the market is real bad for Warwicks right now.

[MythSte]

Thats a gorgeous looking Bass there!! I must admit, warwicks have never really done much for me, but this just might inspire me to go out and find one to try!

[paul, the]

Aww, a bassy dream realised.

And a sexy bass at that. Nice one, Luke.

[StevieC]

Hmm..All this talk of Warwicks is making me wish i'd never sold my Corvette 5 String on E-Bay. It was a '96, in Bubinga/Wenge and an active conversion by Overwater. I used to lovingly rub in the wax polish....ah those were the days.

Actually - back to reality. Although it looked great, everything I played sounded compressed. I'm quite an agressive fingerstyle player, and these compressed notes just weren't what I was after. I could have altered my playing style I suppose, but you know what it's like...a new bass would be so much better! LOL

Edited May 6, 2008 by StevieC

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='193185' date='May 6 2008, 06:50 PM']Thanks for the nice feedback, Luke... I've always liked the gloss finish Warwicks & your blue Streamer is no exception. "Status" who bought your Shark II obviously likes your old bass so much that he's selling his black passive one now![/quote]

haha i only just saw that. He's already sold his natural one too. I'm not really surprised though, if you liked 4 string sharks my old on must have been near the ultimate in shark-ness.


And i can actually slap! wow!
It's funny how certain things come natuaraly on different basses. In my last band a load of the stuff was written on the shark, it was then a learning thing to make my p do it well enough in terms of attack to individual notes. What came naturally to your fingers and your ears. go [url="http://www.myspace.com/retrochamps"]here[/url] and listen to the song Jenna (one of the few with my bass playing still on it) the bit in the second half of the chorus riff came natuaraly to me on the shark. I had to think about how i played each note on the fender.
Im still trying to work out what the warwick makes me want to play, it responds well rhythmically to things but it seems to have less limitations (if that makes sense) And as Joe said its hard to get the practice in at the moment so that's with very out of practice fingers.
At the moment i only have time to play at church where you turn up with no band practice and 40 min later you are playing songs you have never heard or played before before 150+ folk. It has a way of keeping you on your toes!

[StevieC]

Church is a fantastic place to hone those bass playing skills. People need (obviously ) to be able to [b]sing along [/b][i][/i]with the band rather than just listen so your sensitivity and playing dynamics come to the fore...

[LukeFRC]

i love the challenge of having to think fast and play something.
1) good
2) interesting to play
3) suitable
4) without any practice at all


although sometimes you can be a bit cheeky with it. Some new hillsongs* song we played had a similar rhythm and the same flipping chords as londons calling. the recorded version had a standard punk bass playing green day style. I wasnt intrested in that.
never before has Paul Simonon been ripped of so much


*Hillsongs are a big church in oz which has folk who write lots of songs. Some are good, some suck some just sound derivative. Mostof them have a similar drum rhythm to snow patrol.

[NJE]

I started a thread on my hunt/aquisition of a 5 string warwick.

I would highly recomend anyone on this thread to go and check one out. I was never much of a lover of warwicks apart from one streamer LX I played about 10 years ago. I always thought I was a fender (or fender style bass) lover but I picked up a 5 string pro M for stupid money and I dont think i will ever look back.

Just go and check them out, as someone said the market is slow for them but fashion will change as it always does. I remeber a period when I could hardly give away my fender.

here is mine anyway just incase you didnt see my thread all for the grand total of £375 with hard case, please excuse crappy ebay pics. (sorry dont mean to hijak)


[attachment=8536:2d2a_1.jpg]

[attachment=8537:35c7_1.jpg]

[warwickhunt]

Hey Luke, I'm really glad you are getting the Warwick I have to confess that I get a buzz just imagining how you feel as I can still vividly recall my first encounter with a Warwick... all those years ago! I'm sure it's true of many peoples encounters with their first 'quality bass' especially if it happens to be the bass of their dreams/desires.

You can start chipping in to threads about the thickness of Warwick necks now

Take care and most of all; Enjoy!

[ahpook]

lovely bass...

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='NJE' post='194646' date='May 8 2008, 01:11 PM']I started a thread on my hunt/aquisition of a 5 string warwick.

I would highly recomend anyone on this thread to go and check one out. I was never much of a lover of warwicks apart from one streamer LX I played about 10 years ago. I always thought I was a fender (or fender style bass) lover but I picked up a 5 string pro M for stupid money and I dont think i will ever look back.

Just go and check them out, as someone said the market is slow for them but fashion will change as it always does. I remeber a period when I could hardly give away my fender.

here is mine anyway just incase you didnt see my thread all for the grand total of £375 with hard case, please excuse crappy ebay pics. (sorry dont mean to hijak)


[attachment=8536:2d2a_1.jpg]

[attachment=8537:35c7_1.jpg][/quote]

Looks nice. A great price too, that money would buy you very little bass new! I think Fender's have their place but im loving the warwick.
Im finding i am playing less 'busy' on it, which is nice.
I am working less than 15 hours tomorrow so should get a chance to actually play it!

[LukeFRC]

ive just noticed bluey matches the lights on my amp. ahhh they were made for one another

[andy67]

hey luke,

if you want to try something a little different, somewhere in between a pbass and a monster...give me a shout, you could try out my Yamaha Attitude - its awsome but not for sale!! also hear my ampeg rig/s.

I practice in Inch House community Centre at the back of Cameron Toll.

andy