aende Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 I quite like it, shape and finish wise - grown on me a bit. I like the idea of the sliding pickups, but I am not a tech or tone head enough to buy a bass for that feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Yes, Like it. Didn't think I would, but looks like a good balance of older retro and current Warwick style. Nice of GP to mention the Dan Armstrong influence in his thinking. I've never played any of the old ones but I've heard good things about them from luthier types. I'm surprised just how much you can hear the tone change as he moves the pickups. Its a bit like a flintstones version of the Alembic/Wal filters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Guy Pratt likes his new bass...result I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Of course, they could just rout a hole right the way through the body, put a blank pickguard on the front and mount the pups on rails behind the pickguard all stealthy-like. Couple of rotary knobs attached to rubber loops to wind the pick-ups back and forth - just like on older radios. Elegant, discreet and practical. In the back, there'd be two small wooden doors. Open them up and you find a little cocktail cabinet with miniatures of Glenfiddich and two shot-glasses. Light comes on and a musical box plays 'Lara's theme' from Doctor Zhivago. Only £2999.99 from Del Var Gracious Home Interiors. (Postage not included, E&OE) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1371206768' post='2111150'] Of course, they could just rout a hole right the way through the body, put a blank pickguard on the front and mount the pups on rails behind the pickguard all stealthy-like. Couple of rotary knobs attached to rubber loops to wind the pick-ups back and forth - just like on older radios. Elegant, discreet and practical. In the back, there'd be two small wooden doors. Open them up and you find a little cocktail cabinet with miniatures of Glenfiddich and two shot-glasses. Light comes on and a musical box plays 'Lara's theme' from Doctor Zhivago. Only £2999.99 from Del Var Gracious Home Interiors. (Postage not included, E&OE) [/quote] Monitor now covered in bits of half-eaten sandwich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1371206768' post='2111150'] Of course, they could just rout a hole right the way through the body, put a blank pickguard on the front and mount the pups on rails behind the pickguard all stealthy-like. Couple of rotary knobs attached to rubber loops to wind the pick-ups back and forth - just like on older radios. Elegant, discreet and practical. In the back, there'd be two small wooden doors. Open them up and you find a little cocktail cabinet with miniatures of Glenfiddich and two shot-glasses. Light comes on and a musical box plays 'Lara's theme' from Doctor Zhivago. Only £2999.99 from Del Var Gracious Home Interiors. (Postage not included, E&OE) [/quote] That's cheap when you consider that the Warwick version which is just a bass with sliding pickups and a stupid looking hole in the front will be twice that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 I think it looks good, although I don't understand why, given the chance to position pickups wherever and in whatever manner he pleased, he went for a sliding rail? Ok, I get that it allows you to change the tone vastly, but I thought it was more for people who maybe could only afford one bass to do lots of things, or somebody who didn't really know what sound they wanted, not somebody who was being asked to help design and endorse a bass for one of the worlds largest bass manufacturing companies! I just don't get it. He could have asked for 20 different pickups and the most ridiculous switching system ever to be installed on the bass, but he went for a rail. Personally, I probably would get it, if I only had money to ever buy one bass, and I thought it felt nice to play, but I just don't understand this at all, coming from a pretty famous bass player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 (edited) [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1371209440' post='2111199'] That's cheap when you consider that the Warwick version which is just a bass with sliding pickups and a stupid looking hole in the front will be twice that! [/quote] The 'Fairtrade' deal with our overseas custom shop ensures high quality at crazy low prices. Hence the mere three bags for our Joe Walsh Cocktailmatic sig model. Edited June 14, 2013 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 If it means you only carry one bass around, but know you can adjust its nature to suit a job...then I'm all for it. Less is always more. Can't believe I just said that - anyone want to buy some basses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 (edited) [quote name='SteveO' timestamp='1371189722' post='2110936'] I like it, hole and all. looks like the rail is notched, so finding the positions for a song in a giging situation wouldn't be so tough. The spectrum of tones achieved by shifting the pups in that vid is pretty impressive, although I guess that Guy's fingers were helping a lot to make it sound good. Will have to check out the other 'rail basses' mentioned in this thread. I remember BRX having one in his weird and wonderful bass thread that was a little less conventional looking (and more aesthetically pleasing because of it). I feel a GAS attack coming on, but I guess that warwicks price tag for this will alleviate the symptoms. [/quote] The bass you're thinking of is the [url="http://www.nortonguitars.com"]Norton[/url] with the "Mainframe" construction, where the centre section of the body is an open frame to which the wooden body wings attach. The main purpose of the Mainframe is to allow the body wings to be angled which allows the player the tilt the strings for maximum playing comfort. The amount of travel possible in the pickup assemblies is fairly minimal and looks to me to be a side product of the primary function of the Mainframe. The Norton work better from an aesthetic PoV because firstly the whole design is far more futuristic, and secondly the gap not occupied by the pickups is far smaller and goes all the way through the body and the sliding mechanism is well integrated into the overall design and look of the instrument - it doesn't just look like a normal bass with a massive hole cut in the top of the body revealing some frankly rather crude engineering. And here is the main problem that Warwick are faced with. How to make a largely conventional looking bass still look good when both pickups are able to move independently. What do you do about the variable sized space between the two pickups? Apart from the Norton, all the other basses with moveable pickups just have a single one, which is simple to do in a visually pleasing way. Even the Westone Rail which is essentially designed around the sliding mechanism only has the single pickup. My favourite sliding pickup design is this British Custom Guitars: Where the position of the pickup is controlled by the sweep of the V body! Edited June 14, 2013 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumps Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 (edited) In terms of sound I think that is a beautiful bass. Perfect for a person like him who needs lots of different sounds. that Purple Floydy bloke is known for having the odd effect in their songery-ditties I've heard. But as soon as I saw it I thought of a way to keep the same functionality but make the bass look better, it's not really that hard to hide the pick ups & have a thumb slider that protrudes just above the E string. Or am i being stupid here ? please correct me if I am but i've seen a few guitars with hidden pick ups I'm thinking like this but with an attached slider Edited June 14, 2013 by fumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 I think they should offer this bass with wood fillers, each one sized differently for all the permutations of pick up position. Then they could be offered in sets of different rare and exotic tone-woods. These sets could be carried around in a handy pouch, perhaps hung from the basses headstock. The tonal possibilities from the combination of pickup positioning and tonewood selection is endless, and quite frankly in suprised a leading manufacturer such as Warwick has not already thought of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Some sets could be chambered, offering even more range! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 [quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1371232398' post='2111591'] Some sets could be chambered, offering even more range! [/quote] Exactly, like those Russian dolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 If I wanted a sliding pick up I'd get one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 I think it's a great idea, on the fly tone changes and all that. The only problem I can see, is if you have kids. Turn up on a booking with Lego bricks, Action man boots and old stinking fish fingers rattling about. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1371233572' post='2111614'] The only problem I can see, is if you have kids. Turn up on a booking with Lego bricks, Action man boots and old stinking fish fingers rattling about. [/quote] Welcome to my gig bags! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 [quote name='Junkyard Rocket' timestamp='1371139660' post='2110423'] Guy seems pleased with it. The object of the exercise is probably more about putting a bass that will be used in the hands of a high-profile endorsee, showing that the custom shop can deal with off the wall ideas, and getting talked rather about than shifting vast numbers of this particular bass. [/quote] I totally agree. However Warwick are showing that they are not afraid to "explore" and certainly willing to encourage ideas from mainstream pro's like Guy Pratt, [size=1]although when I read Guy Pratt custom bass I imagined that it came with a straw connected to a backpack bladder containing 100% proof wiskey like a cyclist "camelback" lol!!![/size] [size=3]Anyway, it seems to me like a great idea, and I am sure if Warwick uses their brain they can build a panel with 2 trails where the pickups are sliding over that would cover the offending looking hole. I dig it, specially the sounds that came out of it were indeed captivating. Half @rsed idea but they got something there for sure.[/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 [quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1371200416' post='2111042'] It's not an innovation, it has practical difficulties in that you'll have to remember where those pups were placed to attempt tone replication in the future (strip of tape and a chinagraph above that hole?) Beyond the first month I bet those pups get set and left where they are. [/quote]` If you can remember where your controls on a bass and the controls on the amp are set for the sound you want I wouldn't see remembering the position of two pickups presenting any great problem. I love the range of sounds it allows (OK, the man's playing might help with that a bit), and I like the overall look. I'm not too bothered by the hole, but the making the visible rail black instead of natural would help, or they might paint the inside of the hole something other than black. At the end of the day it's a tool, so function above looks all the way for me. If there were five string 'rockbass' version for less than a grand, and if I had the talent to justify it then I'd be very tempted (two very big ifs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 What is the rail in the back had notches or little lines like a ruler? That would make it easier to remember where the pickups go. I'm surprised they haven't got them in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Sam Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 (edited) [quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1371233326' post='2111609'] If I wanted a sliding pick up I'd get one of these. [/quote] And that would sound like Guy's Warwick? You're having a laugh mate. Have a word yourself Edit, to say: Sorry if that came over a bit strong but they are not comparable. . Edited June 15, 2013 by Bassman Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1371259976' post='2111936'] And that would sound like Guy's Warwick? You're having a laugh mate. Have a word yourself Edit, to say: Sorry if that came over a bit strong but they are not comparable. . [/quote] Dave Swift uses them ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1371259976' post='2111936'] Have a word yourself . [/quote] Thank you, I shall have 'cantaloupe'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1371259976' post='2111936'] And that would sound like Guy's Warwick? You're having a laugh mate. Have a word yourself Edit, to say: Sorry if that came over a bit strong but they are not comparable. . [/quote] It's all in the fingers. Your argument is invalid. BOOM! POW! I WIN AT BASSCHAT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1371276975' post='2111960'] I cant be doing with headless or bodyless basses. Im gonna stick with good old one place pups [/quote] As guy should have done, having creative control over the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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