Warwick Dolphin Pro 1 4 string broadneck?

[dyerseve]

So I think I am right in thinking that 5 string broadneck Pro 1s are quite rare. What about 4 string Pro 1 broadnecks? Is this rare, standard or just somewhere in between?

[itu]

If the bass has 19 mm string spacing at the bridge and 4 strings, it is "broadneck" so standard by nature. But if it has 5 strings and 19 mm spacing, it certainly is a "broadneck" or wide 5.

5-string basses may have spacing between 14 - 21.5 mm. These very wide fretboards can be found from Ibanez BTB, certain Warwicks, and far more expensive custom instruments like Modulus Graphite. There are others, too, but I just keep this comment short.

[dyerseve]

16 minutes ago, itu said:

If the bass has 19 mm string spacing at the bridge and 4 strings, it is "broadneck" so standard by nature. But if it has 5 strings and 19 mm spacing, it certainly is a "broadneck" or wide 5.

5-string basses may have spacing between 14 - 21.5 mm. These very wide fretboards can be found from Ibanez BTB, certain Warwicks, and far more expensive custom instruments like Modulus Graphite. There are others, too, but I just keep this comment short.

Well I'm sorry but I think the broadneck, at least for Warwick, also refers to width at the nut. Standard 4 string width at the nut for Warwicks is 38.5mm but they do 4 string broadneck with a nut width of 44mm.

[itu]

Sounds good, I hate jazz spacing up there...

[Kev]

The 4 String Dolphin is 44mm nut standard, whereas the 5 string is 45mm.  So, the 4 is a “broadneck” whereas the 5 is regular.  Bar the custom shop, the 5 string broadneck was a very limited run in 1991.

[LeftyJ]

I wasn't aware of a broadneck option on 4-strings, but their webshop indeed lists the current 4-string Just-a-nut 3 in 36.5, 38.5 and 44 mm. The old Just-a-nut with individually adjustable string height also has a 40 mm option. Cool!

The 4-string bridges are listed in the webshop in one width only though, 19 mm at the bridge (whereas a broadneck 5-string has 20 mm spacing as opposed to the standard 16.5 mm spacing).

Edited July 1, 2019 by LeftyJ

[dyerseve]

7 hours ago, Kev said:

The 4 String Dolphin is 44mm nut standard, whereas the 5 string is 45mm.  So, the 4 is a “broadneck” whereas the 5 is regular.  Bar the custom shop, the 5 string broadneck was a very limited run in 1991.

Thanks Kev,  that's everything I needed to know. 

[Chris2112]

The broadneck option was pretty wild. Not just for the 20mm string spacing - not such a big deal - but on the thicker necks the width combined with the huge depth of the neck made for a titantic piece of wood. I assume the early 90's BN models weren't quite like this due to the necks being slimmer front to back and with smaller shoulders back then.

[Kev]

From memory, I don’t remember the difference between 1991 Dolphin BN5 and my 2013 SSI BN 5 being that different in terms of depth. Think the shape of the new necks are more D than the C of old. 

[visog]

Dolphins have acquired a near mythical status... (No I'm not thinking of mermaids.) I'd love to try a 5 or a 6...

Are they as comfortable as they look?

[4000]

25 minutes ago, visog said:

Dolphins have acquired a near mythical status... (No I'm not thinking of mermaids.) I'd love to try a 5 or a 6...

Are they as comfortable as they look?

I’ve had 2 x 4s, and no. I wouldn’t say I found them uncomfortable, but the shape and the weight made them a bit borderline, although I loved the looks, neck and tone of my ‘91. I found the ergonomics just a bit weird. But hey, I find Rics the most comfortable bass out there, so YMMV. 😂

[NickA]

Don't own a 5 ..

.. but my dolphin 4 is very comfy with excellent balance.  Lovely feel to the slim, wax finished ovangkol neck.   Needs to be worn unfashionably high to take advantage of the concave back, and the comfort is somewhat biased to playing in higher positions ... it's a long reach back along that endless neck to find a bottom F.

The through neck merging into the body is lovely too .. knocks the ergonomics of my Wals into a cocked hat.  Heavy .. 4.6kg ..but I have heavier basses.

all in all: looks weird, feels great, sounds "distinctive" ( though less so than a thumb )

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by NickA
weight

[bassbora]

12 hours ago, visog said:

Dolphins have acquired a near mythical status... (No I'm not thinking of mermaids.) I'd love to try a 5 or a 6...

Are they as comfortable as they look?

Did they ever come as 6? I have never seen one. But ergonomically they must be similar to Thumbs. If you get on with those I would think Dolphins are just as good. 

[NickA]

There is indeed a dolphin 6,  not included in the official price list, but I bet you'd need a mortgage to buy one.

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by NickA
spelling

[LeftyJ]

They even made a crazy 7 for a Mr Yamaguchi, with crazy LED inlays and wood pickup covers, solid flamed maple body, neck and fingerboard and a Karelian Birch top. Looks wild!

[warwickhunt]

4 hours ago, bassbora said:

But ergonomically they must be similar to Thumbs. If you get on with those I would think Dolphins are just as good. 

Different altogether 'ergonomically'!  The Thumb's short top horn throws the first fret out wide, whereas the Dolphin is the opposite.  

[4000]

For some reason, I found my Dolphin Pro 2 much comfier than my Pro 1s.  And it wasn’t just the weight.

[4000]

8 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

Different altogether 'ergonomically'!  The Thumb's short top horn throws the first fret out wide, whereas the Dolphin is the opposite.  

+1.

[warwickhunt]

37 minutes ago, 4000 said:

For some reason, I found my Dolphin Pro 2 much comfier than my Pro 1s.  And it wasn’t just the weight.

I agree... I sold my pair of Pro I's (inc Custom Shop which was quite light) and kept my Pro II in preference!    

[visog]

The '6' above looks wonderful but with the '7' it looks squashed and I suspect we're getting diminishing returns as an instrument. 

PS Still want one for some irrational reason...

[NickA]

34 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

For some reason, I found my Dolphin Pro 2 much comfier than my Pro 1s.  And it wasn’t just the weight.

Good comparison here:  https://forum.warwickforum.com/threads/dolphin-pro1-vs-pro2.15701/

Different shapes it seems .. as well as different woods, pickups and neck/body construction.

[4000]

20 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

I agree... I sold my pair of Pro I's (inc Custom Shop which was quite light) and kept my Pro II in preference!    

My Pro II was better than my ‘96 Pro 1 by some margin. I sold it to a friend but would have it back in a heartbeat, except he won’t sell it. He gets a tremendous tone out of it.

[bassbora]

On 04/07/2019 at 12:07, warwickhunt said:

Different altogether 'ergonomically'!  The Thumb's short top horn throws the first fret out wide, whereas the Dolphin is the opposite.  

My bad. I have never played one but for some reason I thought it might be similar 

[bassbora]

On 04/07/2019 at 08:33, NickA said:

There is indeed a dolphin 6,  not included in the official price list, but I bet you'd need a mortgage to buy one.

 

I have not looked at the current thing. I am really sad but I only like Warwicks from around 90 +- 1-2 years. And back then 6 was not an option. I read a review in Bass Player in 90 or 91 and that’s when I first saw one. Jazz bass on steroids was the description of the sound. It looked so different and interesting but sadly I never got one. 

[bassbora]

Trying not to derail this thread. I was just watching Dave Grohl’s Sound City. There are pictures of Nirvana recording Nevermind and Kris is pictured with a Dolphin in few shots. Not a fan of the band or album but I was surprised when I saw it. I have no idea if it was used on the album or what tracks but that would be quite funny if Smells like teen spirit would have been recorded with one.