Question about Warwick basses!

[Slappy Daniels]

Hi everyone,

So I have a question about Warwick basses.
I think they're supposed to be pretty good according to what I read and heard about them.
But I'd like to hear other people's experience with Warwick basses.
And with that I'm especially curious about what you guys think of the necks on Warwick basses.

Because I found messages on this forum, older posts from like 2008 or so.
And back then some people seemed to be complaining about how thick the necks on Warwick basses felt.

BUT, if I watch review videos on more recent Warwick models, people seem to really like the necks and say it feels very comfortable.
The one I'm looking at has a nut width of 38.5 mm (which is 1.5'' I think?)

If you have some knowledge or experience with Warwick basses, please help me out here!
The thing is, if I want to get one I probably have to order it before I can actually try it because the only store that sells it in their physical store is like 4 or 5 hours away!

Also, how do you think they are compared to Spector basses?

 

[Sid the Kid]

In the beginning of the company they used super slim, wenge necks. When they switched to ovangkol necks in 98 (I believe, an expert will be along shortly) they increased the thickness of the neck profile. It was this way for years however they went back to a slimmer profile in 2012 (again, don’t quote me).

I have played every iteration of these necks and I see why some people will prefer the slimmer neck, especially on 5 and 6 string models. I personally never minded he more meaty neck.

The nut width you posted is a constant, the thickness of the neck will depend on the year. Being a 4 string I can’t imagine a thick neck being a bad thing. More info on the particular bass and pics will help figure out what you are looking for.


Between Warwick and Spector I would look into the Spector, and I’m a Warwick guy at heart. I have had a record amount of money lost purchasing used Warwick Basses that had irreparably warped necks, wack electronics, and mismatched non factory parts. Like custom USA Spector amounts of money lost. I have a $3k 6 string streamer in my closet with a warped neck that I can’t give away for $700, coincidentally how much money I had to spend to fix the electronics. Specters do not seem to have these issues. Used selectors are almost always clean and mean.

 

[TNCreature]

The older Warwick basses did indeed have thick necks. They are much thinner now, don't know the specs but they are on their website. I don't mind the thicker necks; for me, the neck/fretboard width is more important.
I love Warwick, prefer the German made models, but certainly nothing wrong with the Korean ones. RockBass is their entry level bass line made in China I believe. They are really pretty good, but still a budget build. For the new price, I would advise buying a used German or Korean bass. On a budget? Get a used RockBass, the new ones are overpriced IMO.
I will let the Spector experts chime in. They also have multiple options from various sources and years.
I am a Warwick guy, they are my preference.
Have fun trying them out!

 

[TinIndian]

The neck story as I understand it is the US distributor around 2000 had Warwick make the stock profile that thicker bigger one that people seem to complain about. It stayed that way until Warwick changed distributors. No idea why they would have asked for that. Not sure how accurate that is but I'm pretty sure I read that from a Warwick representative. I have a 96 Warwick Fortress Masterman and it has the thinnest neck I've ever seen.

I also have two Euro Spectors and I prefer my Spectors. Both have excellent build quality, both use excellent materials and both can get a nice growl. I just prefer the Spectors. Like many things it is just an individual preference.

 

[Slappy Daniels]

In the beginning of the company they used super slim, wenge necks. When they switched to ovangkol necks in 98 (I believe, an expert will be along shortly) they increased the thickness of the neck profile. It was this way for years however they went back to a slimmer profile in 2012 (again, don’t quote me).

I have played every iteration of these necks and I see why some people will prefer the slimmer neck, especially on 5 and 6 string models. I personally never minded he more meaty neck.

The nut width you posted is a constant, the thickness of the neck will depend on the year. Being a 4 string I can’t imagine a thick neck being a bad thing. More info on the particular bass and pics will help figure out what you are looking for.


Between Warwick and Spector I would look into the Spector, and I’m a Warwick guy at heart. I have had a record amount of money lost purchasing used Warwick Basses that had irreparably warped necks, wack electronics, and mismatched non factory parts. Like custom USA Spector amounts of money lost. I have a $3k 6 string streamer in my closet with a warped neck that I can’t give away for $700, coincidentally how much money I had to spend to fix the electronics. Specters do not seem to have these issues. Used selectors are almost always clean and mean.

I'm looking to spend about 1k, give or take. It's okay if it's a bit more.
I started looking at Warwick basses yesterday and I still need to educate myself a bit better!
My preference definitely goes out to a bass with PJ- pickups. Also, I don't know if a Streamer or a Fortress model would be better.

And another thing is, my very first bass that I bought a little over 3 years ago, was an Ibanez SR.
They have very slim necks, and it is just what I'm used to I guess. I don't see it as a deal breaker for my potential new bass to have a thicker neck, but I do feel like I might personally prefer a bass that has that somewhat slimmer neck.

I've been thinking about upgrading my Ibanez SR, and get a more expensive version of what I have, I really like that bass! But Ibanez doesn't offer that many basses in my price range that also have the things I want, there's just one model so I feel very limited with that.
Fender also had my attention for a while, but with the somewhat heavier rock and Drop D stuff I like to play I feel like the growl of a Warwick or Spector might just suit me better.
A Spector bass I could play at a store about an hour away, but I'm not so sure if I can play on a Warwick before actually ordering it.

Warwick seems to have slimmer necks with their newer basses, but do you think they won't last as long and that they'll eventually go warped?

I really do think it's either going to be Warwick or Spector for me!

 

[Slappy Daniels]

The older Warwick basses did indeed have thick necks. They are much thinner now, don't know the specs but they are on their website. I don't mind the thicker necks; for me, the neck/fretboard width is more important.
I love Warwick, prefer the German made models, but certainly nothing wrong with the Korean ones. RockBass is their entry level bass line made in China I believe. They are really pretty good, but still a budget build. For the new price, I would advise buying a used German or Korean bass. On a budget? Get a used RockBass, the new ones are overpriced IMO.
I will let the Spector experts chime in. They also have multiple options from various sources and years.
I am a Warwick guy, they are my preference.
Have fun trying them out!

Interesting! Thanks for your respond.
RockBass seems to be the entry model indeed, and those are about the same price as the 2nd line of basses Spector offers.
The entry level of Spector is about €400/500. While Warwick starts at about €800 with most of the entry model.

And my budget is about 1k.
So it would be the second somewhat more advanced line of Spector against the entry line-up from Warwick.
I find it really hard to decide what's better and if there's a big gap between the quality there.
I do believe that the €800/900 Spector ones are Korean and not Chinese like the entry level basses from Warwick are.

And the hard and frustrating part is that I can't go to a store and try both of them and see what I like better.
So I'm just trying to get as much information on both brands as I can!

 

[Slappy Daniels]

The neck story as I understand it is the US distributor around 2000 had Warwick make the stock profile that thicker bigger one that people seem to complain about. It stayed that way until Warwick changed distributors. No idea why they would have asked for that. Not sure how accurate that is but I'm pretty sure I read that from a Warwick representative. I have a 96 Warwick Fortress Masterman and it has the thinnest neck I've ever seen.

I also have two Euro Spectors and I prefer my Spectors. Both have excellent build quality, both use excellent materials and both can get a nice growl. I just prefer the Spectors. Like many things it is just an individual preference.

Okay! Thanks for your view on this.
I'm looking to spend about 1k, maybe a bit more.
So that would leave me with a Spector Legend classic bass, Spector NS Pulse or a Warwick RockBass series I think they're called.

Warwick's entry level starts at almost double the price of Spector, and I know that doesn't have to mean anything. But it might, right?

What do you think would be better price for value if spending about 1k?

 

[Jackcrow]

I’ve owned 2 German made Warwick’s (both 2006 models). The necks certainly aren’t Ibanez SR type slim but I dont find them that chunky either. Both of them have a “D” type shape with a flat back which I think is pretty comfortable.

The quality and and sound on both of them are excellent.

 

[burgerdj]

I’ve mainly played Warwick since the mid-90s. I love them and have circulated through Corvette, Thumb and Streamers. The German-made basses have evolved through the years with different neck and body woods, profiles, etc. for this reason, I strongly encourage you to try before you buy.

Spectors are great basses and heavily influenced Warwick’s streamer models. The few that I’ve played (NS-2) were great, with nicely selected maple. Many came with EMGs, so their tone is pretty bright and upfront. Many Warwicks have their own active pups by MEC.

between the two, you can’t go wrong - but try before you buy!

here is a helpful document that lays out some history on Warwick:

The History of Warwick Bass.pdf

 

[Aloe]

I loved the 2006 thick D-shape on a 5-string, it was a very-very comfortable neck.

I don’t have my 2006 since and now have a newer 4-string with a thinner neck and it’s also okay. I think, I prefer the thicker profile on a 5-string, but the slimmer one for a 4-string.

 

[dpaul]

It’s really a matter of preference between the 2 brands. I have tried a few Warwick’s, but don’t have much experience with the brand overall. They were not to my taste, but that’s just me. I have been playing Spector’s for almost 30 years, love them. The craftsmanship, playability and tone cannot be beat. For $1k, keep on the hunt for a used neck-thru Euro model. They don’t pop up in that price range a lot, but when they do, they are more than worth it.

 

[Ggaa]

On my Rock Bass LX5, the neck is between the smallish but nice Ibanez I used to have, and Fenders. Very playable. The '08 RB Streamer 5 I had had a small neck more like the Ibby.

 

[Slappy Daniels]

It’s really a matter of preference between the 2 brands. I have tried a few Warwick’s, but don’t have much experience with the brand overall. They were not to my taste, but that’s just me. I have been playing Spector’s for almost 30 years, love them. The craftsmanship, playability and tone cannot be beat. For $1k, keep on the hunt for a used neck-thru Euro model. They don’t pop up in that price range a lot, but when they do, they are more than worth it.

I think Spector are about to add some new basses to their line up too.
I'm not sure though, I'm not that familiar with Spector and what all the ones they had. But this one says available in a few months on this website and I kinda like how it looks and what it seems to have on it.
EMG Pickups, those are supposed to be pretty good I think!

https://www.thomann.de/intl/spector_ns_pulse_4_carbon_cinder_red.htm

 

[Lackey]

The only Warwick I loved was a SS1 6 string years ago. Bartolini pickups, wide string spacing, totally flat fingerboard... Really played and sounded great.

Most other Warwick's are pretty meh for me.

But, my brother in law loves his Thumb NT, so your mileage may vary.

Spector's seem well built but I haven't loved the tone of the few I've played, I blame the EMGs.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

I have a German Warwick Infinity SN and it is a great bass. But it is real neck heavy, and the neck is not that comfortable for long playing. It has a very thick C shaped neck. I get cramps in my hand if I play only it for more than an hour set. It is not my #1 bass. But only used for certain songs.

My #1, 2, 3, and 4 basses are all USA NS4 Spectors. Lighter neck, balances well, and Three of them have a slim profile D shaped neck. They get the playing time.

In fact, my Ric 4003 and my Gibby T-Bird gets more playing time than the Warwick.

BTW I have heard that Warwick puts a steel channel piece in their necks for stability. Spector's have Carbon Fiber.
Here is a pic of my four USA Spector NS4s.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Hi everyone,

So I have a question about Warwick basses.
I think they're supposed to be pretty good according to what I read and heard about them.
But I'd like to hear other people's experience with Warwick basses.
And with that I'm especially curious about what you guys think of the necks on Warwick basses.

Because I found messages on this forum, older posts from like 2008 or so.
And back then some people seemed to be complaining about how thick the necks on Warwick basses felt.

BUT, if I watch review videos on more recent Warwick models, people seem to really like the necks and say it feels very comfortable.
The one I'm looking at has a nut width of 38.5 mm (which is 1.5'' I think?)

If you have some knowledge or experience with Warwick basses, please help me out here!
The thing is, if I want to get one I probably have to order it before I can actually try it because the only store that sells it in their physical store is like 4 or 5 hours away!

Also, how do you think they are compared to Spector basses?

They went through several eras with different neck profiles. The earliest ones and the more recent ones actually have pretty thin comfortable necks. There was a 10-15 year span where they made chunkier necks somewhere around 2000-2015. I suspect part of the reason was they started experimenting with different neck woods. Early warwicks mostly used wenge necks or laminated necks. When they started making the chunkier necks they were also using some different woods on some models like using ovankol necks with a wenge or ebony board for example. So I’m assuming the reason for the chunkier necks was to make these sorts untested neck woods more stable/strong. But yeah I’ve owned a half dozen German warwicks and the necks are different depending on the era they were made. This is pretty normal for just about every long running company. For example some guitar players like certain era strats because of the neck profile at the time.

As for warwick basses and comparing them to Spector. The streamer shape is clearly closer to Spector than anything. But streamers and spectors kind of have different approaches also. Spectors often use EMG humbuckers and EMG EQ and mostly have pretty durable finishes on them. Streamers are kind of a different take on a similar vibe. They use different pickups like two Jazz or they’ve done setup line the streamer jazzman with and H and a J. I’ve even seen streamers with two p pickups. They did do an more recent update on the streamer body overall though. I want to say it was based on some of the changes to the streamer shape they did when making the Stu hamm signature. But yeah I like 2-3 years ago they updated the streamer shape across all ranges.

I think where Warwick really stands out from the crowd is their more unique designs like the Thumb and dolphin basses. Those models have a more unique voice that people tend to like either because it doesn’t sound as “generic” as stuff like the streamers or corvettes. But there are also plenty of people who don’t like them because of ergonomics/neck dive issues for some people/ and because they struggle to get a “normal” sound out of them.

as far as the different models i dig the high end Warwick stuff. Especially thumb basses. I don’t care so much for the rockbass stuff. I mean it can be a good bargain compared to other imports. But they’ve also had a lot of issues with problems like neck twisting and stuff for whatever reasons. If I remember right Warwick actually had so many problems that that’s why they moved more of the production of lower end stuff back to Germany where they really started it back in the 90s with series like the proline series that pre dated the rockbass line.

 

[Bonsist]

Great thread, keep it going. I'm also looking to upgrade from my Ibanez SR. I was also looking at Warwick, Spectre, Jackson & Musicman basses but still vastly unsure.

 

[Slappy Daniels]

Great thread, keep it going. I'm also looking to upgrade from my Ibanez SR. I was also looking at Warwick, Spectre, Jackson & Musicman basses but still vastly unsure.

I also have a Sterling by MusicanMan StingRay.
I play on it quite a lot, I think it is absolutely amazing to slap on.
But I just think I prefer a PJ setup for finger style or just for playing with a pick.

 

[Valvehead]

I have owned quite some Warwicks, most of them used market. The newer Warwicks are back to a thinner neck profile. Up till 1992 the necks were also pretty thin mostly, then from the mid nineties till around 2008 neck profiles were all over the place. Mid nineties Warwicks with 5- or 6 string bridges usually will need those bridges, strap locks and tuners replaced as tuners break and bridges collapse. Yes they were that bad back then on the hardware side of things. Nowadays though, the new Warwicks play REALLY well and are superb quality.

But neck profiles is not all there is to it. There's also tone. Kinda important I'd say.

Warwicks have a sound all their own. They are so articulate it is actually hard to make them blend with the mix. In some music types this is awesome, in others it is a pain.

 

[Mikey F]

I have had a bunch of Warwicks all ranging from 97-08. Necks have all been on the chunky side. I think they feel perfect. I had an 03 Dolphin SN and I think that was the slimmest.