Warwick Corvette Standard 5

2008 Made in Germany.

5 string, 24 fret

Solid body.

Stacked tone control (B/T), pickup selector, volume.

Twin MEC Jazz pickups

Active electronics with that can be bypassed by pushing in the volume knob.

Bubinga body, Ovangkol neck, Wenge fingerboard.

Warwick basses (outside of the Star Bass II) tend to have unusual body shapes that cannot be classified by Jazz, Precision, etc. The Corvette has a more or less traditional hourglass shape with an extended length upper horn. Both horns are cylindrically shaped with rounded ends, looking somewhat like the ends of broomsticks.

Bridge is the standard Warwick double bridge, with the Just a Nut II at the headstock. (adjustable nut)

The tuners are the standard Warwick tuners which do not require cleaning and are angled toward the player (I love this feature).

The ovangkol neck is a collapsed C profile with jumbo frets. the neck width stays nearly the same from nut to 12th fret.

My bass came with the Warwick RockBag with shoulder saver straps and the Warwick User Kit, which includes a can of the polishing wax. It also comes with the Warwick strap locks, which are very similar in function to the Dunlop brand.

I play everything from jazz, to classic rock, to funk, to motown, to contemporary praise / worship, to original pieces. I found that with minor adjustments to the tone and pickup selection, I could get just about any sound I'd like. Also, given the choice of very robust electronics (like the MM's) or high quality, resonant wood, the ability to play on an exotic hardwood instrument was the final deciding factor.

I currently use an SWR LA15 and a Digitek multi-effect pedal. However, the Warwick's versatility in sound is leading me to ditch the multi effects in favor of a simple compressor and volume pedal. The electronics are robust enough to start overdriving the amp when it is set at half volume. The purchase of a new head is going to be a priority.

Thus far, I've not encountered any noise issues.

The core sound can best be described as fat and deep with a nice mid range cut to it. It has a very consistent foundational sound whether plucked, picked, slapped, or popped.

My only concern (not a big deal) is that the high end REALLY jumps out on the D and G strings when popped. This can likely be fixed with pickup adjustment or a compressor.

The ability to play in either active or passive mode is a big plus too. I can either zero out the amp to let the bass speak for itself in active mode, let the amp sound dominate in passive, or any combination. I love this feature.

I have only played live with it thus far and it stands up well to heavily overdriven guitars. The mid range punch really gives definition to the sound in this environment.

Action was overall set well. The G and D strings were a little low; I got fret buzz starting at the 12th fret. A very slight adjustment corrected that easily.

Pickups were set flat, and I am still experimenting with them on my current amp to see what, if any, adjustments will needed to me made. Right now, it seems that the G string side will need to be lowered. I test played this bass for MONTHS on several different amps before and had no issues, so this may be more of an amp issue than a pickup one.

The bass had only a light wax, and a slight gouge on the bottom horn that is not noticeable unless you look for it. Otherwise, it was in great shape!

The bass is built like a truck and I have no doubt that I will get years of mileage out of this baby! Likewise the hardware seems robust enough to last many, many years.

The finish...there is no real "finish", it is natural oil which must be kept up through regular waxing and buffing of the body. However, keeping up with that task will ensure a consistently beautiful appearance.

You have to be careful with the strap locks and make sure they are fully set before playing. If not, the weight of the instrument will cause the lock to disengage. Not happy about this, and will likely switch to Schaller or Dunlop later.

The neck is amazing, the dual stiffening rods are a big plus. Given the heat in my area, it is still a stable neck. Adjustment will be necessary in the fall though.

Have no experience as I've had no problems.

I've been playing for 30 years now and own a Michael Kelly Dragonfly III 5 string as well. I also have a heavily modfied Vantage from the mid 90s that is my experimental instrument.

I'd be really bummed to lose this and would immediately go out to purchase a new one (or any other Warwick bass.

I Love the ative / passive bypass and the tuners facing me as a player, making it easy to tune. I do not like the tedium of waxing the bass every week, but that's a manageable trade off for being able to play an instrument like this. I am also not a big fan of the Warwick strap locks.

I chose the Warwick Corvette Standard 5 bubinga active after playing several other basses at the Guitar Center from which I made my purchase, including an American Jazz 5 string koa wood, Music Man Sting Rays, Sterlings, and Bongos (all with dual humbuckers), the Corvette $$ 5 string, several Laklands, and a 1980's Sadowsky. After playing the bass on a number of different amps, I felt it was the most versatile for what I do.

I do which that it had a hardshell case.

I got lucky as I was able to get a really good clearance deal on this from Guitar Center which makes it even more of a value.

2006 active 5-string. Bubinga body, ovangkol neck, wenge fretboard. 2-band eq.

Good range of sounds--especially for someone like me who came from p-basses and wanted to retain that thump but with more range. Very nice harminic overtones with the Warwick strings, although I switched them out for some DR-Sunbeams for a smoother sound. No unwanted noises. No fretbuzz. Good live and for recording for a range of heavy-style music that I play.

Very well set-up, and generally good finish. Tightest neck-pocket I've EVER seen! Knobs and tuners have nice smooth action. Four niggles: wilferite JAN II NUT broke after 6 months and 4 string changes. Replaced it with a brass JAN I from Bass Centre. Bridge not completely evenly set into bass (a few millimeters higher on b-string side, but not worth routing to set deeper I figure). String anchor was a bit loose when I got it--tightened it up. Finally, I can just feel the seems between the woods on the back of the neck above the 12th fret (only just, but for a bass at $1359.00, woud hope for better). Nevertheless, the bass plays like a charm and sounds great.

Now that I've changed the nut, I think this bass will last forever. Strap locks that come with the bass are excellent.

Sent Dana B Goods an e-mail a while back about the nut, and haven't yet got a response. I'm sure if I called Dana B Goods, I'd have better luck. Have foud the Warwick Bass Forum very helpful with set-up hints and advice about the nut.

I've been playing heavy rock/prog rock since 1982, mostly p-basses. If this bass were stolen, I think I might save up for a Streamer Stage II (3-band eq).

mine is a 2006 corvette standard 5 string w/ 2 passive j style pu's,1 vol,1 blend,and 1tone controls, ash body in nirvana black oil finish, w/24 fret wenge finger board (no top fret makers)ovankol back 5pcs.neck, fully adjustable bridge and nut, all black hardware and free strap lox.

u cab pull any sound u want out of this bass u want,will suit any style from jazz to death metal.no noise .

lowered the brigde just a lill, no biggie.

built like a tank.

havent had to use em yet.

i luv this bass.

mine is a 2006 corvette standard 5 string w/ 2 passive j style pu's,1 vol,1 blend,and 1tone controls, ash body in nirvana black oil finish, w/24 fret wenge finger board (no top fret makers)ovankol back 5pcs.neck, fully adjustable bridge and nut, all black hardware and free strap lox.

u cab pull any sound u want out of this bass u want,will suit any style from jazz to death metal.no noise .

lowered the brigde just a lill, no biggie.

built like a tank.

havent had to use em yet.

i luv this bass.

Made in 1997.Brass frets,brass nut.I thought it need it some mid controls but it really doesnt , u can get plenty of tones with this bass.Blending the pickups helps a lot.

Sound its pure Warwick sound,no BS here.I've heard some of the new corvette series and let me tell u ,they sound good but this baby sounds a lot better.Big Fat bass if u want ,the groooooooowl of a Warwick,super highs if u need them.If u like harmonics,you're gonna love this bass.It's just an awsome sounding bass.I play SWR,Eden rig.I recorded with this bass,and the recording engineer was crazy about the bass and he got one for his studio! BTW i recorded direct,no amp,3 channels,1 with an Sans amp,1 Menley pre-amp and 1 menley EQ oouchhh!

Action was great when i got it 8 years ago.Never had problem with the neck,the finish its great ,it shows the years on the road hehehehe! especially where i rest my thumb(neck PU) and my lower fingers when i slap.

It's been road tested for 8 years now and still its my main bass.The finish its been well taken care of,so no problems there.The holes for the strap locks are rusted,cause i live near the ocean,but i always clean them so that the strap always stay locked.The neck its solid,only adjusted once,almost always in tune.

never had to deal with C/S

I love my bass ,it's been with me all this time and still is my main bass.I have a FenderJazz 75 and its just sitting there cause the sound of this bass its just awsome.If it gets stolen,hope not,i will shurely hunt another one.The only thing that other people tell me its that its too heavy,but once u get used to the bass u don't even care, i shure dont! I have a custom bass,a very nice one,but even thuou this its a less expensive bass still my first pick.
Just an excelent bass!!!

Update to my earlier review. Regarding the tailpeice and what strings you can use on the bass. Warwick uses a 2 peice bridge like on guitars with tune-o-matic bridge & stopbar tailpeice. On the tailpeice you have a 3/8 channal just in front of where the ball end of string goes. If the string wont fit down into that channal you cant put them on the bass. Cause then you cant secure string, no way for ball end to go into the place for it then. You have to use tapered strings on at least the E & B strings. The channals are very narrow. And I had to force the E string from new set of warwicks own black label strings, into the tailpeice channal to get it in. Was 105 gauge E string. Non tapered strings like GHS wont fit at all. Nor will Ken Smith brand with tapered B string but not tapered E string. Warwicks own strings are rather rough feeling compared to GHS and Dean Markley. But they sound good. So long as you can get them into those overly narrow channals on the tailpeice. So keep this design flaw on the bridges in mind before you purchase. Your limited to just a few strings for use on it. Warwick blacklabel strings arent available in heavier gauges for peeps who like to downtune useing heavier then 105E & 135B.

2004 corvette std 5 string. Natural finish with chrome hardware. 3 peice ovangkol neck with wenge fretboard. 2 peice bubinga body. 24 Brass frets, synthetic adjustable nut. Mec jazz pups with 2 band active eq. Push pull volume knob to turn active eq on/off. Came with jar of wax, trussrod & bridge/nut adj tools. Let dealer keep the gigbag they come with cause I prefer the extra padding of the BC Rich deluxe gigbags which I have extra of. Has excellent midrange content imo so no midrange control for eq needed.

Traded a Carvin lb75 bass toward it cause better sound and action on the Warwick. The mec jazz pups are not hum cancelling, so a little hiss can be heard in some situations with the treble maxed. But not anything to complain about, my zooms noise reduction eliminates the hiss just fine that would be otherwise present in some cases. I also play BC RICH warlock & beast 4 string basses, and the Warwick fits in fine with them sound wise. Loves basses with plenty of growl & grind available to their sound. The corvette also quickly showed itself well suited to recording with and fits in the mix excellently with dense synths (Access virus & Novation KS4) & multiple percussion backdrops. My main music loves are electronica & death/black metal. Works very well for these. I use Peavey amps & speakers. Zoom Player 3000B processor. The Warwick corvette is very much at home with my use of heavy overdrive, also sounds great clean. Though I seldom play clean. No muddyness to sound with even just the neck pup solo'd. I'll be mainly playing it with pups even or rolled a little toward bridge as is my norm.

Dunno if the store I got it at did any setup tweaking. But is first bass I've gotten that didnt need any adj for my pref of very low action. The stock B string is tapered at the bridge. As best I can tell the bridge saddle will be able to take a nontapered 130 gg ok, but agrees with other posters that its best to use tapered B string on it. As this contributes to better playing with low action. The stock strings (warwick) are nice enough that wont be changeing them till needed. May stay with warwick brand since my faves (ghs boomers) arent available with tapered B string & the stock strings are comprable sound wise. Did check the trussrod, it turns nice & easy either way. Did give it a tiny turn after checking it to tweak to my preferred set of barely noticeable slight relief. Just took a slight turn to accomplish this. As setup it was fine, but I like ultra low action which the bass gives with no buzz.

Seems slightly odd to have synthetic nut but brass frets. Though in reality 98% or so of playing is without open strings. There is a tiny diff in sound char for open string sound compared to fretted. Touch more difinition & bark for fretted. The brass frets do seem to add a touch more belllike sound compared to nickel frets. (Compared acoustically to my B Richs. Though this could be the strings. Hard to tell, since is what I call a small sound tweak thing rather then a biggee. Has GHS on the BCR"S, Warwick stock strings still on the wick. Only thing keeping me from giving it a 10 rating is it can hum a tiny bit in some cases since the pups are single coils.

Very well made. Solid construction. Weighs slightly more then my warlock & less then my beast basses. No neck dive. Excellent balance. Strap buttons are compatable with dunlop straplock pins. The latter didnt come with the bass. But I had extra so didnt need to purchase. Very comfy neck for a fiver.

Talked briefly with Warwicks USA rep awhile back, was very helpful.

Been playing more then 20 years. Should have gotten a Warwick sooner. At first I was somewhat put off by the need these things have for been routinely waxed. But useing the warwick beezwax is certainly easier then useing the paste wax I used on my basses in the 70's.

Also concidered the 5 string bolt on Warwick thumb bass, but likes the asthetics of the corvette better along with the vettes pup placement.

Would replace with same bass if lost or stolen.

Can honesty say that Warwick is the only other maker that gets my unconditional approval besides BC Rich. I've owned many brands, and these two are the only ones I fully like in all regards. But I'm picky. Lol.

this is a 2003 Warwick corvette standard 5. Its fretted, beautiful feeling satin finished bubinga wood body, i think the neck is wenge and an ovankol fretboard. Active/passive pickups to toggle through. the MEC pickups really stand out I have been playing bass for 14 years, and own numerous basses both active and passive, vintage and new, but this bass stands out, probably mostly because the low B isn't flubby sounding like most fives. I feel this bass gives a lot of bang for the buck.

I find the tone of this bass and the feel are great, I play classic rock and fusion music. Jack Bruce is my bass hero, and I already had the EB-3, so the natural progression was to follow Jack and get the Warwick. The thumb fretless was a bit too much so I chose this, I didnt want another fretless anyhow. I can dial up crisp funk tones, and farty jack bruce tones so it is quite versitile and my main gigging bass for now. It is a little heavy after a few hours on the shoulder, but worth it in tone

The bass was set up wonderfully from the start, the guy at the music store had a picture of them demonstating how strong the neck was with him standing on the guitar propped between to chairs. I wouldn't try it but with that great german precision, it seems like the Mercedes of the bass world. Everything is tight on it.

Hasn't cut out on me yet, and the battery is quick and easy to change even during a gig with a quick pop off the back cover.It came with a care kit, but I havent waxed it yet and I have had it almost a year. I don't know if thats a good thing,I probably should. like i said before think mercedes

Dont know bought it a Guitar Center cherry hill NJ, and they are great support all the time.

I have a 1970 EB-3, a 75 reissue Jazzbass, a 77 fretless p-bass blonde with maple neck, the only other active bass I have is a 79 musicman stingray which is real nice too, 1970 Rickenbacker 4001 stereo bass. Each bass has a distinct character purpose and tone, and this bass is the most versitile. I love this bass and would by another maybe a fretless four or a six. The tones are unbelievable. It is smooth and woody sounding you can get farts or chimes out of it, no flop on the low B which was a major concern for me since most fives fail in that area. I compared this to a feew other basses at GC the tobias killer B was nice but the neck was too flimsy feeling to me, a lakland which was too p-bassy for me. the nck felt sturdy with no flop Jack plays the thunb fretless Jack Bruce model, so I was sold. If your questioning buying one get it you wont be sorry.

Same as most, but I paid a bit extra for the gold hardware. Well worth the money. made in about 98-99. Notice that these are the same PUs in the top of the line warwicks.

Amazing tone. I have owned this for about five years now. I had the means to buy any of their basses, even the streamer stage II five string. However, I would rather have bought two of these (a fretless) than the stage II. True, the stage II has a bit more sustain, but not much. I recorded this bass and was able to AB it at the same session with the stage II and could not tell the difference. It has all of the componests of the "warwick wood" sound. This being said, be aware that these have a very distinct sound. THey are not ment to sid in the back of a mix like a jazz or a p. ALso, they do not have the hi-fi sheen of most active basses. They sound great in many settings, but not all.

Perfect perfect perfect. oh, and perfect

I do slightly worry about the body, as I am lazy and rarely wax it. THere do appear to be a few cracks developing, but for the most part, I never worry about it.

It has been a while since I dealt with them, but they always seemed cool.

I have played for about 15 years now, simi-pro for about the last 8. If you are looking for a warwick, this one is the best deal. The rockbasses really suck balls, but this is a real warwick. Be sure that you want the warwick sound before you buy one though, as they may not suit all bands. I currently play in a pop/rock/alternative band, and this bass does not fit at all.

For exact features, read previous reviews. I like that it has the active/passive switch, if the battery dies mid-gig. I've always had a fix idea that 5 string basses has to have a 35" neck (or more) to be tight, but my new Corvette has proved the opposite. Never played a tighter five. The bubinga wood is heavy, but with the right strap, that shouldn't be a problem.
I give it a nine. Of course there could be a couple of more extra features, but in my eyes this bass doesn't need it.

I've played the bass for 8 years, but I haven't had an idea of what I want the bass to sound like until about 2 years ago. Since then, I've been looking for the bass with my perfect sound. Testing a Warwick Rock Bass, I found that they definately had the sound that I was after, but the poor reliability of the Rock Bass made me move up one step in price. The Corvette has got a tremendous sound. It is definately hi-tech, but still got that warm vintage loving tone. It must be the bubinga, which also give the bass an astonishing sustain. I have only tested it at home yet but I'm definately in love with the sound of it. Whatever I do with it, plugged or not, sounds great.

Everything with this bass felt rock solid at first approach, and it still does. Nothing loose, nothing ugly, everything is perfect. The intonation was slightly off, but we're talking about like 0.05hz, so I haven't bothered to adjust it yet. Not a scratch or a grease stain on the chrome.

All my expectations about this bass has been over-shot by miles. I haven't used it live yet, but as mentioned earlier, this bass is a tank. A good one. I wonder if the germans who built it were tank-engineers in 2nd world war. Strap buttons wont budge for nothing, and as long as you use stiff leather straps, you wont need straplocks. I can't imagine that I will ever need to adjust the neck. Heard stories that you can bring this bass to the rain forest without adjusting it. I always bring my fretless 5str Maison bass to gigs, but it's only for the variation. That one is also very reliable, but I think my new bass would be the last unit that could break. I simply don't need to worry about it.

I've never dealt with Warwick in person, but my music dealer is an elder man who has a small piano shop. Very nice guy, he will certainly help me out if I'll ever have trouble with it, which I don't think.

Note that in the price, (about 1500 USD) both gigbag AND hardcase are included, both Warwick Rockbags. He really gave me as much discount as I could ever get. I'm extremely content with this bass, and I recommend it to every open minded bass player, who want an awesome allround bass that one can rely on. No plans for selling it, this bass will be part of my grandchildrens' heritage.