Warwick Corvette Standard 6

WARWICK CORVETTE STD, Six strings
Made in germany, 1999
Bubinga body, oil finished
7-piece ovangkol neck, with oiled wenge fretboard
Original Basslines soapbar pickups
Original Warwick black tuners (made in West Germany)
Original Warwick bridge system (black)
Master volume, blend, stacked Hi/Low controls, active/passive 9V circuit

I play mostly prog rock, jazz, latin, and some tecnic metal, through a Hartke head and a british Laney 4x10 with Celestion classic cones, and occassionally with a Boss ME50B pedal. I have to say that no noise can be heard, except if you set the gain and high controls at max, where a little hiss can be noted (this do not deppend of the bass). The sound of this bass can give you almost anything you can need in stage or in studio, from brittle, fragile cristaline sounds, to deep bass freq that makes walls quake. Its growl is simply amazing (I think only a beast like a Ric 4003 can beat the growl...). Despite controls could appear as very basic, these can give you a major array of sounds, and also you can choose the active, fat, equalized sound, or the natural, woody, passive floor. This bass allow you to play ANYTHING. With this bass, you don't need additional backup for stage.

Amazing very-very loe action with no buzzing or fretting. Pickups can be adjusted in order to enhance your favorite sound. The excelent design of the bridge allo to callibrate with precision every single string, and provides great sustain by having a low angle bewteen the holding of the string and its pivoting point in the end of the bridge, very similar to the angle between the nut and the tuners.

It has 10 years without any problem, and it will last ten more, fotr sure!

THE BEST 6 STRINGS I'VE EVER PLAYED/OWNED

Have been a 4 string player for many years now playing an original Tobias since '96 in an original Funk/Rock Trio. Finally jumped to a 6 string because we really wanted access to that low B when playing live(www.remedymusic.ca)

And man was I impressed!!! Finally a tone more suited for me than my Growler!!

Tone was Dark, Syrupy & Angry with absolutely No buzz coming from my Eden. My Tobias has a better High End in my opinion but the Corvette has this beautiful woody full tone. I prefer my Tobias overall for slapping for sure, but then again, we don't have many slap tunes so...

Giving it a 9 for tone but a strong one

Setup is great & fully adjustable

Super solid feeling bass, almost too solid(heavy as Hell) but I Love it if thats what it takes for a sound like the Corvette.

Only had it for a month now but it's becoming my main bass for sure

Pros- Super-satisfied with this Bass, stunning bottom end, great fret work & construction, Awesome full sounding Bass for a Trio.

Cons- Heavy as Hell, Not my favorite top-end tone but makes up for it in the full tone


Even though there are 9's here, I can't see me playing another bass for a long time. Warwick Corvette @%$#ing Rock's

34" scale with a 2 piece bubinga body
5 piece ovangkol neck, wenge fingerboard, chrome hardware
24 bell brass frets
height adjustable nut
volume, blend, active boost/cut treble & bass controls
volume knob pulls out for passive mode
The finish is standard oil and wax.
MEC soapbars
Came with a gig bag but should have been in a hard case. Also came with tools and wax

I play a variety - from funk to country and lots of rock n roll in between. It sounds great for any style with a few tweaks of the knobs. The sound is warm, with an almost "angry" overtone when you get into it good. It's nice and fat and round when played lighter. I love it. :)

The only gripe I have is that I consider the output level to be a bit low, and there's no option to raise it. 18v electronics and a level potentiometer would be a good thing on a bass of this caliber, so it can more easily be integrated in with the rest of the instruments.

I got mine used, but in brand new condition. Someone had monkeyed with the setup (it sucked) but that's not Warwick's fault). I sat down and in about an hour had it playing just the way I like. All other fit and finish is quite nice.

So far so good, though I haven't had it a terribly long time. There's not that much to go wrong though, and it seems built very solid.. So I'm not too worried.

Would I play a gig with it and without a backup? Um, no. I play semi-pro, and never ever gig without a backup no matter what brand instrument I'm playing. There's no time to fool with misbehaving stuff on stage, it's gotta just work. If it don't, grab another one. :)

Never dealt with them, but the folks on the Warwick forum are awesome.

I've been playing 25 years, all kinds of styles. For the longest time I played a Carvin XB75P and a Washburn 5 string.

If my Warwick was ever stolen, I'd be pretty sad. Then I'd hunt down the thief and when I found him, whack the SOB over the head with the bass. After that I'd fix it or get another one. The thief probably wouldn't survive the beating however, because this thing is HEAVY!!! I mean, REALLY heavy. That's the only thing I'm totally non-fond of. The sound is phenomenal, it's very playable, musical, has a unique tone all its own. But it's way heavy.

Things I wish it had.. Hmm.. 18v electronics, and better output level to match my other basses. And a hard case.

Bought it used on eBay after playing one in a music store and becoming smitten. Pretty sure it's a '99 - maybe 2000. 24 frets, 34" neck with the just-a-nut feature, wenge neck, ovangkol fingerboard, bubinga body. Hardware is all chrome, electronics are active with an easy-to-open battery compartment. Pickups are Bassline soapbars (newer ones ship with MECs). Love this bass - looks great, feels great. Only a couple minor gripes in the features category: 1) It's heavy - to be expected with this wood and it only becomes noticeable after 3+ hours of gigging. 2) The fast release bridge is a little fumbly when you're trying to change a string quickly - sometimes it's hard to get it to stay seated on the bridge while you're futzing with the other end on the tuning peg. 3) The weight distribution could be a little better for my tastes - I like to play with the neck up at shoulder/head level, but the weight balance makes the bass lay more horizontally across my torso. It's not a huge deal though.
Came with a non-name but nice hardshell case with custom padded cutouts.

The sound is awesome - this bass sings, soars and thumps. With the active EQ, tone and pickup selector, you can get virtually any sound out of it. The highs, especially with nice new strings, are sweet and bright and the lows are crisp and punchy. In general, I tend toward a bright sound and this bass gets me there, but it's capable of a whole spectrum of sounds and feels. No noticeable noise, even cranked all the way to the treble end - no hiss, no buzz. Turning on and off the active EQ makes a bit of a click, but it's not the kind of thing you'd notice, especially in a gig setting. I have used it a bit for recording and it's silent when it's supposed to be. I play all styles, but tend toward funk/pop/rock. The strings are a little close together for super popping/snapping funk, but it's manageable with a little practice.

The biggest problem I've had is that my old amp/cab doesn't do it justice. I've been playing for ages through a 1-15" and the gorgeous highs that this bass is capable of get lost. I'm now shopping around for an enclosure that highlights both the highs and the lows and I've noticed a world of difference when the cabinet includes a 10" and/or a horn.

Bought it used, via eBay, from a pawn shop, so I have no idea who the previous owner was, but the bass was very well taken care of. Not a blemish, and it's a beautiful instrument. The action is low, low, low, with not a buzz anywhere on the fretboard. While getting used to the wide neck of a 6-string took a little time, playing it is pretty effortless due to the great action. Intonation is perfect and the neck is adjusted perfectly. While I haven't messed with it, I love the idea of the Just-a-nut brass nut where the action of each string can be controlled independently.

I've been gigging pretty steadily with it for the past 6 months since I bought it and it's extremely sturdy. It feels very substantial and while I take extra good care of it, I don't feel like there's a thing about it that's fragile or shoddy. The finish is really nice and natural - wood, wood, wood - oil and wax. Pretty to look at.

No experience. Got it used, works perfectly, have made no real adjustments, so I couldn't say.

Been playing bass for 20 years, guitar and keys before and during that time. My longtime bass has been a '72 Fender Jazz, which I still love, but alas, it now sits idle most of the time. The "problem" with this bass, as I mentioned above, is that it's now forcing me to buy a new amp/cab that does it justice. That's how it goes with these things... If it were stolen lost, I would buy another. When shopping for my 6-string, I played most of the other makes (Ken Smith, Pedula, Yamaha, etc.), many costing hundreds or thousands more, but something about the sound of this one just caught my ear and didn't let go.

1999 model corvette standard 6
24 bell brass frets
34" scale neck
Brass Just-A-Nut I
three peice Wenge Neck
wenge fingerboard
bubinga body
chrome hardware
active electronics
oil finish
came with gig bag only -had to special order the wax but didn't have to pay.
quick release bridge
MEC Soap bar pickups

I tried lots of basses. When I slapped the Corvette for the first time I knew I was in love.
I didn't know what growl was until I tried this bass.
very versitile sound. suitable for all styles.
I play in a big band and we do a wide range of styles-latin, swing, smooth jazz..
this bass can do it all.
With this bass and the right strings there is nothing you can't do.

I really loved the idea of the Brass nut. In reality the Just-a-nut I is a pain. Each string is mounted on a screw that is too easily turned. When you change the strings the screws turn without my blessing and that changes the action. There's no way to tell which direction they went unless you watch close. Newer corvettes don't suffer from this. Warwick switched to a Black Graphite nut.

The quick release bridge is more troublesome than I thought. It's great for taking strings off. But it's hard to string the new strings because they pop out at the bridge while your trying to get them situated at the tuner.

This bass is Heavy! The all Wenge neck on this 99 model makes it much heavier than the Ovangkol/Wenge neck they are using now. I recommend a 3 inchwide padded strap for this monster or your left hand fingers may go numb.

The Wenge neck is very grainy. You can feel it with your left hand as you move. I find this to be a slight distraction for some reason. Again, this is not so with the Ovangkol necks.

The body needs waxed once a week if it's brand new and less often as time goes by.

On the plus side I had a battery go dead on a job. All Warwicks have a snap on batery cover and it was nice not to have to mess with screws two minutes before a set starts

I play out with this bass twice a week and it's rock solid. The knobs are high quality and feel tight when you turn them. The strap buttons are screwed on with a thick rubber washer and are very solid.

The neck is very stable. I move between the hot lights of gigs and a cool basement studio and I've never seen movement in the neck.

Dana B. Goods (Warwick's US distributor) is prompt to answer email. I've emailed them several times before I bought this bass and they have always answered me back within a day or two.

If this bass were lost or stolen I would not hesitate to replace it with a newer model. I would not go with a '99 again because it's too heavy compared to the 2000 and newer.

I love the the growl of new stailess steel roundwounds on this bass and it's worth putting up with all the very minor annonyances.

It's a great value concidering that the other basses I liked were all over $2,000(ken smith, thumb neck through)

34" scale with a 2 piece bubinga body, 5 piece ovangkol neck, wenge fingerboard, chrome hardware, 24 bell brass frets, height adjustable nut, volume, blend, active boost/cut treble & bass controls, and the volume knob pulls out for passive mode. The finish is standard oil and wax. Mine was built in early 2000 so it has a pair of MEC humbuckers instead of the previous Basslines pickups. Came with a gig bag at no charge, along with a truss rod tool, beeswax, and allen keys for adjustments.

The company says it best; "The sound of wood". The combo of dense woods used in this bass give it an ass whompin' sound. Playing it unplugged gives a bright, lively sound with good clarity, even down low. Flip the amp on and the exact same sound comes through. Slapping gives a good punch on all but the B (to be expected), and fingerstyle has great definition all around the board. Because of this liveliness, though, a compressor may be in order for slapping and popping (not necessary if the treble is down). It definitely suits my need to be heard for heavier music. Big Bottom End. Plenty of good traditional sounds are all there too.(Put some new Slowounds on it...Yubba!)

The quality is all top notch with good glue joints, solid neck joint, etc. The construction is well thought out, as in the wood grain has all been matched to the other pieces, and it is built with stability in mind. It came with a good low setup which I have altered for a stronger attack. The truss rod will need adjustment through the year since the finish does not completely seal the wood. The wax will have to be applied every couple of weeks, but it's a labour of love.

The electronics are "very reliable" (that's how they put it), everything is mounted securely & there to stay. The only part of the bass that will differ over the years is the spot where you put your thumb to play fingerstyle. The colour will change a bit if you don't wax it more often. So what.

Haven't dealt with the company yet. The bass comes with a 1 year warranty, but don't be worried about it falling apart at any time soon.

Great value! There are no features that stand out more than others because it truly is an excellent all round instrument. The body style is not my #1 choice, but it is a Warwick. I mentioned that slapping on the B gets a little loose, but I haven't met a bass that prevents this yet. Another downside for some is that this bass is Heavy, but without the wood, it just isn't the same. The scores I've given may seem high, but for my taste and this price, they're well deserved. I'll quit blabbering now. Get a hold of me if you have any questions.

Bolt-on neck; Fretted; 24 frets; 34" scale; 2 active Seymour Duncan Basslines soapbar pickups; controls: volume, blend, treble/bass stack; chrome hardware; 2-piece body made of bubinga; wenge neck and fingerboard (?); tung oil finish on body and neck.
Manufactured in Germany; purchased January 1999.

I use this bass with my Gallien-Krueger 800RB head, an Eden 2x10 cab, and/or an Eden 1x15 cab.
I have used this bass for rock, country-rock, Dave-Matthews-ish collegiate rock, and jazz.
This bass has a wonderful, dark, and full-bodied tone. You can get super-thick and deep reggae sounds, brilliant and smooth mids and highs for chording or soloing, and a tight and punchy rock tone with a full low end.
I have noticed, however, that the low end on this bass can become slightly looser than I would prefer; not quite as punchy for fast-moving rock. The B string is not as focused as some 35" scale or graphite basses.

The bass was pretty well set up when I purchased it. I tend to prefer higher action than most (due to my double bass background), so I had to do some adjustment on my own. The neck was well adjusted and the intonation was solid, too. The fit and finish was very strong. When my bass was made, Warwick was using recessed strap locks which were HORRIBLE! Thankfully, they have remedied this oversight.

This is a very reliable bass. Once I got the straplock situation sorted out, I have had no worries. This bass requires very little adjustment or attention. I never take a spare bass, and I never even worry about it. Always bring spare batteries, though.

N/A. Good website, though.

This has been an excellent bass for me. Just when I get caught up in a new bass frenzy, I just have to play this one to remind me that I already have a wonderful bass. Great sound, very solid, very reliable.
VERY heavy (about 10lbs.). As is the case with many sixes, the neck is very heavy, which absolutely kills the balance of this instrument. I tend to prefer a playing position in which the neck naturally tilts upwards. This bass will never do that, thanks to the heavy neck. Worrying about supporting the neck in a comfortable playing position with your left hand can become very distracting.
I would like a slightly wider string spacing. The Warwick's is sufficient, but it is a little snug for slap or aggressive fingerstyle (or if you're just used to a wide 4 string).
The B string's sound is not as focused as I would like, particularly higher up on the neck. Perhaps a longer scale (35" or Fodera's 36") or a graphite neck would help this problem.
This bass is a phenomenal value. Huge sound, great construction, very reliable, strikingly attractive, and great name pedigree (for all the gear snobs out there). Personally, I am strongly considering a Peavey Cirrus 6 or even a Carvin LB76.