Jabinski Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Hi all I have a Warwick Rockbase Corvette 4 String and I do love it very much indeed. Though it may not be an authentic Warwick, it's a very good bass in its own right. The only real weakness are the electronics. The MEC J Pickups hum a bit and the preamp isn't all that great. Also, the input jack is a bit unrelyable and generally I think upgrading all the electronics would be very cool in the near future. I do however not have a clue what to go with. I play fingerstyle in the main but slap too. I've no idea how much all this will cost. Any ideas, Thanks in advance Joe I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabinski Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 Come on I know this doesn't have megathread potential (yet) but a few words about my queries would calm a tired soul. I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 try searching for information on "preamps" and "jazz pickups" or "replace pickup". i mean, the jazz pickup replacement thing has been done to death here and elsewhere -- it only takes a little effort on your part. and i really recommend that, since it's your bass and your sound that you're changing. i have found through time that most of what other people like for their basses, pickups, and amps is not what i like, and most of their suggestions usually don't go that far for me. what is useful to me is lots of research and careful consideration of what i'm trying to achive. good luck. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabinski Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 I thank you for your wise response. I'm going to go for some SDs but I still need to find out if it's worth or even possible to replace the pre also. I can't believe this thread is so big. Impressed. I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabinski Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 I have to apologise for my near pathological laziness however in not searching more thoroughly. I set up this a while ago http://www.lazyiness101.com Unfortunately I haven't had time to do any work on the site yet. It would have explained laziness in a more sympathetic light than I can manage here. Don't forget to bookmark it. I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 All single coil pickups will have a bit of noise. Some will be a bit more quiet than others. As for pickup recomendations I can't help you too much because I'm not too well versed in different brands and models (as well as what robb. said). The jack should be a pretty easy replacement and not cost too much especially if you can do a bit of basic soldering. The preamp is replaceable too but it might require a bit more research and work to wire up (or find a good tech). Again, I can't help much with recomendations because I don't have experience with many different ones. It's all doable if you're willing to buy the parts. If you have specific questions like "I just bought an Alembic preamp, how do I wire it?" we might be able to help a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 What do you want to change about the sound? I know what I'd do but I'm not you. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabinski Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 Thanks for the replies so far. I accept that my post was not well put together. What i want to change primarily about the sound Alexander, is the fact that the treble control is pretty powerful, but perhaps too much so. Even with my prefered nickel strings (which are less bright), having the treble control al the way up makes the sound of the highs brittle and harsh, glassy, whatever. Even at half way there's just too much bite most of the time. Also, the noise increases with the treble increase, which is why I thought it was the preamp as much as the pickups. Again, i am not very knowledgable in these matters so I hope this makes sense. Secondly, I've read that the preamps and pickups on this bass are its weakest feature and I'd like to maximise it and see (hear?) what it can do. Word. I gotto stop saying that. I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabinski Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 I've played bass for quite a few total number of years, but for many of them practiced without an amp! Only used an amp when i was rehearsing...oh man. So I've never really understood much the electronic part of 'electric bass'. I just play the thing but want to learn. I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 Originally posted by Jabinski: What i want to change primarily about the sound Alexander, is the fact that the treble control is pretty powerful, but perhaps too much so. Even with my prefered nickel strings (which are less bright), having the treble control al the way up makes the sound of the highs brittle and harsh, glassy, whatever. Even at half way there's just too much bite most of the time. Also, the noise increases with the treble increase, which is why I thought it was the preamp as much as the pickups. Again, i am not very knowledgable in these matters so I hope this makes sense.Just to clarify things, you realise that with the EQ knobs centred they're not cutting or boosting (although the preamp probably has its own colour). Originally posted by Jabinski: Secondly, I've read that the preamps and pickups on this bass are its weakest feature and I'd like to maximise it and see (hear?) what it can do.The preamps and pickups are certainly the weak point of the full-blown rather expensive Warwicks, not sure they're so sub-par on the Rockbasses. However, an instrument is only as good as the wood that it's made of and with less expensive instruments you may get lucky that's made of particularly resonant and musical wood. If your bass sounds good unplugged - warm and clear and resonant and loud - then it'll probably benefit from replacing the electronics. Originally posted by Jabinski: I've played bass for quite a few total number of years, but for many of them practiced without an amp! Only used an amp when i was rehearsing...oh man.I still do. I like playing unplugged. Right then, there are a lot of options open to you. You can change the pickups, or the preamp or just change part of the electronics. I think the preamp is probably the weak link, as Warwick voice the treble control too low IMO and consequently it gets very harsh very quickly. But rather than changing the preamp you could replace the treble pot with a simple tone pot, so that all you can do is cut the treble passively, which will sound much warmer and more musical. That'll cost hardly anything in parts and still very little if you get a tech to do the soldering. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabinski Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 Hey thanks again. I actually didn't know that with the treble control in the middle there was no boost. I thought it was at 50% boost, so that really good to know. I generally like the sound with the treble cut completely, which isn't to say there's no treble in the sound, I think it's quit a bright sounding bass all round. Compared to the other bases I've played the sounds I like out of the Rockbass I really like a lot. However, I wouldn't say that it's as 'warm and clear and resonant and loud 'as other bases played acoustically. It's a light weight bass so perhaps this is why. When the time comes (v soon) I'll print this and show it to a tech guy. Good show. I'm back in bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 Well, I can tell you my opinion, which may or may not work for you. If you like how the bass sounds unplugged, then upgrading the pickups and/or preamp is definitely a way to go. Since Alex noted that the preamp is probably the weakest link, it would probably make sense to try that first. There's plenty of after-market onboard preamps and pickups to choose from...Aguilar, Seymour-Duncan, EMG, Bartolini, etc. I will hopefully soon get the EMG-BQS onboard preamp installed into my old Hohner headless that's on the surgery table. I bought that particular onboard preamp for 3 main reasons: 1) it's supposedly quite transparent flat (which is good if you like the passive or unplugged sound of the bass), 2) it has a semi-parametric mid control that is sweepable over a ridiculously huge range, and 3) it was relatively inexpensive, about $90 including all the pots and knobs. If I were going to change pickups on the old bass I mentioned as well, I'd probably consider EMG-HZ's...my fretless has those pickups and they are very warm and organic sounding (not at all the "sterile" often associated with EMG's active pickups). I think they are around $100 new, but I don't recall if they have them in J-size (although I believe they do). Since you said you want to learn, I'll throw this out. There are two different active approaches...passive pickups with an active preamp, and active pickups with an active preamp. You can usually mix-n-match passive pickups and active preamps (within reason). I believe you can mix-n-match a few active pickups and active preamps, but not many of them to my knowledge...I *think* (although I could be wrong) that they are usually paired and designed to work only that way. Alex can probably verify, but I'll bet your Rockbass probably has the passive pickups/active preamp deal rather than active/active. If correct, that means you've got quite a bit of flexibility in what you can choose to switch out. I'll say this though...unless you plan to keep this bass forever, try to keep your budget reasonable. A used Rockbass with upgraded electronics is worth about the same price as a used Rockbass without upgraded electronics. If it looks like the upgrade might get relatively expensive (like in 50% of the cost of the bass new), then you might want to consider just looking for a new bass that already has what you want, and keep this one as your backup, or sell it. HTH, Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxofunk Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 If the noise is really bothersome I'd wonder if the stacked J pickups, like Carvin H50S or Fender Noiseless would be the answer? - Matt W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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