Warwick Corvette Rockbass Basic Fretless

4 string fretless, no fret markers on the neck, just dots on the side. Two jazz type pickups, active electronics, one 9v. One volume, one pickup blend & a bass & treble boost/cut. Closed tuners & standard bridge. All chrome hardware. Bolt on neck.
It was made in 2004 in China. Most Warwicks are made in Germany, but they sub out their Rockbasses to their China factory. Warwicks are mainly known for the woods used in their basses, but I know this one doesn't use their typical woods. I can't recall the type of wood used for the body, but it is very lightweight. Which at first made me sceptical of the sound & resonance. The neck isn't their typical wenge wood, it's a cheaper rosewood. But, I must say that I almost thought that it was ebony at first, it was very, very smooth & polished. A very nice neck in my opinion. It's about the size of a jazz neck, narrow all the way. I like it, but I'm starting to create grooves in the neck. The factory put round-wounds on it. I thought about putting flats on it to save the neck, but the rounds give it such a nice bright sound, almost like a fretted bass. It has a beautiful transparent blue/green finsih.

The sound is awesome, but you have to know how to set the bass/treble boost/cut. If you have them both all the way up, it gives a distorted sound. Which would be fine if I was still playing hard rock, but I don't. I play funk & jam band stuff, a little regae & jazz thrown in there. You have to have a fat sound with those styles, and this bass does it with authority. BUt it will still put out a nice high punch when slapping. I personally have both boost/cuts set at 3/4. My main amp is a Trace-Elliot solid state head & a SWR 4x10 w/horn cab. I love them both. Great bottom end & nice punch, a little flat in the mids (typical for 4x10's). I use a couple effects from my Digitech BP-200 effects processor. I'm glad the bass is active, it makes playing a fretless a little "forgiving". I think this bass sounds great & I think it would sound good for almost any style. They call it a rock bass & if you had the boosts all the way up it would be great for rock with the natural distortion from the pickups. But they don't need to call it a Rockbass, it fits me well with all kinds of different styles. I gave it a 9 though, just because it can distort at high boosts, you have to watch your settings.

I got this bass off the showroom floor & didn't have to adjust a single thing, except for lowering the bridge pickup a little bit. The action is very low , which I like. The neck is very smooth, almost as nice as ebony. The finish is a very nice transparent, no blemishes in the wood or finish. Everything is tight in this bass. The neck sits very snug in the body. One of the best bolt-ons I've seen. It's great to get a bass & not have to adjust anything.

This is one solid bass, though very lightweight. The strap buttons are big & solid, no worries there. The finish seems thick & highly durable. I would feel comfortable playing this bass without a back up, but I always have at least two other basses on hand when I play. Not because of doubt of this bass, but the style of music I play calls for other basses (4 & 6 string fretted).

Never had to deal with them. Hope I never have to & I don't think I will.

If it were stolen, I would easily buy another. I don't think any other fretless for the same amount of money could even compare to this bass. It covers all styles of music with some boost/cut tweeking. This is my 7th bass (4 4-string fretted, one 5-string & one 6-string, & this new fretless), but my first fretless. I don't think I'll buy a nicer fretless, because this one is very nice already.