New Stingray 5 & Warwick corvette

[Basstech21]

I’ve noticed straightaway that the Warwicks pickups seem far more gutsy/powerful/sensitive than the Stingrays- in actual fact loads of people at gigs etc say that the old Warwick sounds much better than the new ‘Ray!!! - WHICH IS REALLY PISSING ME OFF as I had to wait nearly 6 months for it to be made/despatched.  Played ‘flat’ the Stingray sounds good but I have to really bump up the gain to get it sounding anything like the Warwick.  Am thinking I may upgrade the pickup on the ‘Ray ???? What do you guys think?? 

 

JB 

[franzbassist]

Not being funny, but they are different basses and I think should be celebrated as such.  Why buy a Stingray to sound like a Warwick?

Edited April 4, 2019 by franzbassist

[Lfalex v1.1]

Oddly, Warwick make/ have made more models that channel the Ray than the other way around. Later HH and HS Ray and Bongo models have echoed Warwick configurations, though.

I might be tempted to suggest that Warwick's use of active pickups and (in some cases) 18v electrics may find favour with some.

[bassbora]

5 hours ago, Basstech21 said:

Am thinking I may upgrade the pickup on the ‘Ray ????

Just get another Warwick simple 

[drTStingray]

Are you talking a Stingray with an 18 volt preamp and neodymium magnet pick ups? This is what the latest Stingray Specials have. If so, and from my experience, the Stingray is very powerful (more so than a Streamer I played), but as mentioned above, the Warwick has a certain signature sound and so does the Stingray. 

The voicing of the pre amp on the latest Stingrays is slightly different and can be less 'in your face'. However the pick ups and EQ are extremely powerful and especially if the bass is cranked. I played some reggae on my SR5HH at a recent gig and with the bass EQ cranked and the neck pick up selected, it rattled the fixtures and fittings - and floor greatly - whilst remaining focussed!! Sounded great. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by drTStingray

[Al Krow]

You tried raising the pup height on your Ray so that it's closer to the strings? If not, could make quite a difference. 

[Grangur]

10 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Oddly, Warwick make/ have made more models that channel the Ray than the other way around. Later HH and HS Ray and Bongo models have echoed Warwick configurations, though.

I might be tempted to suggest that Warwick's use of active pickups and (in some cases) 18v electrics may find favour with some.

That is interesting. I've had about 10 Warwicks including 3 $$ versions. I've never come across a Warwick that had active pickups or 18v electrics. 

All but 1 had active eq, but never active pickups. All have had a passive override, which means the pups aren't active. Maybe you have had basses where previous owners have swapped out the MECs?

[aguacollas]

Warwick Streamer Stage 2 has active pickups, and old Streamers with EMG pickups also. I have both basses as well as a Jazzman with passive MEC pickups. 

Just different flavours. 

In terms of “gutsy” or “powerful” I’d say the ceramic MM MEC pickup of the FNA Jazzman run in parallel is the one. Not my preferred sound, though. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by aguacollas

[Lfalex v1.1]

I thought all the gold-badged MECs were active pickups, with the silver-badged ones being passive.

I'm sure some of the higher-spec instruments had 18v electrics (Dolphins, Streamer Stage 2)

Edit- the Thumb Thru-neck 5 I tried years ago was definitely 18v- I had the backplate off and there were 2 batteries in there.. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Lfalex v1.1

[Basstech21]

On 05/04/2019 at 01:05, Al Krow said:

You tried raising the pup height on your Ray so that it's closer to the strings? If not, could make quite a difference. 

Yes! Pickup height has done it. - thanks Guys. 

Yep - obviously I don’t want both guitars to sound the same - but the tonal difference was huge & the sensitivity was also very high . Sorted now 😡😜

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Basstech21 said:

Yes! Pickup height has done it. - thanks Guys. 

Yep - obviously I don’t want both guitars to sound the same - but the tonal difference was huge & the sensitivity was also very high . Sorted now 😡😜

You're very welcome. 

Sometimes it's the simple fixes that can really hit the mark. And doubly sweet 'cos they don't cost a penny!  

[NickA]

Find my Warwick Dolphin ( active MEC pickups and 9v tronics) a bit "polite" sounding sometimes.  Lovely sound and a joy to play but lacks a certain fundamental frequency THUMP.  Was thinking of buying a Stingray!!!  🙂