Basses with a bad reputation attached.

[Blazer]

I guess we all know about it, the kind of Bass guitar that will have you branded less of a player if you appear on stage with it. And it's not just the budget brands like Squier and Epiphone that carry that stigma.

So let's debate and have a laugh about the kind of Basses that people think to be daft and why it is that way.

First up, the brand which probably has the worst reputation. Warwick

Nevermind the fact that John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, Prince, Stuart Zender and Doug Wimbish all have used Warwick basses for years to good effect. The general consensus about Warwick basses is that they're the most daft of all  basses around. So why is it that way?

Well here's why... (Uwe, I'm sorry but it has to be done.)


Münchner Freiheit "Es gibt kein nächstes mal"

This band is but one of many Euro-trash bands who appeared in the eighties playing sweet bubblegum pop music and brandishing Warwick basses. From 1985 onwards, bands from central europe turned into hit machines playing this sugar coated silky smooth produced crap and in every single one, the bassplayer was always seen with a Warwick in either the music video or TV performance. All of those bands appeared on stage with Warwicks thus cementing the comapny's stigma of producing daft basses, all those crappy bubblegum pop bands were using them.

Slipknot player Paul Gray used Warwicks for years before becoming an Ibanez endorser but it doesn't really help matters because by then the damage has already been done. Warwick jumped the shark by becoming the bass of choice for many crappy Euro-trash pop band in the mid eighties.

[nofi]

i don't think any bass is too "daft " to be played. it is the player after all. i hate it when image trumps content. 

[SKATE RAT]

Warwicks make me think of bad 90's "Nu Metal". they are built well,but ugly.

[Blazer]

Warwicks make me think of bad 90's "Nu Metal". they are built well,but ugly.

Really? Apart from Limp Bizkit's Sam Rivers and slipknot's Paul Gray I can't think of anybody else from those Nu-metal bands that played Warwick, it was all Ibanez Soundgears and  ATK's that ruled the roost.


Paul Gray playing a Warwick Streamer.

[nofi]

p nut

[SKATE RAT]

hey i'm no expert on "nu metal" but thats what they remind me of

[rahock]

i don't think any bass is too "daft " to be played. it is the player after all. i hate it when image trumps content. 

I've seen/heard many guitar and bass players sounding absolutely fantastic ,on what I would consider, absolute crap instruments. If it works alright for the player......then I guess it works alright

Rick

[Chris P.]

I always hated basses like Warwicks, but now I got used to them I think. I like some models like the Buzzard and Stryker. Some other models aren't entirely my cup of tea, but I see those basses are very wel made with a lot of craftmanship.

I have some contact with Warwick for the magazine I write for. Owner/founder hans-Peter Wilfer is a great guy! He always answers mails within ten minutes. And not only my mails, but from everyone who mails, according to guys at the Warwick forum. I love that. Reminds me a bit of the Hall-guy of Rickenbacker.

To compare Warwick to a company where I buy basses:
Gibson Holland is no longer a private owned company, but a Gibson-owned company (if I'm right) for Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. I mailed them some times between March and now and I tried to phone them. No reaction yet in seven (!) months!!

[rockinrayduke]

I played a white Warwick at Century Music down in San Antonio a few years back when I lived there that I could've grown to love. My problem is, with the exception of that one bass, I've never played a Warwick that was set up worth a shit.

I could be missing out! 

On the old Dudepit we reveled in our disdain for these basses but like Thunderbirds not too many people had actually played one. Didn't really matter I guess, everyone just used them as a running joke.

[Dave W]

There was one Warwick that was at Century for 2 or 3 years that was really nice, way above my price range though.

A good bit of the talk about Warwick at the old Pit was just in fun, but a few guys were serious about hating Warwick just because they saw a few younger bands using them. You know, they sounded like cranky old men from my parents' generation talking about young whippersnappers and their new fangled rock and roll music. 

[Freuds_Cat]

I dont have a problem with Warwicks. Like most Fenders and Gibsons I've played in shops, the ones that are setup well play fine and the ones that aint...generaly suck.

[gearHed289]

The Warwicks I've played had funky neck profiles. They didn't feel completely round, but rather almost three sided.

I remember a full page ad in some bass magazine with a bunch of Nu Metal guys in it.

[gweimer]

The Warwick Thumb neck-thru was the first bass in about 20 years that turned my head.  The neck did feel a little odd, but after 20 years of playing an Epiphone Embassy, I should have expected that.  Nearly all the other Warwick basses I tried just seemed to come up short.

[nofi]

mimi at the old bunnybass forum had a fondness for warwicks. maybe it had something to do with that pornographic upper horn.

[Freuds_Cat]

it does have that kink of phallic look about it doesn't it?