Warwick Rockbass Corvette Classic 5

This is a 2003 Korean-made bass. 34" scale. Without looking I think it's a 24 fret. 5 string bolt on with the nice tobacco burst over flame maple top bookmatched to center, 2 pc. alder back. Finish is the high-gloss type that needs a wipe after every use, but failry ding resistant without the dipped-in-glass look. Controls are Volume, PU blend, bass & treble. Pots are good knurled, with a nice center detent. Two Active Jazz MEC pickups. same circuit you find in other warwicks. A peek in the control cavity shows excellent shielding (paint, not foil), good wiring, and a nice route to hold the MEC preamp and battery snug in place. Very clean. Sturdy fender style bridge in chrome with seats for the saddles. Little bit of difficulty stringing the "B" as there is little clearing between the stop and the saddle. Tuners are eclosed Warwick, which definetly give a little slip, so buy a tuner. Nut is a big problem. Made of low grade plastic, wich the strings eat for lunch when tuning / restringing. Unless you dont worry about being in tune much prepare yourself: YOU WILL NEED TO RENUT THIS BASS IN THE FIRST YEAR. Wont cost you more than $40, but definetly a serious turn-off on an otherwise mechanically sound bass. Frets are extremely well seated, board is rosewood with a nice grain. Medium jumbo frets. Neck is 3 ply maple, with a natural wax / oil finish, plenty fast but will require cleaning often.

"Rockbass" is a very proper description. This bass is no Jazzy Jaco, but if you have alot of guitar around you, this thing slices. Has a natural upper midrange bias quite similar to other Warwicks, despite the softer, lighter woods used. Treble is very brassy and may scare you if you have a horn on your cabinet. Bottom is deep and not at all boomey, very clear and full. The controls are VERY sensitive and have ALOT of range, so use a light touch. Sounds very good for this price range. I've tried alot of basses, and you likely wont find anything sounds this good south of $1,000.00 Just watch that treble!!!

Bought the from a Guitar Center corporate raid, so the thing had been test driven to death, and i refused to buy unless they changed the strings. Definetly not Warwicks fault. Came strung with Warwick Nickels, which i like alot. I dropped the action about an inch or so it seemed, but this was just preference. Neck was straight as an arrow and has only required seasonal adjustments. Truss is plenty tough and gets the job done. Again this is a ROCK-BASS, slappers built any bigger than an 5 year old will have trouble digging in between strings. Best fingerstyle or pick.

Bass has done fine live, held up well, but you will hafta retune it in a long set. The nut thing is a really pisser, you can actually see black plastic shavings in the string wrap when tuning. EXTREMELY solid otherwise. Even doing naughty stuff with extreme bends and such wont unseat the bridge saddles. Pretty tuff. Using it without a backup is a financial neccessity for the time being. Balances fine standing up, but will do a swan dive sitting. The bass itself stand up nicely to wear and tear, but do clean that neck, as the natural finish will soak up your hand grime nicely. Finish a gloss poly which i hate on all instruments, becuase it invariable looks like shit a year later and gets all dinged up. Of course, you're not likely to find a quality natural finish bass in this price range.

Dana B Goods is great. Takes less than 30 seconds to get a live human being on the phone when you call support. They seem really laid back. They weren't about to replace the nut though, as thier only option is to replace the whole neck, which would of course give rise to the same problem later on.

Been playing for 12 years. In regards to Guitar center, just dont buy there, they're all idiots, they're all like 12 years old and lie like rugs. I would buy another one, but i came into some cash and I'm buying a Warwick Thumb. Again, this bass sounds FANTASTIC if you're playing rock, metal, etc, but dont expect to coax a huge range of sound out of it. Set the bass and the amp all flat and you will see, this thing slices. Overall great value for the dough. This is the only bass to own in this price range, just be sure there is someone in your area qualified to put a new nut on it.

Almond burst-AAA Maple veneer-2pc alder body-maple neck, rosewood fingerboard-24 frets-2 active MEC jazz bass pickups, active electronics,(volume,bass,treble,blend)warwick bridge, stock strap holders,butterfly tuning keys.
I replaced 1 MEC jazz bass (bridge) pickup for a Seymour Duncan Bassline MM style humbucker and the Mec active electronics for Seymour Duncan active electronics(blend,mid,stacked bass and treble,volume push/pull preamp bypass)
stock rating=8
custom parts rating=9

The stock version of this bass sounded pretty damn good. Now, with the mods i added to this monster, she sounds a hell of a lot better. I can dial up alot more tones with what i have now as opposed to how it was before. I didn't like the fact that the MEC controls lacked a mid control pot.

This bass was great out of the box. It needed a setup though, but not a big deal. I am guessing that the strings were loosened for shiping purposes.

I have had this bass for over a year now, and i have to say that it is a pretty solid bass all around. I've dropped her a couple times, but no real harm came to it. I just have to also add, that when i took her apart to route out the space for my MM style humbucker, i took note of how greatly these basses were put together. She is worth every penny i payed for her.

This bass is great. It is the best bass i've played so far. Sincerely.

Sunburst finish on a flame maple veneer top.Two MEC, active jazz type p-ups, two band e-q with blend knob. Maple neck, 24 large, maybe jumbo frets, rosewood fretboard.

With stock Warwick strings she sounded very trebly. After replacing them with D'Addario half rounds the tone mellowed out considerably. There is a lot of adjustment available with the tone and blend controls, enough to suit most needs.

The finish was great, very shiny, no flaws and seems to be pretty durable. The black in the burst is over powering so there is only a small part of the flame top visible. And that's covered by the strings and p-ups. Unless your right on top of the bass you wouldn't know they spent the extra money on the veneer. The neck finish is very good. I think it was a satin finish new but has glossed up with playing. It's smooth and comfortable. The rosewood fretboard has an open grain that collects some finger grime and is unsightly if you really look at it. The factory set-up was marginal but I expect to adjust any bass when I change the strings. I went over the whole bass and tightened every screw at least an eighth of a turn, (there were some very loose screws in the bridge and on the neck) tightened the tuners, standard stuff. I do this with every bass I've owned, new or used it's just a good practice. After months of playing everything is still tight.

After about five months of use I'd say the bass is reliable and durable. I've played it without a backup and would again. The hardware is good, finish is good, and I replaced the strap buttons. I also replaced the knobs with set-screw type black ones for cosmetic and functional reasons. The neck has needed a quarter turn adjustment with the season change, nothing out of the ordinary. I can't see any short comings in this area.

It's easier to do the work myself so I've never used customer support.

I've been playing off and on for about sixteen years. I'd buy this bass again without thought. She's light, 8 lbs., comfortable and a great value. There's some neck-dive but nothing I can't deal with. I play through whatever is available and can get a satisfactory tone with the onboard controls. Spend some time, go over the bass and you shouldn't be disappointed. For the money it is a great value.

These basses are made in China, but go through countless quality checks before arriving on our shores. The pickups for the #390 model are passive, so as long as you have a powerful amp you can enjoy the warmth and woodyness of the traditional Warwick. Personally I think these basses have a nicer, more original shape when compared to Fender. The action on this particular model is lower than i've ever played, there's something about this bass that just feels right! The body is bolt-on, im not sure about all the nitty gritty details. On the downside, the neck is fairly larger than the four string models (obviously). But as the strings are 16.9mm apart the neck is small when compared to other 5 strings. This bass has the same character as the original "Thumb basses" at a fraction of the price. The cool, silver knobs give you a great range of sounds. (How unprofessional do I sound!!!)

I like moving from one extreme to the other. So sometimes I alter the knobs so that I can get Jaco sounds (nothing like the true Jaco sound, but is a good imitation. On the other side of my extreme (and what with me being in a metal band, I like the bass full on both the amp and the bass. (I've actually made myself very ill from doing this so i don't recommend it unless you are in an open area!!!) But the warmth and woodyness of a "real" Warwick remains to a certain extent. (I recommend that if you play in low-tuning, you buy 135 gauge for the 5th string. This is because of the low action giving slight fret buzz) I tune down to a D-tuning because of the band but much prefer to play in concert tuning.

There are no visible faults on the entire bass. It remains smooth and contoured all over. Beautiful "transparent" finish in either black, red or black. Nice wood feel. Nice controls. Nice everything.

I like to do both Jazz and extreme metal (so you get an idea of the wear and tear this bass has to go through!!! It has remained solid and perfect no matter how much I "mosh". (I am only 17 years old, I like doing crazy things!!!) I wouldn't even think about taking a spare bass! How dare you! Only joking, this is a top quality bass and it's sad that not many people know this! The clue to whether or not it can withstand aggressive playing is in the name....

Ive never had a problem with the bass.

Believe me, if you don't have one of these, you want one. If you don't want one, consider re-shaping your entire life so that you do!!! You won't regret buying this!!! (Thank you for reading my review, I hope I haven't offended any one and I hope that i've been a help)

The features are great, they really are. I could honestly say that I could sit there and play the bass al day. It may have been made in the far east but seriously, who cares. I only played a 4 string, but it was all I needed. Pickups were fine, got a brilliant sound out of it. It really felt great. Average corvette style body. It was obviously a bolt on for the price. Only thing I had a problem with was the price of the gig case. I advise you not to take the bass round in a soft case, and the hard case cost about #60-#80. I don't know how much in dollars, I'm British. Lost marks on case price, but all in all well worth the money.

It would easily suit any kind of style. You can get a really nice fat full sound out of it, perfect for slap. Even on the most basic of amps. Good on stage as well. But really you can play any style with it. I play loads of Jaco Pastorius, but also loads of Flea stuff. A real nice variation.

The setup was amazing for what it was worth. I really wouldn't be bothered to waste money and get it set up again. Pickup were well placed. No recognisable flaws, I could imagine that the shape of the body would be quite suceptable to damage, but I can't be sure. But it's a Warwick! No real flaws.

I think the bass would easily last. The strap buttons seemed pretty solidly made. I think it would do without a backup at a gig, but as with any bass you can never be sure.

Warranty was lifetime, and the price was amazing. Truly advised bass.

I have been playing for 4 years. It suited what I needed, I was fed up of poorly made far east products. There is nothing more it needs really, the price was the best price around. Although it was far east made, it didn't matter. The company specify that it is just as well made as the true Warwick basses, and for about a 5th the price compared to other Warwick basses like the Dolphin and buzzard or the classic streamers, thumbs and Standard Corvettes. Recomended utterly.

This baby's a 5-string active bass (a Chinese knockoff of the German made ones, but apparantly made to Warwick standards); 2 J-style pickups (MEC) with master volume, pickup blend, bass boost/cut and treble boost/cut. Chrome hardware; alder body with very sexy AAA flamed maple top; maple neck (34") and rosewood fingerboard (no inlays). 24 frets; plastic nut; Warwick style angled tuners. Electronics/battery are accessible from a plate on the back, seems all well constructed and secure, but it's not shielded and the screws go directly into the wood. Bridge is a very substantial "L" style from chrome.

This bass has an amazing range of sound that fits my rock/punk-funk/jazz/blues playing smashingly. You can get a nice gritty Jaco sound with the bridge pickup, some nice warm vibes from the neck pu, and just about anything in between. The 2-band onboard eq is quite versatile...you can get some mad harmonics out of this puppy. With the treble max'd you'll get some background static, but isn't that true for pretty much any bass? The B-string sounds really good to me, although it definitely takes some finesse to get a clear note out of it. I'm playing her thru a Carvin PB200-15 with a Boss bass chorus (sometimes).

Overall the setup was very good. Kudos to Long & McQuade for checking the setup and certifing the action (something sorely lacking with my old bass) which seemed impeccable to me. Finish was excellent...the "almond burst" flamed maple top is quite drool inducing (although you can see the joint in the middle where the two pieces meet). The same almond burst finish is on the back and shows off the alder beautifully.

Nothings all peachy though. The bottom edges of ALL the frets (i.e. G side of the neck) had little razor sharp edges on them (guess they hadn't been filed down), that sliced my poor index finger to pieces. Easily fixable with my greasy old file(but monotonous), but I'd expect more from a $700 bass! Also, if you hit E or D really hard, there's some nasty buzzing from behind the nut. The nut is contiguous with the piece of black plastic that covers the headstock which I've never seen before...don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Finally the blend knob gets loose really easily, it has one of those centre detent thingys, but it sqeaks sometimes when being adjusted.

I haven't had the opportunity to play live with this bass yet, but I'm confident it would hold up. It took 3 months of daily playing for the battery to die so she's not a juice guzzler (although how you'd change that quickly live I have no idea). Stays in tune pretty well, but my old <$300 peavey stayed in tune much longer!

Overall I'd have to say the solid construction and durability of this bass would keep her singing for a while!

Warranty is 1 year I believe.

I bought this bass as a replacement for my beloved Peavey and she's holding up admirably so far. By far the best feature is the incredible range of sound you can coax from her, especially with the bass cranked, she really belts it out. The overall body style is quite distintive as a Warwick and the finish is amazing, she's a gorgeous looker. Another nice thing is the triple octave neck that you can actually play right up to the 24th fret thanks to the comfortable cutaway and slim joint where the neck joins up (very unobtrusive asymmetric bolts too). I really like the lack of inlays on the face of the fingerboard (there's still dots on the B-side of the neck), it gives a very refined and alluring look to the bass.

Some negative points would include the crummy fret setup and nefarious blend knob, but nothing major besides that. What I'd really like to see is a bypass switch so you can change from active to passive if the battery konks out on you.

I'm pretty capricious when it comes to buying basses, so I tried a couple of others out, but wasn't too impressed considering most of them sounded the same, lacked the features of, and cost alot more than the Warwick (at least for my meagre price range!). I think this bass is a steal for $700 and would definitely buy another if (god-forbid) something untowards happened to her.