Guys,
You know I have a Warwick Buzzard for a very low price. And I like it!:D
I don't have any deal with Warwick, though, so I mean this Star Bass story underneath, ha ha!
A couple of weeks ago I got a Warwick Star Bass as a review bass for Musicmaker magazine. It was a maple one with satin finish. Normally I am not into modern basses and Warwick wasn't high on my wish list (except for the Buzzard), but this one's very EB2-ish, passive, so I was very curious.
What a bass! I know it is expensive, but if you want a really good sounding and looking EB2-kinda bass, without the cons of a vintage instrument, this is the bass to go!
At first the bass is very well crafted. My reissue Rivoli looked like a toy, when compared to the Star Bass. It's very sturdy, longscale, well built and good looking. The satin finish gives the idea it's years old and the satin neck plays like a dream. The bass is all passive and the big chrome singlecoils do their job very well.
Soundwise it's very fat and warm, but it still has the typical Warwick growl. So it's vintage sounding, but not too woody or muddy. Vintage, with a modern touch. It still cuts through mixes. It was nice to play with at a La La Lies rehearsal, but it really suited the melodic Boilersuit lines. I never played a bass before that was so even sounding on al positions on the neck. Even the D and G strings were fat, sweet, ...
Loes and Bart normally don't say anything about a bass, only when I'm too loud. Both started talking about the sweet sound after two songs! I want one, but I won't buy one soon, ha ha! Very expensive!
The last couple of years only two basses sounded this sweet: The TV Jones equiped Gretsch White Falcon Bass and this one. Try one out if you see one around.