I think I found the key ingredient

Grgzilla

Grgzilla

Joined
Mar 5, 2006
Messages
10,906
Reaction score
41
I'm a complete novice, at best, when it comes to these things.
But, over the past several years there's something I've always wondered,
why do Warwick basses always sound like Warwick basses?
Regardless of the woods, pickups, electronics, scale, etc, etc, every Warwick, new or old, always share that Warwick sound.
The one thing that is consistent amongst all the Warwicks is the neck construction. Even bases that sound not unlike a Warwick share this key ingredient, I've found.
The first thing is the moisture content. We all know the moisture level is measured with some hi-tech laser, & all the wood is air dried for between 3 to 5 years.
It's then cut & glued with the laminates at different angles. I forget the specifics, but each laminate pushes or pulls at the laminate it's glued to. Not unlike an English long bow.Now we know the neck is largely responsible for an instrument's tone, with the fingerboard (fretted) & body running close behind.
This question's been nagging me coz it's quite a common question asked, & no doubt, will continue to be asked.
What do you blokes & ladies reckon?
 
Interesting question. Why does the Spector sound so different from the Streamer?
I can't come up with any good answers right now.
 
Greg said:
I'm a complete novice, at best, when it comes to these things.
But, over the past several years there's something I've always wondered,
why do Warwick basses always sound like Warwick basses?
Regardless of the woods, pickups, electronics, scale, etc, etc, every Warwick, new or old, always share that Warwick sound.
The one thing that is consistent amongst all the Warwicks is the neck construction. Even bases that sound not unlike a Warwick share this key ingredient, I've found.
The first thing is the moisture content. We all know the moisture level is measured with some hi-tech laser, & all the wood is air dried for between 3 to 5 years.
It's then cut & glued with the laminates at different angles. I forget the specifics, but each laminate pushes or pulls at the laminate it's glued to. Not unlike an English long bow.Now we know the neck is largely responsible for an instrument's tone, with the fingerboard (fretted) & body running close behind.
This question's been nagging me coz it's quite a common question asked, & no doubt, will continue to be asked.
What do you blokes & ladies reckon?
Click to expand...

Moisture content is irrelevant in this case (sound), and is unlikely to be a critical factor. It only allows to limit the movements of the wood, and have a stable finish product. The air drying is a necessary step to get rid of most of the water content, as the kiln drying is. Read the wikipedia entry Wood drying - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it explains the different types of water you need to get rid of. Moisture content of the finished instrument then depends on its environment.

Every brand does that, times and processes may vary, but these are vital steps to have proper wood that you can work with and end up with a functionnal and durable instrument.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'd say necks, neck joints (whether BO or NT), good contruction and the high use of exotic hardwoods.
 
I agree with Greg, for me, the "Sound of Wood" comes from the necks.
 
Wenge board, bell brass frets, big headstock. :-)
 
Well, on a more funny note:
The key ingredient is the spirit of wood, only when such spirit is bound to an instrument will it bring out the true sound of wood. Explains the mystic department involved in binding the spirit to the finished instrument....

On a more realistic note, it is a combination of all factors, such as grain wood types, PUs, position of the PUs and weight of the wood.
Like any good instrument, its the sum that is greater than its parts :)
 
DiMarco said:
Interesting question. Why does the Spector sound so different from the Streamer?
I can't come up with any good answers right now.
Click to expand...

Spector uses a 3 piece maple neck on all their models with the grain at opposing angles.
Similar but a little different to our WW necks.
I admit I've heard some divine sounding Spectors, but alot of them have a bit too much high end & can be a tad hissy. Maybe that comes from their enourmous bridge. There's alotta brass in them things.
 
thats pretty interesting, a euro spector NT (maple bod, maple neck) is on paper pretty damn similar to a SSI. why do they sound so different?
 
I guess awrything makes a difference, big or small. So when you sum things up, big difference.
 
Well, Wick uses buckers in 6 strings, the Thumb SC, the $$ series... plus the MECs are less scooped then the EMGs...or at least some EMGs. Also, Warwick uses a steel trussrod with reinforcements at the neck/body joint within the neck
 
Augie said:
thats pretty interesting, a euro spector NT (maple bod, maple neck) is on paper pretty damn similar to a SSI. why do they sound so different?
Click to expand...

on paper, but definitely not in your hand! the necks have completely different dimensions.
I doubt you could mistake a Warwick for a Spector Streamer and vice versa - blindfolded.

About the "Humbucker" Stuff... for my consideration any soapbar PU could be humbucking.
Nevertheless, PU Position (!!!!!) is for sure one of the main reasons ;)
 
I think the overall body size, and the fact that many basses have 3+ piece bodies, has a real impact on the tone - adding at growl while leaning up the tone.
 
Augie said:
thats pretty interesting, a euro spector NT (maple bod, maple neck) is
on paper pretty damn similar to a SSI. why do they sound so different?
Click to expand...

Special paper .......



`
 
`

OK, paper aside, I have a Guild and a Spector, both with maple necks
and solid maple bodies [both tiger maple FWIW]. The Spector has a
pau ferro FB and the Guild has ebony. Spector has EMGs and a 2-band
Tone Pump active EQ. The Guild has Barts and a 2-band [Bart??] EQ.

This pair is living proof that building with nearly identical woods will
not necessarily produce bass voices that are even vaguely similar.
It's the tronics [and whatever else]. The Guild has a more or less
typical EQ-pre. Spector's Tone Pump is controversial even amongst
Spector fanbois .... a really polarized love-it-or-hate-it reputation.


OK, "not necessarily" .... but in my experience, mahogany has an
overriding quality, particularly if used for both the neck and body.

Go figger ....

Mahogany has a soul. Recently I bought two very different basses,
both with 'hog necks and bodies. I bought them sight unseen, tone
unheard, knowing I could trust on all-'hog builds. One is semi-hollow
with piezo PU and ebony FB, the other is a solid body with Jazz PU's
and epoxied FB [both FL]. That describes two very different basses,
yes ? And indeed, they DO have two distinctly different versions of
that reliably mahogany bass voice ... VERSIONs ... of the same soul.

Finally, consider that the classic Streamer Standard has a sound
that is not much like the other Wicks. Is it the piney wood body ?
Is it the trashy cheap bridge ? The different neck bolt pattern ?

I'm not pretending to have answers. I'm kinda commenting on
the futility of even asking the question. I mean, it's fun to
ask them, and to hear the various answers. Just don't let it bum
you out that there's little-to-no repeatable science here.


`
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'll probably take flack for this, since the company's tagline is 'the sound of wood' and all, but I think comparisons are unfair unless they have the exact same electronics - I think a lot of the Warwick sound comes from the MEC electronics too - I might even suggest that the high prices of aftermarket MEC stuff could be an attempt at deterring MEC electronics on 3rd party instruments (and I understand that completely - if you want that magic, you gotta pay!!) but that's speculation at best. I just think a lot of that comes from the electronics.

Anyone have experience with Streamer $$s vs Ash Corvette $$s? THAT will tell you exactly what a neck imparts on the tone (or at least the neck wood).

It was brushed on before, but I think pickup placement is possibly THE most important aspect in bass voicing that's often overlooked. It's usually the case that higher-end basses have their pickups closer to the bridge, while more 'traditional' basses have theirs close to the neck - the Katana, Infinity and Trujillo sigs are exceptions to this rule of course - the Thumb 5 string and Hellborg are extreme cases of what I'm talking about.

Rewire an ash $$ bass so the bridge pickup's single coil mode is the BRIDGE coil, not the neck coil - and tell me it doesn't sound eerily like an ash Jazz bass. Just sayin'.

THE POINT OF ALL THIS: Don't overlook the pickups - both their construction and location.

Speaking of which, is there any way I can just pop an $$ pickup out of it's shell and just flip it (kinda like what I did with my Vampyre)? After the botched pickup replacement, it's now back to it's factory wiring, and I'd like to run that bridge pickup bridge coil solo instead of running it in Series (which is a decent approximation if you're blending it with the neck pickup).
 
I think MEC guts make the least difference. I have tried Wicks with all kind of different pickups/preamps, and the difference is really not that big. They all retain the W character. Personally I think WW sound the best with Bartolinis. They take away that treble edge that sometimes (IMO) make the sound a bit harsh and unpleasant.
 
[video=youtube;SNl5tZhXq6g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNl5tZhXq6g[/video]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top