=The Warwick Triumph Club=

Augie

The Desert Bass-ape
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
2,225
Reaction score
203
You getting a lite Luke? please tell....I am dead keen on getting an EUB when my finances improve, been looking at an NS NXT but if these are up to scratch that might save me some coin.....
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2006
Messages
3,740
Reaction score
12
Age
50
With any kind of luck I'll be picking up a Triumph Lite tomorrow. They just landed at Dominant yesterday :D

Looking forward to it, and of course I'll supply the obligitory pics and a report. If I'm not too horrible at it, maybe a sound sample or two as well.

;)
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2006
Messages
3,740
Reaction score
12
Age
50
Well, that was a very quick experiment.

The Triumph Lite isn't for me :D

Don't get me wrong here, I think Warwick are onto a good thing with this. It's built very nicely, right at the quality level I expect from today's Rockbasses which is very good.

I picked it up this morning and brought it home for a play. Comes in a very nice gig bag, and without the shoulder piece or body-rest attached. The shoulder piece is in the pocket of the gig bag, and it comes with a little box containing the body-rest, body rest arm, some thumb-screws to attach the body-rest and shoulder piece and an allen key. All pretty straight forward, but without any instructions at all. It has two black plastic washers in the kit, and I could only assume that they were intended to be positioned between the shoulder piece and the body.

The electronics package is interesting. The Warwick site mentions passive Rockbass electronics, but the piezo pickup requires a 9v battery to be installed via the typical Warwick easy access electronics cavity cover. There are two electronics controls; volume and tone. The tone is interesting in that it has a centre detent like you'd find on an active EQ control. The Warwick site says passive electronics, but in use it feels flat at the centre detent, feels like it's cutting the highs when rolled off, and feels like it's boosting the highs when it's cranked. I'm not sure if it's simply a passive tone control with a centre detent or an active treble cut and boost?

I found the end pin to be *only-just* long enough for me. I'm 187cm tall and the nut was just below my eye height with the end pin completely extended. This will most likely be totally fine for most people, but may be a pain for someone very tall.

I'm not sure about the tuners. I guess they're OK, but whilst the A, D and G string were fine the E string tuner was pushed close to it's limits to bring the E string up to pitch. I had a feeling that if I pushed harder it might break, but it did tune and didn't break and I guess the Warwick engineers have done their jobs and worked these things out so I'm sure it will be fine.

The black finish on the body is very nice. Just a high polish black. Very clean and shiny. The headstock was dissapointingly totally finished in matt black, unlike the picture of the natural timber headstock with a black name plate on the Warwick site. I'd prefer the natural finish as per the website pics, but if matt black's your thing it did look fine.

I'm not sure, but at a quick glance it looked like an ebony nut with a rosewood fingerboard on a very nice maple neck with an 'E' heel. Steve Bailey on a youtube video calls it an ebony board, and the Warwick website says rosewood. I think it looked like rosewood, and was a nice fingerboard. I think rosewood with flat DB strings is just fine.

The adjustable maple bridge is very nice indeed. It looks like you could easily get the action nice and high if you like, or low low low for crazy mwah... up to you. :D

Tonally, it's more like a fretless bass with flats than a double bass to me. I didn't like the centre detent setting on the tone control (and not turned up all the way either), it sounded a bit too electric and too bright for me at those settings. Also, the piezo pickup system is extremely sensitive and particularly in the centre setting or with the tone control turned up all the way, every little noise comes through your amp. I mean everything, string noise, touching the back of the neck, turning the tuners, touching the body anywhere, or touching the volume controls. Any little vibration is picked up by the piezo pickup and sent through your speakers. I guess that's the nature of the piezo pickup system?

Having said all of that, I did find it sounded pretty pleasant with the tone control turned down all the way. Kind of a cross between a fretless bass guitar with flats, a high action, the neck pickup soloed and fingering over the end of the fingerboard, and... a double bass. Of course the acoustic properties of a double bass aren't there, but there are certainly similarities due to the scale length, action, maple bridge and fingerboard. You can tell it's a double bass' cousin and there's no doubt that you can pull some nice tones.

To be fair, of course I have to say that the installed strings are super fresh and aren't always going to sound as good as they can on an instrument like this when they come straight out of the box. After being broken in I expect the stock strings to sound nicer, and it looks like it will take standard double bass strings too. I think it would most likely sound better with some Pirastro Obligato strings on it!

It's MUCH easier to get in the car too. When I had my double bass, I had to wind the front passenger seat all the way down, and put the double bass in on the front passenger seat on it's side with the scroll almost touching the rear windscreen of my large family sedan and the endpin touching the dashboard. With the Triumph Lite it lies across the back seat on a slight angle. Easy as for transport!

So. All in all a nice package. Good Rockbass build quality and some nice tones. Highly portable and well priced. Not quite the tone I had in my head (honestly I think I was wishing unreasonably for a more double bass-like sound), so it went back this afternoon. I'm sure it will suit others in the market for an EUB nicely and I think it will be an excellent competitor to the NS NXT bass which is already quite popular.

:D
 

Nachobassman

Bass, Tapas, and Rn´R!
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
7,571
Reaction score
4,335
Nice review, Luke, but I think you missed some pics. ;)

BTW: S. Bailey was wrong, the board wood is rosewood, not ebony.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2006
Messages
3,740
Reaction score
12
Age
50
Sorry about the lack of pics. On the way to drop it off I was thinking "I really should have taken some pics for my forum friends!". :x

Yes, it certainly did look like a rosewood board. And the neck did feel nice.

;)
 
Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
214
Reaction score
5
Thanks for the detailed review.
I'm not a big fan of rosewood on uprights or fretless BGs. It's not a deal breaker, but I don't see the point. The ebony boards retail from $90 for cheap ones and I'm sure wholesale would be cheaper.
The over sensitive piezo on the other hand, would be a deal breaker. My NS rattles on the stand if I don't set it up tight enough and the click sound drives me nuts, easy fix though just tighten the bolts.

Sound wise, I think EUBs do have a role to play, not that of a fretless, not that of a DB, but their own space. I've been thinking of trying it with my blues band, but never got round to it. I think it'll work really well. Reading your review, I'll take it to the next practice and test my theory.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2006
Messages
3,740
Reaction score
12
Age
50
I think you're exactly right. I think they're not fretless, and they're not double basses. I was hoping for more of a double bass sound, which is my fault, not the instrument's; it's not a double bass!

It should sound great in many different contexts, but In my opinion to approach EUB as a double bass is a mistake.

It'll sound great in a blues band!

:D
 
Joined
Mar 15, 2011
Messages
2,728
Reaction score
175
Age
114
Real Name
Chris
DPCxr9Qh.jpg
 

Myh

Joined
Dec 30, 2006
Messages
334
Reaction score
35
Hi

Just bought a used 2004 Triumph 4 string in very fine condition.

Spec:

Construction: E-Upright Set Neck
Neck Wood: One piece Flamed Maple neck - Body rest made from Flamed Maple
Fretboard: Tigerstripe Ebony fingerboard
Nut: Handmade Ebony nut
Side Dots: Yes
Scale length: 1040 mm / 3/4 Eb
Body Shape: Flat Body Shape
Bodywood (Topwood/Backwood): AAA-Flamed Maple top / AA Flamed Maple body (hollow chambered)
Color: Antique Tobacco Transparent Satin Maple
Machineheads: Triumph Tuners
Hardware colour: Chrome
Pickups: Magnetic MEC Pickup (neck) and Piezo pickup system (bridge)
Electronics: MEC Piezo Buffer electronics
Pot layout: Volume - Balance - Tone for Piezo
Strings: Flatwound 049" - 107"
Weight: 5.5 kg


Here is a litte story about me getting an upright bass. Years ago (+35) my father played saxophone in a small ensamble. The bassplayer played a Framus Triumph, first time I ever saw a EUB.
I was to inherit the Framus, but it never happened.

Playing fretless bassguitar on and of in rock and popbands for many years I did not think about getting an upright bass. But now recently entring a band playing countyrock and 50's pop/rock, I feld that now was the
time for the world of the upright bass.

I came across a cheap Spagg EUB and I bought it. Got it adjusted and made some small upgrates to make it more playable and noiseless. A nice beginners EUB for small money.
But as always, I wanted an upgrade, so I had my mind set at the Rock Bass Triumph (remembering the Framus I never got). Then just before I was to ordre the Rock Bass Triumph, I was offered a beautiful Warwick Triumph at a very reasonable price and I could not let it go.


IMG_1013w.jpg
IMG_1004w.jpg
IMG_1016w.jpg
IMG_1019w.jpg
IMG_1021w.jpg


Trying out Triumph's at the Warwick / Framus plant showroom, summer of 2015:

CIMG3527w.jpg
CIMG3570w.jpg
 

Hoggles

Good Vibe Sponsor
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
2,208
Reaction score
1,928
Beautiful Triumph Myh! Congrats!! :D
 

Hoggles

Good Vibe Sponsor
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
2,208
Reaction score
1,928
Got some custom knobs for the thumb...reggae baby! Wenge with colored wood inlay!

Nice! Jah approved!

Just a friendly heads up... Wrong club that starts with T :rolleyes: :D

Triumph owners have a resting heart rate of a turtle. We don't want to get them too excited with activity in their club :p
 
Joined
Oct 20, 2016
Messages
22
Reaction score
28
Age
37
Real Name
Kyle
Nice! Jah approved!

Just a friendly heads up... Wrong club that starts with T :rolleyes: :D

Triumph owners have a resting heart rate of a turtle. We don't want to get them too excited with activity in their club :p

I'm retarded sorry! I was posting from my phone and I'm blind! My bad!
 
Joined
Sep 25, 2006
Messages
1,011
Reaction score
7
Long time no post on this forum, but I thought I’d better post my new purchase. I’ve treated myself to a used custom shop built 2004 Triumph V which I collected on Friday. Never played upright before so a big learning curve for me. Preamp is a custom build by John East and the bass is gorgeous. It’s currently E-C but I may go low B instead - do I need to change the pole pieces in the bridge for this?
 

Attachments

  • 2D5357D8-8D17-4D76-9733-D32843E24887.jpeg
    2D5357D8-8D17-4D76-9733-D32843E24887.jpeg
    32.5 KB · Views: 666

DiMarco

nutcase
Good Vibe Sponsor
Joined
Nov 19, 2009
Messages
6,979
Reaction score
4,738
Welcome back! New territory to get into is always great. I bet @bluejay can tell you a thing or two about upright playing...
That Triumph looks pretty awesome!
 

Myh

Joined
Dec 30, 2006
Messages
334
Reaction score
35
Long time no post on this forum, but I thought I’d better post my new purchase. I’ve treated myself to a used custom shop built 2004 Triumph V which I collected on Friday. Never played upright before so a big learning curve for me. Preamp is a custom build by John East and the bass is gorgeous. It’s currently E-C but I may go low B instead - do I need to change the pole pieces in the bridge for this?

Hi - Is this the Triumph that Simon Little played?
 
Top Bottom