About to order my new CS bass....thoughts

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Hello! I'm new to the forums but am not new to Warwick. I have several Warwick basses and have used Warwick basses since 2000.

I'm about to order my new CS bass this week and wanted to put my selections up on here for duscussion. I'm open to suggestions tonally and welcome them. I want to make sure i'm hitting the mark i'm looking for tonally.

Corvette 6 string, MEC active soapbar PU's, swirly bubinga top, ekenga veneer, bubinga pommele back, Ovangkol/bubinga/wenge neck NT, Tigerstrip ebony fingerboard, matching swirly bubinga headstock. Natural Oil Finish.

I was orignially going to go with a swamp ash back and a ovangkol BO neck, but changed my mind at the last second. I'm looking for a really growly low end, mid range with nice, velvetly soft highs. The swamp ash back would probably overpower the siwrly bubinga top, thus making the bass thumpy and less "tight". Thus the change to a hardwood for the back.

Thanks guys!

Cary Jordan

 

[Florin]

Visually speaking, I'd chose a non figured wood for back, don't ask me why.... Maybe Mahagony, who is a great tonewood. But that's me

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Visually speaking, I'd chose a non figured wood for back, don't ask me why.... Maybe Mahagony, who is a great tonewood. But that's me

But wouldnt Mahogony darken then tone a lot? I want to retain the tight and growly low and mid range, but give the upper registers a nice soft and tight tone.

Also, should i opt for a different set of pickups? I know the MEC's sound nice, but maybe there is another pickup out there that will aide in my persuit.

Thanks!

CJ

 

[Florin]

Ok, I am not that good with woods, but from what I've tried, bubinga ones were a little bit darker than Mahagony... I might be wrong here.
About pickups... you ca first make your bass with stock MEC, and then buy some Barts, EMG, SD, what do you like, and do some tests. This would be the best sollution IMHO. And the cheapest. You can sell the ones you are not using

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Ok, I am not that good with woods, but from what I've tried, bubinga ones were a little bit darker than Mahagony... I might be wrong here.
About pickups... you ca first make your bass with stock MEC, and then buy some Barts, EMG, SD, what do you like, and do some tests. This would be the best sollution IMHO. And the cheapest. You can sell the ones you are not using

I really appreciate your help!

Bubinga is considred a brighter wood and mahogany is a darker, more mellow tonewood.

I agree with you about the pickups. I have pletny of experience with the MEC's, i'm not too sure about some of the other pickup options, as far as tone is considered. I should just have it ship with the MEC's and go from there. unless anybody else has specific info or experience using the other pickups..i.e. EMG, Seymore Duncans, Bartolini's...ect.

Thanks again!

CJ

 

[anghel]

Florin is right, you should start with the stock MEC's, else you'll never know how the original bass sounded, and maybe if you don't like the MEC's (who knows ..) you can change them and still have them.

i like the woods you chosen for the body, but for me the neck ideea sounds too complicated i would go (max.) for two types of stripes, but it could look and sound good like you want it too! is more expensive and useless in my mind. wenge or ovangkol or both in wich order you like it more is fine, in my opinion.

maybe you can think about the veneer color between the sandwich body and neck stripes.. you can choose ekanga or maple (black or white), at the same price, if you like the swirly bubinga red/white grain.

.. and welcome to the forum!

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Florin is right, you should start with the stock MEC's, else you'll never know how the original bass sounded, and maybe if you don't like the MEC's (who knows ..) you can change them and still have them.

i like the woods you chosen for the body, but for me the neck ideea sounds too complicated i would go (max.) for two types of stripes, but it could look and sound good like you want it too! is more expensive and useless in my mind. wenge or ovangkol or both in wich order you like it more is fine, in my opinion.

maybe you can think about the veneer color between the sandwich body and neck stripes.. you can choose ekanga or maple (black or white), at the same price, if you like the swirly bubinga red/white grain.

.. and welcome to the forum!

thanks!! its great to be here!

actually? for the veneer I would probably choose maple....I had it set up for ekenga with a swamp ash back....but since I have changed the body wood to bubinga pommele, I think maple would stand out best. also, use maple for the veneer on the neck. you are probably correct about the three woods for the neck. I may just cut those down to ovangkol and wenge with the maple veneer.

man, I bet she will sound every bit as good as she will look!

thanks fellas!!!

Cary Jordan

 

[odominguez]

Visually speaking, I'd chose a non figured wood for back, don't ask me why.... Maybe Mahagony, who is a great tonewood. But that's me

But wouldnt Mahogony darken then tone a lot? I want to retain the tight and growly low and mid range, but give the upper registers a nice soft and tight tone.

Also, should i opt for a different set of pickups? I know the MEC's sound nice, but maybe there is another pickup out there that will aide in my persuit.

Thanks!

CJ

Yes, the Mahogany will darken the tone a little bit compared to Bubinga. Figured woods are more expensive than standard woods. If you choose standard bubinga for the back it might save you some money and give you the same sound.

 

[flipper_gv]

so.... it'll be a thumb NT without the slanted pickups and with a corvette body?

sounds great :twisted:

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

so.... it'll be a thumb NT without the slanted pickups and with a corvette body?

sounds great :twisted:

Thats pretty much what it's gonna be. Although, the bubinga pomelle that will be on the back will be a little better looking than regualar bubinga. The sound should be very close. Also, the swirly bubinga top should sound similar as well. Using Wenge and ovangkol in the neck would be like a pre-99 thumb NT that used Wenge/bubinga. I feel really stongly about the wenge selection in the neck. It seems like it was a favorite even today with the pre-99 Warwick's.

I have thought about actually using the slanted pickup configuration on this bass. But i'm not really sure if that will help me get the tone i'm looking for...although it really could help make the low end crisp and growly(closer to bridge config on B E A strings) and help the mids as well. it would also soften up the highs a bit with a closer neck configuration on the D, G and C strings.....hmmmm. I will obviously be using soapbars, so this may get interesting! Any thoughts?

Thanks for helping me walk through these tough decisions. This is really a difficult thing for me, not because i don't know what i want, but rather, i know exactly what i want, but want to make sure i'm taking everything into consideration.

So Far:

Corvette standard 6
Swirly Bubinga top
Bubinga Pommele back
Maple veneer
Ovangkol/Wenge neck through w/ maple veneer
Tigerstripe ebony fingerboard
34" scale
24 jumbo bell brass frets
Brass JAN
Chrome hardware
"Cary Jordan" inlayed on the 24th fret
Matching Swirly Bubinga headstock veneer
Natural oil finish
MEC soapbar pickups(possibly in the thumb slanted configuration)
Active MEC 3 band EQ


I wonder if there is a nice blonde wood that has similar tonewood qualities as bubinga?

CJ


CJ

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Visually speaking, I'd chose a non figured wood for back, don't ask me why.... Maybe Mahagony, who is a great tonewood. But that's me

But wouldnt Mahogony darken then tone a lot? I want to retain the tight and growly low and mid range, but give the upper registers a nice soft and tight tone.

Also, should i opt for a different set of pickups? I know the MEC's sound nice, but maybe there is another pickup out there that will aide in my persuit.

Thanks!

CJ

Yes, the Mahogany will darken the tone a little bit compared to Bubinga. Figured woods are more expensive than standard woods. If you choose standard bubinga for the back it might save you some money and give you the same sound.

very true.... but i'm not too worried about the price though. I am willing to pay for the figured woods. Although, i am still researching woods for the back. we shall see

CJ

 

[Z3r0_G]

I wonder if there is a nice blonde wood that has similar tonewood qualities as bubinga?

Afzelia! it's not that bright as maple but still it's a contrast. but if you're gonna use it in the neck then i'm not too sure buddy.

 

[NeonVomit]

I agree with you about the pickups. I have pletny of experience with the MEC's, i'm not too sure about some of the other pickup options, as far as tone is considered. I should just have it ship with the MEC's and go from there. unless anybody else has specific info or experience using the other pickups..i.e. EMG, Seymore Duncans, Bartolini's...ect.

Thanks again!

CJ

I have SD Basslines in my Thumb. Awsomeness. I like them more than MEC.

 

[odominguez]

I wonder if there is a nice blonde wood that has similar tonewood qualities as bubinga?

Afzelia! it's not that bright as maple but still it's a contrast. but if you're gonna use it in the neck then i'm not too sure buddy.

Afzelia is very nice woods, one of the closest to Bubinga that I've seen so far. Never seen it used on a neck yet, but there's always a first time.

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Last couple of questions

OK, so........i'm gonna be ordering this bass on wed. I have contemplated two features a lot. Which body wood for the back of the bass and now which wood choice for the fretboard. I originally wanted tigerstrip ebony, but am afraid that it will taint the warwick growl, i'm using a ovangkol neck, BO. What do you guys think about sticking with wenge for the fretboard...or does the fretboard wood make a big difference in sound? I believe it is very minimal, but i am no expert.

I'm down to Bubinga Pommele for the back of the body, or 1A flame maple. These two are worlds apart, but i am down to one or the other. I'm still leaning towards bubinga pomelle. Although maple would sound great as well...different, but great!

I'm more concerned about the fretboard wood. Should i stay with Wenge or move to the denser tigerstripe ebony?

I'm running out of time on this.....so please bounce some stuff off of me in this regard.

Thanks!!

 

[anghel]

ovangkol and wenge are midrangy .. if you want natural brightness too without efforts put on ebony. the thumb nt bass is allready history, if you like thumbs, it is a masterpiece of well ballanced W tone.

you can keep wenge fretboard too, it will be an overall warm midrangy tone. the wenge is compared with brasilian rosewood wich is history too, but the natural bright side will be forced a little compared to ebony, wich is not bad, you choose.

the only thing i don't understand is why pomelle back? but it's me .. i agree with bubinga .. but why pomelle? don't listen to me .. i just try to be honest.

try to find out wich kind of bubinga will match best the red "contour" of the swirly bubinga. if it is the pomelle then put pomelle, if not put on normal bubinga. think about it. your risk is to have a completly different grain in the back of the body. you can get a smooth red contour in the front and a cutted "flowery" grain in the back, etc.

i would go for a continous grain as the red part of the swirly, but don't know wich one would be the perfect one. and MAYBE another risk is that warwick will match the things like i said and you won't see a difference between normal or pomelle back, just in the price. who knows ...

better ask them

 

[Andrew O]

i would switch the top and back. or keep one and just put regular bubinga on the back.

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

So you're saying that ebony as a fretboard is naturally bright? One more thing i forgot to add. This will be a broad neck 5. IT's role in my arsenal is my slap bass.

My price for either bubinga pomelle or swirly bubinga or regular bubinga does not change. I choose bubinga pomelle because it is usually highly figured and has the same tone as regular bubinga. I choose swirly for the top because it looks great and still sounds like regular bubinga. Now, there is also no additional charge for me if i choose 1A flame maple(for the back) or any of the bubinga's. If i wanted 3A or 4A flame maple, the price would rise.

I'm thinking a 1A flame maple back would sound great with a ovangkol neck, tiger strip ebony fretboard and a swirly bubinga top. Again, this bass will be a natural oil finish....so the contrast from red to a blonde wood would look great and would also bring in the highlights of the blonde in the swirly bubinga top. The brightness of the maple would cause the upper registeres to be buttery soft, while the mid range stays growly and the lows stay nice and deep. I just hope the ebony fretboard i choose doesnt cheapen the sound i know i can get out of a Wenge fretboard.

ovangkol and wenge are midrangy .. if you want natural brightness too without efforts put on ebony. the thumb nt bass is allready history, if you like thumbs, it is a masterpiece of well ballanced W tone.

you can keep wenge fretboard too, it will be an overall warm midrangy tone. the wenge is compared with brasilian rosewood wich is history too, but the natural bright side will be forced a little compared to ebony, wich is not bad, you choose.

the only thing i don't understand is why pomelle back? but it's me .. i agree with bubinga .. but why pomelle? don't listen to me .. i just try to be honest.

try to find out wich kind of bubinga will match best the red "contour" of the swirly bubinga. if it is the pomelle then put pomelle, if not put on normal bubinga. think about it. your risk is to have a completly different grain in the back of the body. you can get a smooth red contour in the front and a cutted "flowery" grain in the back, etc.

i would go for a continous grain as the red part of the swirly, but don't know wich one would be the perfect one. and MAYBE another risk is that warwick will match the things like i said and you won't see a difference between normal or pomelle back, just in the price. who knows ...

better ask them

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Alright, here it is. I'm gonna go with the 1A flame maple back. I thought about it over and over, but this seems the natural choice for this bass. I love maple's brightness but yet with lots of bite. Nice subdued mids with some growl and deep, clear bass. The bubinga top would color the sound very little towards a more growly bottom end and more growl in the mids. This bass would truly be one of a kind. A bubinga/bubinga CS bass, would look great, but essentially would sound no different than a corvette standard 5 bubinga.

As for the fretboard, i was wondering what you guys though about a maple fretboard? Maple is not as bright as ebony, nor as dense....but we all know what maple's sound is like. It's pretty much in between wenge and ebony on the tone scale.

So, i'm down to the fretboard choice....my mind is made up with everything else.

 

[avionix543]

If you decide to go with a maple fretboard, I'd consider a matching swirly bubinga headstock overlay too keep the light color theme from bridge to tuners. With an ebony fretboard, I'd go with the normal black overlay. For a slap bass, I'd think maple would have a better flavor - but get a sweet flame or birdseye 8) . ~M~