=The Warwick Fortress Club=

[Stainless]

So with two Fortress Ones it is time to say hello here

My very first contact was a Fortress Masterman, I liked the ergonomics of the Fortress but I dislike the tone.

So I sold it and got a Fortress One '93 in black lacquer and a Fortress One '94 fretless in a brown finish.

I have to make photos of them

 

[RIP]

Bro I hope that mud slide is not your neck of the woods
Looks terrible

Sorry foal, some how I missed this post.....no that was up by LA, where the fires were.

All good in San Diego

 

[RIP]

So with two Fortress Ones it is time to say hello here

My very first contact was a Fortress Masterman, I liked the ergonomics of the Fortress but I dislike the tone.

So I sold it and got a Fortress One '93 in black lacquer and a Fortress One '94 fretless in a brown finish.

I have to make photos of them

Yes, pics please.....I'm a pic'oholic, I need pics

 

[RIP]

I'm back in the club.....I found this today, I should have it next Fri.

 

[jester]

I'm back in the club.....I found this today, I should have it next Fri.

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Looks a bit battered. Let me guess: killer price that will make me retract my previous statement.

 

[RIP]

Looks a bit battered. Let me guess: killer price that will make me retract my previous statement.

My first thought was to do a re-fin.....We'll see after I get my hands on it

But it was $900.00 after taxes, and I thought that was fair. I've been looking for about 3 or 4 months, they are getting hard to find....at least here in the states

 

[RIP]

My first thought was to do a re-fin.....We'll see after I get my hands on it

So I'm sold on doing a re-fin job on this bass, the blonde is okay but a little to bright for my taste

Here's a pic of a Glossy Black one I found and I'm liking that a lot

Or I was thinking about doing a Carbon Fiber look like I did on a RAY34 I had a few years ago

FWIW, I'm also thinking about keeping the Gold hardware if I go black as long as its not pitted to bad....I think it will add a nice contrast

Thoughts anyone?

 

[jester]

So I'm sold on doing a re-fin job on this bass, the blonde is okay but a little to bright for my taste

Here's a pic of a Glossy Black one I found and I'm liking that a lot

View attachment 18742

Or I was thinking about doing a Carbon Fiber look like I did on a RAY34 I had a few years ago

View attachment 18743

FWIW, I'm also thinking about keeping the Gold hardware if I go black as long as its not pitted to bad....I think it will add a nice contrast

Thoughts anyone?

I thought you meant gold over the current finish, but yes, gold over black is very beautiful. How do you plan to do the carbon fiber look???

 

[RIP]

I thought you meant gold over the current finish, but yes, gold over black is very beautiful. How do you plan to do the carbon fiber look???

The picture above was done by Hydro Dipping.....I didn't do it myself but paid a company in town about $150.00 to do it

There are a lot of patterns to chose from....for example

But yeah, if I go black I think I'll keep the gold hardware.....it'll give it a little "Pop"

 

[jester]

The picture above was done by Hydro Dipping.....I didn't do it myself but paid a company in town about $150.00 to do it
But yeah, if I go black I think I'll keep the gold hardware.....it'll give it a little "Pop"

Woah, impressive.

 

[RIP]

Woah, impressive.

Yeah its pretty cool stuff......Google Hydro Dipping when you get some time for more samples

 

[jester]

Yeah its pretty cool stuff......Google Hydro Dipping when you get some time for more samples

You 'll probably need to freshen up the headstock too. I have one in a similar state, have got ebony paint but haven't taken the time to fix it yet. Perhaps soon.

 

[RIP]

You 'll probably need to freshen up the headstock too. I have one in a similar state, have got ebony paint but haven't taken the time to fix it yet. Perhaps soon.

Yeah, as soon as get it my hands on it I'll be doing a little triage

And then come's the electronics.....but that's after I get the re-fin done

 

[RIP]

I'm back in the club.....I found this today, I should have it next Fri.

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First look at the re-fin I did yesterday on my newly acquired Fortress. .....I missed a wood fill by the balance knob, but other than that, I think it came out real nice......take look







As for the hardware I'm going to dress it with Chrome that I have laying around because the Gold is just beat up....I might go Black later on

 

[jester]

First look at the re-fin I did yesterday on my newly acquired Fortress. .....I missed a wood fill by the balance knob, but other than that, I think it came out real nice......take look

As for the hardware I'm going to dress it with Chrome that I have laying around because the Gold is just beat up....I might go Black later on

Looks epic, the black is not very matte, kind of shiny. Very nice!

 

[Hoggles]

Nice work, RIP! Looking really good.

 

[RIP]

So I ordered a new neck, but in order to get it, I had to destroy the old one

God it hurt taking a saw to this thing...take a look

 

[CliffHNZ]

Wow!!! That brings up a question. Can you order an upgraded replacement neck or would it be better to go to a luthier to get one made? I'm sure I'm out of luck with getting any kind of upgrade for my RB Fortress 5 but I've been toying with the idea of a wenge neck for both it and my Thumb. I don't think I could bare doing what you did to your neck though. That brought a tear to my eye

 

[RIP]

Wow!!! That brings up a question. Can you order an upgraded replacement neck or would it be better to go to a luthier to get one made? I'm sure I'm out of luck with getting any kind of upgrade for my RB Fortress 5 but I've been toying with the idea of a wenge neck for both it and my Thumb. I don't think I could bare doing what you did to your neck though. That brought a tear to my eye

I sent in a request and Florence e-mailed me back and said they'd do it, but I had to destroy the old one. Here's the deal though, when they send me the new one it will have the old Serial Number on it

If they couldn't do it, I was just going to go through Warmoth and get one....It probably would have been a lot cheaper

Just so you know, the neck on my RB was perfect, when I got this new one the neck was really, really chunky. I thought I would be able to get use to it, but in the end I had to swap it out..........I love these Fortress's that much to go through making this Bass a perfect playing machine

 

[bluejay]

Can I join this club with a RB Fortress 5? Warning - it's a lefty...

It's a 2005 model, with the old-style one-piece bridge and a standard, shallow-ish neck which I love. No neck dive. Active electronics, with a 9V battery that seems to last forever

It's got D'Addario Chromes on; the low B is thicker than most roundwounds, and it doesn't pass through the hole in the bridge unless you strip the string of its silk. (The new Warwick bridge has cured the problem on newer models.)