Modified Bass Day - Warwick Corvette

[happynoj]

My favourite bass is my 2003 Warwick Corvette Standard. I’ve owned it for 17 years, and I’m sure it’s got some magic in it. I’ve had other Corvette Standards, and I’ve got other ‘nicer’ and ‘fancier’ Corvettes, but this one is special. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia of being my first ‘Wick, but I love it. 
 

 

It didn’t have the most careful first owner, and it’s not exactly been a garage queen with me, and it had picked up plenty of scratches and dents along the way. I decided that I wanted it to look as good as it feels, so I started cooking up a plan. 
 

First of all, I stripped it down. Without any hardware, the Swamp Ash body and neck felt astonishingly light - I was tempted to see if I could throw it over the roof of the house! (Even with hardware, it’s only around 3.6kg/8lbs.)

 

 

Then I set about making a scratchplate. Having never done this before, my favourite bass seemed like the right place to start. Now I know that Warwick sell pickguards for Streamers, and I like the idea but I’ve always felt that they weren’t quite the right shape, so I drew out my own on a piece of cereal box. I then photocopied it, glued the piece of paper to a piece of 6mm ply and rough cut it out with a jigsaw. 
 

 

I did lots of drilling and hand filing to get the neck pocket and pickup hole right…

 

 

…and then did the same for the outer edge. 
 

 

Then I borrowed a router from a friend, and had my first ever go at routing cutting the scratchplate out of 4-ply pearloid, and putting the 45 degree bevel on. It didn’t come out exactly perfect, but it’s not far off.  (This picture is before further refinement with sandpaper, and although it’s still not perfect, it’s a bit better). 
 

 

After then, I took it to Rob at Manton Customs who added pearloid blocks and refretted it. There’s a lovely YouTube video about it, which I found slightly disturbing to watch - it’s not every day you get to see someone taking a chisel to one of your favourite possessions! He does beautiful work, and he’s a lovely chap to boot. 

 

 

Then I took it to Dave Wilson for paint, and it turned out beautifully (as expected!). 
 

 

I also went for a matching headstock, and took the opportunity to swap my broken Just-A-Nut II for a shiny brass JAN III. 
 

 

Then it was just a case of reassembly (most of which Dave did) to see what it all looked like!

 

 

 

 

And a bonus pic with my ‘05 Ltd Ed. 
 

 

I know it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I’m happy!

Edited June 23, 2024 by happynoj

[Cosmo Valdemar]

Stunning! I'd be inclined to not cover up that beautiful green, but the scratchplate certainly doesn't look out of place to me.

[happynoj]

14 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Stunning! I'd be inclined to not cover up that beautiful green, but the scratchplate certainly doesn't look out of place to me.

It’s not actually attached at the moment. It looks good without, but I’m leaning towards having it. I don’t want to drill into it and then regret it, so I’m going to start with some double sided tape and see how it holds up. 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

8 minutes ago, happynoj said:

It’s not actually attached at the moment. It looks good without, but I’m leaning towards having it. I don’t want to drill into it and then regret it, so I’m going to start with some double sided tape and see how it holds up. 

Good idea... don't drill holes unless you're 100%!

[spacecowboy]

26 minutes ago, happynoj said:

It’s not actually attached at the moment. It looks good without, but I’m leaning towards having it. I don’t want to drill into it and then regret it, so I’m going to start with some double sided tape and see how it holds up. 

Try bostik glu dots, they stick really really well and come off without ruining what’s underneath! 
 

I’ve got loads if you want me to send you some! 
 

 

[spacecowboy]

Oh and I think the bass looks absolutely fantastic! Such a nice story and now you’ve made it completely yours! 

[happynoj]

40 minutes ago, spacecowboy said:

Try bostik glu dots, they stick really really well and come off without ruining what’s underneath! 
 

I’ve got loads if you want me to send you some! 
 

 

They look good! Do you use the normal or extra strong?

[LukeFRC]

looks amazing - and enjoyed the blocks and frets video from Manton too

[spacecowboy]

39 minutes ago, happynoj said:

They look good! Do you use the normal or extra strong?

The normal ones will be absolutely fine in your case! Easier to remove too! 

[uk_lefty]

Wow. Looks absolutely perfect. Great result.

[happynoj]

18 hours ago, spacecowboy said:

The normal ones will be absolutely fine in your case! Easier to remove too! 

I’ve got some coming from Amazon tomorrow. Only £2, so a bit of a bargain if they do the job. 

[spacecowboy]

55 minutes ago, happynoj said:

I’ve got some coming from Amazon tomorrow. Only £2, so a bit of a bargain if they do the job. 

They will with ease! They’re brilliant little things! 
 

Tip for application, they’re on a sheet like stamps, get one off, peel the top layer of paper off and leave the backing on, then put the glu dot on the bass and then peel the back off like double sided tape, my first instinct was to peel the glu dot off the sheet and that just resulted in me messing a load up with my big man hands! 
 

Much easier to do it the way mentioned above! 👆 

[jonno1981]

That looks great. Very tasteful and adds to the allure of the instrument. Great job! 

[King Tut]

Stunner!

[Mokl]

Your bass looks outstanding! Enjoy it in good health.

[Paddy777]

That looks absolutely amazing! 🤩 David Wilson does really good work doesn’t he - that’s a lovely colour especially with that colour Scratchplate!

[Lfalex v1.1]

Nice. 

 

Not dissimilar to the Fortress Flashback from many years ago. 

That was frequently green with a pearly plate.

[simisker]

I overlooked this initially, because I'm not a big fan of Warwicks, scratchplates, or Warwicks with scratchplates.

 

But this is a stunning upgrade! Absolutely perfect.

 

I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but keep the scratchplate. It adds a huge amount of character, in my view, and looks right at home with those J pickups and matching block inlays. It's ace

 

[Manton Customs]

Great to see the finished bass! Hope you have plenty of fun with it

[TheGreek]

On 23/06/2024 at 19:37, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Stunning! I'd be inclined to not cover up that beautiful green, but the scratchplate certainly doesn't look out of place to me.

 

I second the comments...

[tauzero]

Generally I'm not a great fan of painted basses (especially for me, as I'd be petrified of chipping the paint) and I love my natural Warwicks. This is really beautifully done and very unusual. I think the scratchplate sets it off nicely.

[tobiewharton]

I LOVE it!

[snorkie635]

Looks very pretty indeed. You must be a proud individual right now. 👍😎