Warwick Dolphin Pro 1 Wide Neck 5-String

This is a 1991 Dolphin Pro I with the wideneck option. The bass was made in West Germany and was made when Warwick was smaller and more attention by hand was taken on the basses. The bass has 26 bronze alloy frets that really ring out well. It has the typical wenge and zebrano neck and the fingerboard is wenge which add a nice warmth and fat sound. The body is boire and weighs a ton. The body is contoured and extremely well balanced on a strap and on your lap. This balance helps to deal with the excessive weight of the bass. It features two Bartolini dual coil soapbars. The controls are two stacked knobs. The first set is the volume and the pan with a push/pull for active and passive. The next set is the treble and bass with a push/pull for dual coil and single coil. This gives the bass incredible flexability.

The bass is versatile enough for most styles. I play in a cover band that plays everything from Motown to Rap. With just a twist of a knob I can get most of the typical sounds needed to cover these types of music. I play it through and Aguilar DB659 pre-amp, an RMX 1450 poweramp and an Epifani 3x10 cabinet. The bass is very quiet for the most part. I was at a friends studio and there was a little buzz with I think translated to a grounding problem on the bass itself. Other than that one instance, the bass is completely quiet. The bass has an amazing warm and rich sound that is crisp and clear. I have gone through about 12 different high end basses to find this sound and none of them could fit the mold. The bass is great for the stage or the studio. The only downfall is that you had better have a strong back for the stage. The bass is about 14lbs. I think my biggest gripe is trying to find a hardshell case that fits the body that is road worthy.

Considering the bass is 12 years old, I am sure there has been numerous set-ups on it. I do my own setups anyway. But, the action is very low and there is no fretbuzz. The pickups are set nice and high, but the springs seem to be relatively weak and the pickups rock and move up and down quite a bit. I am not sure the bass has ever had a fret job, but, the frets are in great condition. I was shocked to find out the year of the bass. There are only two minor dings in the body, the neck is straight, the frets are clean, the finish is still smooth, and the electronics are not dirty. I guess that is what made Warwick such a good bass. Now that they have mass marketed their basses, quality has gone down a lot. But, they are still well built basses.

Like I have said before, the bass was made in 1991 and there is no pitting on the hardware, the body is still in great condition, the neck is straight, no rattles, and the original straplocks are still in there and are tight and not stripped. I was kind of hesitant on its' ability to keep a straight neck in the temperature changes, but, I have not had to adjust the neck since I first got it and changed string gauges. The fact that it is a neckthrough does help. I have used it on a gig without a backup, but, I am not worried about the bass dying on me, it is the strings that will not last as long.

I used to play Warwick basses in about 1994-1996 and I never had a problem with the basses then. I used to contact the company and talk to them about things, but, now, I cannot even get an email response. I have emailed them 3 times about this Dolphin and not one single reply has come back. It has been about a month now.

I have been playing for about 10 years now. I also have a 60's Fender Jazz, a Sadowsky Vintage 5, Fodera Beez-Elite fretless, Sukop 5 fretless, Modulus Q-5, MTD 535, and I also use an SWR 2x10 in place of the Epifani for small stage gigs. If the bass was stolen or lost, I would have a difficult time finding another Dolphin that was early enough and had the same features. I would like to get one just like it, but the chances are pretty slim. As you can tell, I have a wide gammet of basses and this is one of my favorite to play live. I just have a hard time by the end of the night because of the weight os the bass. I wish it had a lighter body.