Structural Corvette Tuner Problems

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Let me start by saying that my China build Warwick RB Corvette Classic 5 ASTHP produces a great sound. The growling is something I just love. But having said that, my bass also has a serious problem: The tuners don't fit on the headstock! Let me explain...

The mounted tuners consist of 2 parts; the tuning part itself and a bushing (bus nut) that “holds” that part from the other side of the headstock. With this bass guitar the bushings are simply too short. They overlap the tuning part but just with about 0.5 to 1 thread winding and therefore do not "hold". As a result three out of five tuners sit almost loose in the headstock, only secured by the small screw. See the photo/attachment where I keep them beside the headstock below.

After contacting Thomann (where I purchased this bass) I was suggested to send the bass to Germany for repair. (Under warranty.) But possible damage in the shipment (from Holland) would be for my own account. Because I didn't have the original packaging anymore and actually just didn’t feel like it (go send a bass guitar...), Thomann was so kind to send me new Warwick tuners. Excellent service, but unfortunately these new Warwick tuners (identical to the old ones) were again "too short". My conclusion... These bass guitars have a structural tuner error.

Despite the close up foto’s (see below) both Thomann and Warwick were not able (or unwilling) to just send me matching tuners. In my opinion there was no need to risk my bass in transport. The photos show the problem perfectly and online you can find other users having the same problem.

So eventually I ordered me a set of other tuners (Gotoh GB707). Not with Thomann, because they don't sell them for a 5-string bass. Of course this costs me extra but it saves me the risk of transport damage and I'm sure I have good tuners... As for the double set of non fitting Warwick tuners... Anybody interested?

My conclusion regarding this bass.. I would’t recommend it unless you buy matching tuners as well. It’s not the quality one would expect from Warwick. Or is this just me?

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Hoggles

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75% of all Warwicks need new tuners.

Just a guesstimate, but probably pretty close.

I have 707's on 4 of my mine. The others are vintage Schaller.
 

golem

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The ax in my avatar has the same problem. I
removed the thin flat washers and that helped
just barely enuf. FWIW, thaz a Peavey :)
 

PaulS

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75% of all Warwicks need new tuners.

Just a guesstimate, but probably pretty close.

I have 707's on 4 of my mine. The others are vintage Schaller.

707s? It’s so weird how cheap Warwick can be about some things.
 

Hector

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There's an age-old saying "there's no such thing as a free lunch", meaning even if the food is free, you will be paying for it somehow (like Free to Play games, if you want to win, you have to make in-app purchases to buy the better gun, armor etc)

So it seems the low-point on a Rockbass is the tuners. Well, just about every inexpensive guitar is like that, they skimp on the tuners, nut, bridge and electronics, but it's usually the tuners that are the most "crap". I'm sure the D-Series Framus guitars will have a similar problem....
 

Florin

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You should contact Warwick at [email protected] and tell them about this issue. It was a well known issue before with CS Warwicks with matching headstocks. They were thicker, so longer tuners were needed. They should send the right tuners to you.
 

Hoggles

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Well just about every inexpensive guitar is like that, they skimp on the tuners, nut, bridge

Unfortunately, this was exactly HP's mentally with top of line Warwick's, for about 1/3 of the company's existence :(

The bright news is....the used Wick market in 10-15 years, will be fantastic. All brass, wood cavity cover, Schaller tuners. So that's something to look forward to :D
 

PaulS

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Exactly Hoggles. Had to replace the tuners on my dirty blonde and the nut is next. No reason the tuners on a special edition should be such crap and need to be replace when the tuners on my 30+ year old Squier pbass work fine lol
 
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Thanks for the reply's. I will contact Warwick directly. Let's see how they react.

Meanwhile my Lakland 44-01 (nice bass) and my Jazzbass Elite (just awsome but heavy) get a bit more attention ;-) I'll keep you posted ;-)
 

jester

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upload_2019-7-21_2-30-19.png


This is a tuner from a bass that came in for repairs. The string was wound the wrong way, with the windings going upwards instead of downwards so the string was pulling at the very top of the tuner, making it easier to break. Which it did. Winding was wrong but still, a tuner shouldn't break under such conditions. Sadly Warwick tuners often do not do the rest of the bass justice.
 

Nachobassman

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I had to replace all 5 tuners on my Infinity SN from 2002...

OTOH, the ones on my Streamer LX4 seems to be fine. Anyway, as soon as I have money I'll change them to something better, and add a D-tuner... just for fun. :)
 

Stainless

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View attachment 20203

This is a tuner from a bass that came in for repairs. The string was wound the wrong way, with the windings going upwards instead of downwards so the string was pulling at the very top of the tuner, making it easier to break. Which it did. Winding was wrong but still, a tuner shouldn't break under such conditions. Sadly Warwick tuners often do not do the rest of the bass justice.
I don't really know what kind of metal do they use. But it looks like the cheapest steel from china, made during the Great Leap Forward...
 
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Oke... So I mailed Warwick and they send me new bushings right away! And 2 new tuners (for no apparent reason) as well...
Washers were missing though, but i could re-use washers form the (wrong) set Thomann send me earlier. So I finally managed to make steady tuners out of 3 parts ;-)
I'm pleased with the service by Warwick but as soon as my Gotoh's arrive I'll switch to them. I like my bass, but just don't trust the tuners anymore.
 
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