Warwick Corvette Standard 5

Warwick bass made in Germany. Standard 5 string set up, 24 frets. Active electronics, 2 MEC pickups with treble and bass controls, pick up select and active/passive/volume knob. The stings are somewhat close together, which works out well because unlike some bass players, I don't have Bigfoot sized hands. I give it a nine because for the price, this is loaded with features. I would like a mid control, but that really isn't that important.

On a side note, I bought this on sale at Guitar Center. I was shocked to find out when I got home that this should have came with a gig bag, wax, tools and strap locks. I called guitar center and they were like "Uh, hold on let me check (my interpretation; I took this all home)... uh, I can get you the wax and the tools but no strap locks or gig bag." Needless to say I haven't bought much more from them, but they did mail me the wax and tools.

This thing has a beautiful sound. The tonal options are pretty vast. You can go from subwoofer thump to ear-bleeding treble (not that I recommend that at all). The electronics afford you a wide range of sounds and control. The bass overall has a full dark sound because of the woods used and the Wenge fretboard.

I play with various praise and worship groups with some amazing musicians. I need to be able to fit my sound in with various styles; U2-ish, Latino, traditional hymns, modern acoustic sounds, punk, funk, rock and everything in between. This bass fits it all (especially with a little stomp box help).

I play this through a variety of amps, Hartke KickBack 15, an old Sunn bass amp (with 2 15's), an old Gorilla guitar amp (powering 2 15's and it sounds really good) and an SWR Workingman's 15 combo. Effects... now no one likes to give away their secrets and I've gotten quite a few compliments on my tone, so I'll be a little vague on this one. I use a bass DI (MXR) with tone controls because I play through a variety of amps and I need to be able to "dial in" the right sound. A Tube compressor - really helps tighten up the sound for slapping and gives me some level control for two-hand tapping. I also like the added tube warmth. I also use a variety of other effects because of the different styles I play. One thing I will highly recommend is the Electro Harmonix Bass Micro Synth. This little guy is an instrument in itself and once you learn how to use it, your tonal options multiply. Like salt, effects should be used tastefully - and like salt, the proper amount can really add to the flavor.

I give it a 9 because I'd still like the mid control, but it is not that important.

I'm not sure how long this bass was at Guitar Center before I bought it. A couple months maybe? The strings were a little old and the action was a little high (for my taste). The adjustable bridge and nut are great. I was able to lower the action to my taste within a few minutes. The adjustment capability of the bridge allows a lot of room to personalize the action. I'll give it a ten here because this bass is very well made and the adjustment options give the player a great deal of flexibility.

This bass will kill somebody if you hit them with it. Built like a tank, I always worry about the floor first before bass (it fell once - the first time I gigged with it, with no damage to the bass). I really think you could play softball with this thing and it would still play and sound great.

The finish is personal preference. It will wear off and look discolored from use unless you use the wax like you wash your car. Personally I'd rather live with the discoloration from where my fingers rest than be waxing this thing every two weeks.

I highly recommend strap locks for this guy. I had to custom ground some brass screws to fit the Schaller strap locks on (the Dunlop?s were way to weak and I was not going to drill). The standard strap buttons are fine. I just prefer strap locks.

I have not had to adjust this bass at all (after my initial set up). I often gig without a back up (I don't have the Amex black card here). The bass is very well built and I'd imagine that the other musician's instruments would break long before this guy.

This is okay. Call them on the phone. Do not email them! I never got a response to me email (about the Guitar Center issue mentioned above) and when I talked with them, they said they knew Guitar Center was doing that and they fixed the situation. They were very helpful as far as technical questions go. I'll them a seven because of the friendly knowledgeable service, despite the email thing.

I have been playing for over six years and I play with various groups practicing two to three times a week with the bands and gigging anywhere from one to three times weekly. I also own a Music Man Stingray 4 string, a Taylor 414 and a Gibson SG.

I have owned this bass for over a year and if it were stolen or if I felt led to give it away (you'd have to be an idiot to lose a bass like this!), I would either buy another one or... save up and get a Fodera. I'd still probably end up getting another Warwick even if I got the Fodera.

Overall this bass is great for the price. It has a really beautiful sound and it wears like iron. It is a little heavy, but that's not a big deal to me. I feel really blessed to be involved with Worship and this bass is a great tool in the arsenal without depleting too much from the bank account (getting this on sale helps with that too).

It was made somewhere in '03, in germany. For specs see the other reviews.
I think it's really nice that it comes with a good gig-bag and all the wreches you need. And the wax ofcourse.

The sound suits me just fine. I play in a four piece nu-metal band, and the bass really comes out there. I don't use any effects, cause I think that is lame. You could discribe the sound as bright and tight.

The factory set up was just the way I wanted, low without the ringing.
It doesn't have any scretches or something, but hey that's what you paid for right.

I've only got it for three weeks now, but I can already tell it'll last longer then saving money for a new one. I'm hooked for at least 10 years+. Because I think it's a great reliable bass.
And it'll always remain it's price.

I'ven't been in contact with them, though it's true they had to build it for me, it wasn't in stock. The factory number starts with my name's first letter, that is about 1 cm. in front of the rest. Wich I think is really cool, though I had to wait for it for 2 months.

I'm really glad that i bought this bass, I've tested several but this was knd of like my payeble dream-bass. This is my second bass, the other one is an Ibanez Tr-series(it really sucks). Now it's time to save money for my dream-amp, that's an Ampeg svt-3 pro(with the 8x10). Now I'm loaning an B-2(with 1x15) from the joint where I practice. But then again your never finished with buying things. If you've got the money be shure to check it out. You don't have to buy it. But at least give it a trie, it's a relief.

Made in Germany 2001.
Natural oil finished Bubinga body, ovangkol bolt-on neck, wenge fingerboard. Active MEC J/J pickups. Volume, balance and stacked treble/bass-controls. Very robust instrument indeed. I wouldn't mind a mid-control however.
Comes with a gigbag and a surface-wax which should be applied every week.
HEAVY!

Incredebly versatile sounds can be achieved through this bass (despite the lack of adjustable mids). I find this to be a healthy marrige between the classic jazzbass sound and the equally classic "Warwick growl". I play mainly fingerstyle using only the bridge pick-up and I just love the focused and crisp, yet rich and warm tone, it provides. For slap I go full on both pick-ups.
This bass, though being a bolt-on, has almost a neck-through feel to it. As you play, the entire instrument is singing.

The factory settings were alright considering I forgot to mention that I required a heavier string-gague when I placed the order (i.e I had to set it up on my own).
The finish was absolutely flawless, but after a few weeks of playing I encountered a small mark just above the bridge PU (where I rest my thumb). This wont go away no matter how often I apply the wax.

I've played this bass live a lot and never once conidered to bring a backup (just bring a lot of healthy fresh batteries).
This instrument will probably outlive me and become a part of the family heritage for centuries to come.

I believe this comes with a lifetime warranty(?).

I've been playing bass for about 15 years now. And i've played just about any musical style you could imagine. I run this instrument though an EBS HD 350-head (with 410+115 cabs)I also use the EBS "black label"-pedals (there's really nothing like effects as these to keep your interest in playing alive).
Before I decided to buy this bass I've played through a variety of different Warwicks. I first had my eyes on a Streamer Stage, but in spite of it's higher prizing, it couldn't produce the sound I was looking for. Still, the body shape of the Streamer is much more appealing to me than that of the Corvette, but since it's my firm belief that the type of woods used for the Corvette is responsible for the incredible tone. They could probably not be used shaped as a Streamer (it's very heavy as it is).

'92 Warwick Corvette 5. Bubinga body, nice wenge neck, 24 fret ovankol fingerboard. The other features and hardware are the same as the previous reviewers with the exception of this bass having factory issue passive electronics. Controls are Vol./Blend/Tone. Old school Warwick, for sure. From what I'm told, this particular model was only available in Canada and Europe. How it made its way to Texas, I'll never know.

The sound, to me, is like the optimal Fender Jazz bass sound but with more low-mid girth. Very fat, but also clear and sweet. Being able to blend the pickups offers a wide variety of sounds. Using a .135 on the B, the fundamental is controlled and bursting with midrange goodness- awesome with thumb & pop, tapping, and full on fingerstylin'. Notes bloom on this bass.

As I'm the lucky second owner of this bass, I can't really comment on the factory setup. I recently set the bass to factory measurements however, and for as beautifully simple as it was I'm sure the original factory setup was great. I can't find any significant flaws worth noting.

This is an incredibly well built bass. All the hardware is very solid and the pickups sound fantastic.

Emailed with a question, and got a reply the next day. Excellent.

No clue where it was made but it is Bubinga wood from Ecuador. Has MEC active pickups, bass/treble knob, Pickup balancer, master volume
Switchable to passive pickup configuration. A bolt-on neck. beuatiful wood finish 34 inch neck with a Wenge fingerboard. Comes with water resistant bag with wax, 2 allen wrenches, book about bass, and truss rod adjuster. Comes with Warwick Black Label Medium strings
.135 .105 .85 .65 .45 thick strings make this bass full of sustain

Nice clear low end with treble off and even slightly on. When fully on keeps the lows and sounds punchier. Nice warm low end and warm mid range with no treble. The treble is nice because the sound stops at a certain frequency and does not get as high pitched as most guitars do. It stops at about 2 KHZ (close to that)and it does not make you go deaf; at the point it stops, it sounds really good. The low end can have no punch with knob adjustment and it sounds like actual low end. The slap bass sound is unique as can be. Listen to Mudvayne's Ryknow and listen to his slap bass sound. You can get that sound out of this thing. The only downside is that this thing is a little quiet with the low end. It is best to have a strong amp with this thing (more than 200 watts) to get some loud low end and to have plenty of headroom for slap sounds. I was whacking this thing with my thumb and it responded well with excellent slap sounds, definitely 100% unique sounds. That is the reason I bought it. You can get many sounds out of this thing. The passive pull knob, gives you, I think, an actual J bass sound. When turned on, it looses most of the low end and gets tremendously punchy. I probably will not use it but it can be helpful for someone else. The midrange is warm sounding and can be made punchy but it requires an amp and/or preamp with plenty of tone controls. That will allow you to put this thing to it's best use. This bass is simply warm and smoothe sounding with
excellent highs. The sound is incredible and with a powerful amp and tone selection this thing will sound awesome. But, a stong amp is not necessary and whatever you have, should be fine. BEADG tuning is best with it if you want to down tune, you might need heavier strings chack out DR strings if you want. Otherwise it's all good.

the action is pretty good. I have not adjusted the neck, the strings smack the board but I think it adds to the slap bass sound. The bass is built like a tank and it is like 90% wood I think. The thing is a solid hunk of wood and I love it. Nice and smoothe looking.

I don't need a backup with this thing, I can do anything with it. Needs powerful amps for live for best results. punchy enough and full of lows that could show well with recording ( I have not tested this) Need to wax it once a month to seal the wood. Built like a tank. You can beat the crap out of it and it will still give a good sound. this bass wil still sound good 100 years from now it is just awesome.

I asked them about downtuning and string thickness and they responded quickly and they helped me out greatly.

been playing for 3 years and I still suck. This bass sounded really good. the lows are not punchy ( which I like) the mids can be altered to be made punchy but they are mainly warm sounding ( easier to work with for me ) I hate constant punchiness and this bass gives you a midrange that is easy work with. The highs sound good musically for slap bass and pick playing and regular finger style. They don't get extremely high pitched and where they stop is musically good. I tried a Musicman, Spector NS2000, $3000 Modulus. All of these sound about the same. their highs go higher than the clouds and sound terrible, all had good low end but it was punchy and the midrange was purely punchy. if you like that go for it then but if you like what I wrote about the Corvette, then try it out and get it because it is worth every penny, believe me. Only draw back is that it is heavy (8.8lbs) but get used to it and play it cuz it sounds awesome.

made in 2000,24 frets,5 strings,made in germany,solid top,standard pickup arrangement for warwick,volume,pickup fade,treble over bass,mec gold pickups,active electronics,bubinga body,ovunkol neck,wenge fretboard,non locking tuners,oil finish,gig bag included.

EXCELLENT!!Rock,metal,funk,peavey(for now)no effects,super quiet with old amp and cord,rich warm full sound,bright when needed,any sounds needed,broad spectrum of capability.both stage and especially studio.Wood makes the difference!! they have an excellent slogan.."The sound of wood..."

excellent setup,No flaws..PERFECT!!!

Yes,Yes,Yes...YES!!!

No havnt dealt with them.i believe it has a one year warranty.

10 years,`75 fender p-bass 4-str.,91 ibanez sdgr,4-str.No,playing it was a dream!yes,would definatly buy warwick again.Love the sound tone,and growl and ease of play.favorite feature rock solid tone and growl..warwick corvette standars 4 str. 4 str. was passive,and not as good of an action as 5 str.

This bass, built in Germany has five strings(duh) and 24 frets just like any normal bass has. It has one volume control, one P/U balance and one tonal control to change the characteristics of the sound. The body is 2-piece ash, the neck is 5-piece wenge and the fingerboard is made in wenge as well. Warwick have the habit of using strange woods for their basses but they do a whole lot to the sound, which I'll get to in a moment. The finish is satin which has to be waxed once a month. I would have liked more tonal controls.

Here's the deal - Warwick basses produce a sound that you either love or hate the first time you hear it. The woods used in the basses as I mentioned above are non-standard woods but thanks to the dense wenge in the neck the tone has a more sort of "in your face" color. It suits my sort of music even though I play metal with the occasional bass solo. The solo sound has to be heard to be believed. The "Warwick growl" is the fullest, richest sound I have ever heard in my time as a bassist. I love the sound. And no-You can't get used to it if you don't like it.

This bass was tweaked just right at the factory it seems because when I got it I only changed strings and I could begin playing without screwing, bending, smashing anything. The pickups were in perfect height in proportion to the strings. I have had this bass for a week and I have not noticed one little thing wrong with this beauty. And trust me, I have eyes that detect flings and faults very easily.

This bass feels solid, I would take it on stage any day. The hardware look rigid and it seems like it would hold even if the earth went under. The finish is as I mentioned above a natural satin finish. As long as you rub it with wax once a month and dont eat crisps before playing the finish should hold many years. I would'nt even consider taking a backup on stage. I tuned it once a few days ago and when I checked the tuning today, only the B string had fallen out of tune a teeny tinsy bit. Rock hard tuning machines.

I haven't had the pleasure yet.

I've been playing for 8 years straight, and out of those I've played five string for two years. My last four string was an Ibanez that now stands in a corner collecting dust. My last five string was an Ibanez as well that I sold to get money for this beauty. If I lost or had this absolutely wonderful bass I would be heartbroke for a month then buy a new one. It has so many likes and so few dislikes(None actually) that I reach euphoria when I think of them. I compared this bass to a Spector and I actually liked the sound in this one better than the Spector, even though the Spector is more expensive. I love everything about this bass.

Beautiful Bobinga body. I don't know why they don't finish it with a better finish, the wax is kind of a pain in arse to deal with on a weekly basis. The neck on this '97 model is made from the better quality Ovangal, so it's as dark as rosewood rather than the yellowing lower quality Ovangal used on the current Warwicks. The Wenge is pretty, but more importantly, great for tone. Nice "woody" tone. This version has the same setup as the "Proline" series. Gold hardware, 2 band eq, etc. Easy access to the truss rod adjuster and battery. Also the bridge is super easy to adjust.

Warwicks have a sound all of their own. I play through SWR amps, and there's something special about this combo. Think early Stefan Lessard (DMB) sound. The electronics on this active version are as pure as the ones on my passive 4 string model. No coloration at all, unlike what I heard on the Prolines I tried. I've used the bass live and in the studio. Live, it sounded good direct and through my SWRs. In the studio, we tried a Sansamp, but didn't need it. Just direct to the board with some compression on the insert. Very distinctively Warwick!

This little beauty couldn't be much better. All the CNC mills must make the process pretty easy. Neck fits well into the body, all the routing is super clean. It's silly to worry about factory setup, because any player worth his salt, has his own "special" way he likes his instrument setup. Fortunetly, with the hardware on this bass, it didn't take long to tweak it just right.

Never a second thought about gigging with it, with no backup. Solid contruction, and it holds it's setup well. I set it up when I first got it, and only needed to tweak it a bit when I changed to different strings (heavier gage). It have the very cool counter-sunk strap lock buttons. Super solid.

Had a question about the wax early on. My email was replied to in less than two days. Much better than I do in my job...

This is my second Warwick bass. I got my first Warwick in '99, and haven't been able to play anything else since. I keep a Stingray5 around, but it's well rested. If you know what Warwicks are for, there's nothing else like it. It's not for guys who use picks, or your standard thump thump bass player. But if you're a player, in a band where you can actually play, rather than just provide a foundation for some guitar wanker, think Warwick.

This bass was built in 1999 Germany. Its your standard setup from the factory. I have had to play around with the neck and action a bit to get the right feel, but otherwise this baby came ready for action!

I love the sound. I push the mid-range right up and the low end boost to geta a nice thick and punchy sound. I only wish I had more control over the Bass, Mid & Treble on my bass (maybe three little knobs like on my Fodera). Still, with a little experimenting I managed to pull a great sound.

The factory setting was fairly good. The pickups were fine but I have had to lower the action somewhat but the hardware is user friendly so that was no problem! The finish is beautiful but like many others have said, it takes a bit of work with the wax...

Built tough! This baby is definately going to outlive me!! Only probelm is that its solid build makes it damn heavy... I've had plenty of cramps in the shoulder form this.. But a good thick strap fixed that up..

Never had any problems...

A fine bass that I would recommend to any fellow bass player... Not for the faint hearted though!

Made December '96 in Germany. 24 jumbo frets. 34" scale, 5 strings. Passive jazz-style MEC pickups, passive electronics. Volume, blend, tone. Wenge neck and fingerboard, bubinga body, oil finish. Fortress bridge, Just-a-nut I (brass). Included Warwick gig bag, nothing else.

Sounds nice and balanced - a sexy blend of Fender and Warwick tones. The bridge pickup can get a little honky, but when combined with the neck pickup, this thing sounds beautiful. The lows are big but tight, the treble is crisp and buttery (not at all tinny), and the midrange is very heavy and nice (unlike many active Warwick basses, which have little midrange punch), but it still growls hard (like a Warwick). Gets pretty noisy when the treble's dimed, but I never use a lot of treble. The downside to all of this is that the output is very low - with a good amp, though, this won't matter. I'll probably use a preamp when recording. This thing can get all the old school tones you want, and still pull off a Warwick sound.

Bass was set up pretty well when I bought it, but the strings were dead as doornails (after five years!), so I replaced them with Daddario XLs (50-135), discovering that this bass (and all Warwicks) require a tapered B-string. Curses! With some filing, I got the non-tapered B on there, but it's pretty muddy. Next set will have a tapered B. Other than the bridge issue, it came in great shape. Plays like a dream, awesome.

This thing is built like a tank. The hardware, neck, body, and electronics all feel solid. The neck joint is super tight. I'd take this to a gig without backup, I think. I wouldn't loan it to a small child, though.

After filing my B-string saddle into oblivion, I contacted Warwick about getting a new one, and within 24 hours, their tech e-mailed me back saying that the saddles are normally $10 through a dealer, but since he had one lying around, he had just mailed me one free of charge. How cool is that? I also had several other questions for them, and they answered them quickly as well. Good service (particularly for a company based out of a different continent!)

Sexy, beautiful, plays like a dream, sounds awesome. If it were stolen, I'd buy another.