Decreasing quality

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so there have been many claims about the quality on the RBs going down after 2005, but the known changes seem to be ones that would help (JAN III, upgraded truss rod cover, snap on electrinics cover)...

what has changed that the quality has gone down. is there anyone on the inside? from what i've seen (at one point there were picture of the quality control at rockbass), they seem to be very well made basses. I've not played anything newer than mine (somewhere between 03 and 05), but i really would like to know what might have changed.

anyone know?
 
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Thomas said:
...but the known changes seem to be ones that would help (JAN III, upgraded truss rod cover, snap on electrinics cover)...

Straplocks instead of the strap buttons: Personally I think these are quite nice.

Truss rod cover: Couldn't care less. It never used to take me much longer to back out three tiny screws than pop the cover.

Snap on electronics cover: This has been terrible! The snap on cover on the German Warwicks are great because the fit properly. Despite looking at many I haven't seen one that actually fits properly on a Rockbass yet. I think they route the control cavities slightly too small - and the covers are such a tight fit you can't open them unless you have a small screwdriver or similar to act as a pry bar - and I've seen lots of them that you can't even close fully.

JAN III: Are they using JAN III's on Rockbasses? All of the Rockbasses here still have JAN IIs on them. Either way - I don't mind - I've had JAN IIs and JAN IIIs and I don't find they make any practical difference. I know the JAN IIIs are harder to break - but let's get real...broken JAN IIs were often user error anyway.

;)

Personally, I'd love to get my hands on one of the old Rockbass Streamers with the heavy Carolena body (anyone who's owned one knows what I mean) rather than one of the new ones with the balsawood-light body with all the new "improvements".

:D
 
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All these features mentioned above are quantifiable. What's more important in my opinion, are quality features, like wood selection and finish. These can only be judged by actually playing and inspecting the bass instead of reading the specs alone. I cannot verify or falsify the topic's statement.
 
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Wood selection on Eberbachl's new RB (which is '07, isn't it?) looks very nice indeed, as well as finish.
 
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Yes - my new RB Corvette is an '07 manufacture and is one of the nicest Rockbasses I've seen (although the control cavity cover is still a very poor fit).

Other than the Control cavity cover I cannot fault the build quality, can only find one tiny blemish in the finish, and find the timber selection to be very nice.

:D

I did have to fix the ground wire under the bridge as it had poor contact, and shield the pickup cavities because there was a little RF noise - but I had to do both of these things on my German Corvette also. I also had to rewire some of the electronics - not because they were faulty - purely because I'm very fussy :lol:
 
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No, I used to prefer Vol Vol Tone, but these days I don't mind either way. I don't mind Vol/Blend/Tone at all.

Anyway, it's an active 'Vette, so it's Vol/Blend/Bass/Treble.

I didn't change any configuration - just had to clean up some of the wiring.

;)
 
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Eberbachl said:
Snap on electronics cover: This has been terrible! The snap on cover on the German Warwicks are great because the fit properly. Despite looking at many I haven't seen one that actually fits properly on a Rockbass yet. I think they route the control cavities slightly too small - and the covers are such a tight fit you can't open them unless you have a small screwdriver or similar to act as a pry bar - and I've seen lots of them that you can't even close fully.

I'll agree here, the cover on my Dolphin is very easy to remove, but closes nice and securely. The cover on the RB Vette is nearly impossible to open and close.


Personally, I'd love to get my hands on one of the old Rockbass Streamers with the heavy Carolena body (anyone who's owned one knows what I mean) rather than one of the new ones with the balsawood-light body with all the new "improvements".

:D

Don't know why the older Streamer RB's would be heavier since they still use Carolena for the bodies. Plus my Warwick Streamer STD uses Carolena and it's a very light bass.
 
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Doog said:
Eberbachl said:
Snap on electronics cover: This has been terrible! The snap on cover on the German Warwicks are great because the fit properly. Despite looking at many I haven't seen one that actually fits properly on a Rockbass yet. I think they route the control cavities slightly too small - and the covers are such a tight fit you can't open them unless you have a small screwdriver or similar to act as a pry bar - and I've seen lots of them that you can't even close fully.

I'll agree here, the cover on my Dolphin is very easy to remove, but closes nice and securely. The cover on the RB Vette is nearly impossible to open and close.


Personally, I'd love to get my hands on one of the old Rockbass Streamers with the heavy Carolena body (anyone who's owned one knows what I mean) rather than one of the new ones with the balsawood-light body with all the new "improvements".

:D

Don't know why the older Streamer RB's would be heavier since they still use Carolena for the bodies. Plus my Warwick Streamer STD uses Carolena and it's a very light bass.

The RB, were pretty light but carolena is heavier than say ash, and maybe on par with maple...although i can't really comment on that as i got my SSI after selling my RB streamer.
 
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Doog said:
Don't know why the older Streamer RB's would be heavier since they still use Carolena for the bodies. Plus my Warwick Streamer STD uses Carolena and it's a very light bass.

I don't know what they've done, but the difference is startling I can assure you.

I've owned two Rockbass Streamers before - old ones. Their bodies were HEAVY! So heavy that anyone who picked one up was shocked.

They were great.

The new ones are so light it's almost like they've been made out of Balsawood.
 
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Eberbachl said:
Doog said:
Don't know why the older Streamer RB's would be heavier since they still use Carolena for the bodies. Plus my Warwick Streamer STD uses Carolena and it's a very light bass.

I don't know what they've done, but the difference is startling I can assure you.

I've owned two Rockbass Streamers before - old ones. Their bodies were HEAVY! So heavy that anyone who picked one up was shocked.

They were great.

The new ones are so light it's almost like they've been made out of Balsawood.

They might as well be made out of balsawood. Not to bash on Warwick or anything, but the Rockbasses are TERRIBLE. I owned one for a few months before I couldn't take it anymore and I had to get rid of it.

When I finally got my Warwick Corvette, I couldn't believe Warwick actually put their name on the Rockbass. They don't even compare.
 
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What kind of Rockbass did you have Mark, and what exactly were the problems with it?
 
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I have had 2 of them. I had to sell them because I ended up playing the regular Warwicks more than them. Also I needed something olighter. I would move a little bit and the basses would be swining all over the place. they were a little too light for my taste. i love the way the Fortresses and the Thumbs feel on me now.

They sound good but I needed heavier woods.
 
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