Warwick or Music Man this is my question

[Jay J.]

there are a lot of nice basses out there but I think that everyone can agree that Warwick and Music Man make some of the best and you can't seem to go that wrong with them. I am in the market for a 5 stinger and am trying to decide which one of these to get. the musicman stingray costs about $1400. so I would be comparing it to a warwick that is about the same price. looking for opinions on these which of guys you think is better. and if you would go with warwick, what kind (IE corvett, FNA, Thumb)

 

thanks for any advice you are able to give me.

[Wickerman]

I'd go with a Warwick Corvette Proline personally. They're the best bass I've played in that rage. $1300 @ Guitar Center and it blows away basses that cost over two grand. The Corvette FNA Jazzman was awesome too but it's $2000. Anyway, back to the Proline, thick, deep tone and that WONDERFUL Warwick neck. That baseball bat is the best thing to hit basses since Leo Fender. Two band active EQ, those sweet Goldline pickups and a blend control for the two. Very flexible, very comfortable and it sounds like a throaty hot rod growling at ya then when you lighten your touch it sounds like a purring kitten.

[Jay J.]

thanks for the response, I am pretty sure that the corvetter proline is what I played at GC it played real nice.

[dcr]

I don't have much experience with Warwicks, I'm sure there nice. I *did* play a new StingRay the other day...holy cow! I honestly could have played that bass all day. I thought the sound & the playability were just outstanding. Can you get to a place where you can A/B them?

[BNC]

I am a Musicman fan, but I would go with the Warwick (I plan to get some once I get my amps taken care of). I have never played the Corvette Proline, but I am sure they are awsome. I plan to get a Corvette Standard with active electronics, fretless, gold hardware, and a dtuner that should be around $1200. I think the Corvette is the best balanced bass I have ever played, I just put the strap on and it was right there where I want it. Either way though, it is hard to go wrong. In this case I would say just go with what puts the biggest smile on your face, that is what the Warwick did to me.

I played the Thumb, but it was just to weird feeling for me, small, akward, and off balance.

Hope my opinion helps, keep us posted on your decision.

Ben

[rsmith]

I agree that you really can't go wrong with either bass. Both are industry standards. I play a fair amount of slap so I like a Music Man for the tone and feel. Both basses are of impeccable quality I think it just depends on what's suitable for your particular style. Enjoy!

[KikkyMonk]

I went to GC today too and checked out the warwicks and stingrays. The neck was key on the warwick. That thing played like a dream. The stingray's neck was a bit too flat for me. (I'm coming from a fender bass background) All in all I think I'm going to also go with a warwick when the time comes. Only trouble now is I picked up the pedulla next to the stingray, sigh.

Dave

[Jay J.]

thanks for all the advice, right now I'm leaning a little toward the warwick, I'm gonna go out to GC and play them both through the same rig that I have at home. I have played a P bass for some time now and am real comfortable with that kind of neck. too bad I'm not rich and can't just buy em both. eh!

[Graybass]

I love Stingrays but own a Warwick (Corvette 6 - EB don't make a 6).

 

I played my first MM dog the other day. It was a new 5 and it felt "tinny". That is to say it felt cheap. I've never felt that in a MM before and I was surprised to say the least.

 

The Corvettes are a good solid bass but, if you can, get one that has the MEC electronics upgraded to Barts or something. A tech friend of mine has replaced quite a few of the stacked B/T controls in almost new basses coz they have died. Pickups are good, not as good as barts but nice enough, it's just the controls that seem to play up and get noisy.

 

Another option you could look at is the Pedulla Rapture. They are a super funky bass and I haven't yet seen a bad bass come out of that shop. I don't know how the US pricing stacks up to your budget but they may be worth a look.

[J Reed]

I have a Warwick Corvette (standard) its a great bass. great sound and feel. I haven't played a Music Man, yet, so I cant really compare them. But, I do know the Corvettes are great basses.

 

Reed

http://amkickstand.tripod.com

[music-man]

Since both make consistently good instruments, and seem to back them up with customer service/support, it's really mostly a subjective choice. My evaluation would depend on a very personal evaluation of three things that seem really different about MMs and WWs: Sound, the Neck, and the Balance. For each, the question isn't "Is it good?" - instead, the question is: "Do I like it?"

 

Sounds: are totally different - both very cool ... I'd have a tough time picking one over the other (although I seem to have done so).

 

Neck: Can't quite say why, but I prefer the MM for a fretted bass; but I love the Warwick's, bat neck for a fretless.

 

Balance: Warwicks seem to sit weird on me ... guess I'm not used to the small-body/heavy-neck. But maybe it's something I could get used to.

 

There are worse predicaments than having to to make a choice like this ...

[KikkyMonk]

http://archive.bassplayer.com/gear/5string.shtml

 

check this out!

 

Warwick didn't even make the list (which means there quality control isn't good)

 

Dave

[The Fonz]

warwick does make a sick instrument and i would like to own one someday. but i will say that for playing i prefer a beefier instrument, something a little more indestructible as i tend to be a bit abusive. not to make your choices more confusing but if you like the MM, check out G&L. when i bought my last instrument i was looking specifically for a stingray 5 but it was a bit out of my $ range. the sales guy at manny's (pre-sam ash) suggested the L1500 as it was a similar looking/feeling instrument to the stingray with a big ceramic soapbar pup just a few hundred cheaper. actually, it was a month's rent cheaper. i tried it and was floored by the tone. quite possibly the most tonally flexible instrument i've ever played and it only cost me $900. $1000 with a case.

[Jay J.]

thanks for all the advice here, everyone made some good points. I guess the reason I am haveing trouble with my decision is because I am inbetween bands right now, but doing a lot of stand in work so I need something that I can play jazz or blues on one day and some heavey metal or punk on the next day.

[Wickerman]

Jay, either could do that... The Music Man is more suited towards the punk treble-bass tone but the Warwicks can do it too... They're both great basses, I just like the tone of the Corvette more...

[dcr]

"Warwick didn't even make the list (which means there quality control isn't good)"

 

Whoa...we don't know that, do we??? The Warwick could have been left off the list either because it didn't make the initial screening--OR because Warwick didn't supply a sample bass for them to try. If you ask me, the former seems more likely. In any case, the article does NOT say that any bass not on the list is one that couldn't cut it.

 

Hey, one thing I did notice about their shootout: of 7 reviewers, 3 picked the Carvin for the best 5 under $1500, & 3 picked the Hamer. It sounds like they all really dug the MM, too.

[Tom Capasso]

I agree with dcr - the shootouts only tell you about the items they tested. You can't make any conclusions about what they did not include. I spoke to a BP staffer about this once and got an answer that didn't reveal any info - I bet there are lots of reasons that some equipment never makes it to the page. I don't want to assume it's because they failed quality control.

 

Tom

[KikkyMonk]

Also I just noticed that it was written in '97 so its a tad outdated. Personally I'd like a warwick more then a stingray.

[61Pbass]

There really is no fair comparison of the two because they are entirely different animals. Different neck feel, different balance, different tones........as music-man said it's totally subjective.

 

I've worked with Music Man basses quite a bit and can't say I've ever encountered a problem with them of any kind. I have very limited experience with Warwick products so I can't comment much there. Again I'll agree with music-man and say that their balance is a little strange compared to most axes. The ones I've played seemed extremely light also. That's not necessarily bad, just different .

[davebrownbass]

I've played a '91 Warwick Streamer Stage I as my main ax since, well, 1991. It's always been there for me, I've only put 4 batteries in the thing, I always use it active.

 

It's tone is bright, but can be beefy with a change of eq. It's light and cool looking.

 

Remember, early Warwick basses were licensed Ned Steinberger designs, (Ned Steinberger designed Spector, Spector was kinda out of business, sold rights to Warwick. Then there was a legal battle I know nothing about, but resulted in an enormous change in the Warwick product line. The '91 or earlier Warwicks (I actually like the sound of the Thumb better, but it's a tank) are a great vintage and as close to a Spector as you could get then.

 

If you decide on a Warwick, play one of the earlier models. I have not found a modern Warwick that plays or sounds like mine (they are real disappointing to me) You can often find these vintage Warwicks online or on ebay for about $1500

[dcr]

Personally, I'd go with the Music Man. Obviously, it's a great bass. So is the Warwick, but two things make me lean towards the MM. (1) I've heard some quality problems with the Warwick (a while back several people chimed in on a thread about how cracked necks or headstocks seem common; do a search), & VERY few about MM. (2) I can't speak about Warwick, but I know that Ernie Ball is a good company that will stand behind their work. E.g. I have a MM Sterling that has a dead spot, & EB offered to fix it & return it gratis--even though I'm not the original owner & it's well past warranty. Of course, the test is how they *keep* their promise (I just shipped it yesterday), but so far I'm really impressed. They seem really serious about their reputation.

 

Warwickers, I salute you! I wish I were one of you! But hey, you asked what *I'd& do, no?

[J Reed]

I have a Warwick Corvette standard. there is a little crack on the headstock, it looks more like the wood adjusting to the good old Wisconsin weather. hasent affected the sound or playability at all. I've had it for over a year now and the 'crack' hasent changed.

Keep in mind when your shopping the guitars with natural fininshes are going to need more care and are going to be more affected by weather and sweat and stuff.

its a great bass, I love it, I like the natural look, but, I think next bass I get will have a clear finish over the wood.

[NickT]

Buy whatever feels and sounds right in your hands and under your fingertips. Never buy an instrument because of a straw poll of other players. Trust your own ears. I bought my main bass after playing it for about 20 seconds and not knowing anything about the luthier.

 

But if it was meI'd go with the Stingray 5. The Warwicks just don't have enough bottom end for me. I can't get them to throb properly. (Having said that I know a man who can.)

 

BUT: try a load of them out in the shop, or more than one shop. If they won't put up with you trying out a bunch of instruments then go somewhere else.

 

Don't be scared to buy something 2nd hand, mate of mine just picked up a wicked mid-80s MM 5 string in Camden.

[The Bear Jew]

Yo...

I used a Music Man Stingray for about a year.

 

Pros: it's fairly indestructible, comfy neck, decent weight, looks cool, great sustain.

Cons: Expensive. Pretty much a one-trick pony when it comes to tone. You get that "boingy" Flea sound, and that's about it. Doesn't distort well at all, IMO.

 

When I was shopping for new basses, I checked out a zillion Warwicks.

 

Pros: Lovely finish, big fat neck, really solid construction.

Cons: Also expensive. They look corny, IMO. The necks always seemed to be kind of "sticky" and caught my fingers. I had a hard time getting a good rock sound with them -- I actually couldn't get the suckers to sound like anything but prog-jazz or funk, which is fine if that's what you do. Distorted poorly as well. Too many controls -- lots of wacky knobs and stuff that I didn't understand. They also didn't seem to alter the bass' tone much. I can't even remember how many different models I checked out, but they all sounded about the same.

 

I also checked out Ibanez basses, the Peavey Cirrus, Rickenbackers, Fender Jazz Basses, some Gibson basses and other stuff not worth mentioning. They were all kind of average -- cool for some stuff, but not really great for rock.

 

In the end, I stopped using the MM, ignored the Warwicks and bought a American-Made P-bass. It's been the best bass purchase I've made in my musical career.

[roncone246]

You might try out each of the guitars on the music you play. Some basses sound great for various styles while others cater to particular ones. I own a Warwick and a good friend of mine has several stingrays, we both do the same style music and he likes the sound of the Warwick. Both are great basses.. don't by anything without giving it a tryout, neck feel is always an important factor in selecting a guitar..