Why can't Gibson make an EB-2? Warwick can! (Ja, aber nur in Korea!)

[drbassman]

At $1399, it's a nice instrument IMHO.  Much better price point than the Lakland or Gretsch hollow body basses.  I suppose if Gibson did one, it would cost $4000 to modify a current 335 guitar body.  I don't get it.

[godofthunder]

The Warwick is only 1,399 ? The ones I have seen in the adds ? Bill hows about a pic ?

[uwe]

Answer: Because they don't have Korean facilities like Warwick has, where the Warwick Pro and Artist Series

http://www.warwick.de/modules/produkte/produkt.php?katID=24120&cl=EN



you are talking about are exclusively built! That is not the Warwick Rock Bass brand which is even cheaper and built in China. A German built Warwick  Star Bass

http://www.warwick.de/modules/produkte/produkt.php?katID=22043&cl=EN



would cost you around 3.500 Dollars, a price Nashville can compete with on its raid-free days.  

My smart Alecisms aside  , the quality of this new Korean line of Warwick is supposed to be very good. I guess a comparison would be what Epi does with the Elitist stuff.

The Warwick is from legal woods though.

[dadagoboi]

IMO Gibson's market strategy seems to be, let's make the "Made in USA" stamp bigger, maybe they won't notice the inflated price and the crap in the finish.  Or maybe the high prices are due to the extensive R&D costs involved in sourcing a 3 point.

My logic is: "Why buy a Warwick when this baby cost less than 2k with case delivered?" ...and 2K is less than a throwaway Iphone away from $1399.  No "Made in USA" headstock stamp though...maybe it's Chinese.


With the fruit salad safely stowed.

[godofthunder]

You make a good point Carlo!

[dadagoboi]

You make a good point Carlo!

Probably because I could never afford to buy anything of real value new I have a different perspective.  I am pretty sure in 5 years this bass will be worth what I paid for it, possibly more.  It also makes a British Invasion sound like a Warwick never will.  Definitely not as 'versatile' but that's not important to me, individuality is.

[drbassman]

All good points, I wasn't clued into the Korean manufacture of the Pro Star.  Oh well, my theory is shot to hell!  I do agree that there's no way a new EB-2 would sell well for $3500.  I'd love to know how many of those $3500 Warwicks have been sold.  Carlo is correct, you can get a better deal on a vintage EB-2 for cryin' out loud!

[uwe]

You are forgiven, Smart Alec himself only learned about the Korean Warwicks last week.

I'm not so sure that if the Custom Shop did faithful EB-2Ds for say 4.000 Dollars, those wouldn't find a hundred buyers worldwide. And before anybody yells that you can get an original old one cheaper than that I answer that from my experience of CS quality those reissues would sound and play quite a bit better. Not everything was gold in the old days.

One other thing about Warwick: They do not just delete models at will, if they bring something out and it finds its small but devoted following they continue producing it. That is why they have expanded their range of models over so many years. And if you ask them to build you a triple neck bass, even a two left-hand and one right-hand one, they'll do that too. And source a flight case for you. No comparison to the arrogance of the Gibson CS.

[dadagoboi]

You are forgiven, Smart Alec himself only learned about the Korean Warwicks last week.

I'm not so sure that if the Custom Shop did faithful EB-2Ds for say 4.000 Dollars, those wouldn't find a hundred buyers worldwide. And before anybody yells that you can get an original old one cheaper than that I answer that from my experience of CS quality those reissues would sound and play quite a bit better. Not everything was gold in the old days.

I respectfully must disagree about the Gibson CS vis a vis my personal '60s basses.  From my perspective quality diminished from the beginning to the end of the decade but it was at a high level until after the Norlin buyout.

A big part of the bass experience for me is the quirks of the original, in this case the way it sounds, no matter how unbalanced it may seem to some.

I love my Warwick Rockbags, though.

[uwe]

Quirks are part of the charm of a vintage instrument, but not what a CS customer expects for his money. So they would make that EB-2 as good as they can and most likely give it a sound between the original radical baritone options (and maybe add those as extras).

[dadagoboi]

Quirks are part of the charm of a vintage instrument, but not what a CS customer expects for his money. So they would make that EB-2 as good as they can and most likely give it a sound between the original radical baritone options (and maybe add those as extras).

IMO that's what separates the aficionado from the dilettante.

[Chris P.]

I played the 3.500 euros German Star Bass and the Korean one. German one has nicer looking wood, but the hardware and sound of the Korean one's great. Much more value for money.

The one I tried is one of the first ones and the f-holes aren't finished very nicely. Warwick told me it will be better asap.

The pickup is a big single coil. The singlecut Star Bass has similar looking pick ups, but those are splittable humbuckers.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Probably because I could never afford to buy anything of real value new I have a different perspective.

Same here. I think that may be an advantage to a passionate player to have to learn how to "make-do" and what exactly constitutes the properties that make high end instruments and amps more valuable than average production models. I spent years learning what made the amps I love sound the way they do and try to apply those things to amps I could afford. Fortunately for me, the first time I had a "Holy Grail tone moment" it was through an old used SVT I had just bought.

[drbassman]

Well, this sure makes the Star Pro look at least affordable.  I can't imagine how many of these they are selling.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-WARWICK-STARBASS-II-HOLLOW-BODY-ELECTRIC-BASS-CASE-/150656436299?pt=Guitar&hash=item2313d2c84b

[uwe]

A steal in any other language.