Dolphin 4

Good morning everyone! Long time Warwick enthusiast...a few months ago I had the chance to buy a Dolphin but sadly had to use funds for necessary plumbing repair at that time. I now have some funds set aside and am looking for a similar one!

- 1992 or earlier
- natural preferred but not required
- 4 string broadneck (I think they are all broadneck?)
- No major dings, no neck warp, no major repairs done or needed

Willing to pay "top dollar" in accordance with market for a museum/exhibition grade bass.

Thank you everyone for reading and hopefully someone with a Dolphin can use the cash and wants it to go to a loving new owner!

 

A few things.

The early Dolphins (1988-1991) have Bartolini pickups.
As Bartolini did not have a twin jazz pickup, those basses have a humbucker at the bridge position.
The twin jazz may look like a humbucker but it actually is not and does sound different.

So a 1992 or newer Dolphin will sound different then the one I just described.
How different?

Early Bartolini Dolphins sound more polite and nasal, "Jaco" if you will and will punch through any mix with ease. Also think in the line of early Jamiroquai bass tone. It is Warwick but more oldskool.

The newer Dolphins with MEC twinjazz will give you more growl and more treble in their tone.

Good luck finding your dream bass!

 

I have a 1988 Dolphin 4 string that I might be persuaded to sell for "top dollar", but since it has one of the original boire bodys, I would not try to ship it outside the USA. It's a real beauty though, and has had the Bartolinis replaced with MECs:

 

Good news, Kimgee!

CITES Rosewood Restrictions on Musical Instruments Have Ended

 

That is good news. However, after my experience shipping that Corvette to Hardy, I still would be very hesitant to ship internationally. The USPS refused to insure that Corvette for it's sale price. They would only insure a package to Germany for a maximum of $500USD. That just makes no sense to me, and I was very afraid it would "evaporate" in transit. Any future international shipments I make will be expressly at the risk of the buyer.

 

That dolphin is beautiful kimgee!

 

Question is how did Mec pickups end up in a 1988 bass? I think it is a good idea, just wondering who did it and when.

 

It had the MECs installed when I bought it. I found it online, a number of years ago, at a Guitar Center, so I have no info about how or why. They did a pretty nice job though. They even filled in the original Bartolini bridge pickup's mounting screws recesses. You can see where they did this, if you look closely, just to the left of the bridge pickup in the picture.

Actually, I am not certain if that is a twin jazz or a humbucker. It looks like a twin jazz, which makes me think about a splitter switch. However, it seems I read that they use the same shell for humbuckers. Is that true? And if so, how can I determine which it is?