Welcome once again to my GearWare Page. Thanks for stopping by. Each month we list some new and cool equipment from different manufacturers. Some that I have endorsements with and some that I don't. This is not a review page!!!! Just lil' ol' me trying to hip you to some cool gear that I think y'all should know about.
This installment takes
a look at some of the new wares from Warwick!!! Warwick introduced some pretty darn cool
basses at this past January's NAMM show. Every year they
introduce a “Limited” version of one of their famous
basses. This year they introduced three br
and new Limiteds!!! The cool looking Thumb
Bleached Blonde LTD 2003. The all new ominous looking Vampyre
LTD. And in humble tribute to a true legend, the Buzzard LTD
2003. Remember, Warwick was the first company to build this
unique and fascinating bass for John Entwistle.
Let's start with the Thumb Bleached Blonde LTD2003. This bass features a contoured ash body capped with an AAAA flamed maple top. The bolt-on neck, fingerboard and headstock are also made from flamed maple!!! Electronics consist of MEC's active "Gold" JJ pickups paired with MEC 2-band electronics. So how does it sound and play...In one word...Fantastic. This bass is BRIGHT!!! With all that maple, how can it not be. That doesn't mean it doesn't have a great low end sound though either!!! The ash body seems to even it out too. Again, the ash body/maple top is a very desirable combination in today's bass world. The bass plays like a dream too, very traditional feeling neck due to the maple as opposed to the recent ovankol necks they've been using. Like all Warwicks, the neck is outfitted with 24 of their trademark “bell brass” frets.
Next let's look at the
all new Vampyre LTD . This bass screams “play me
hard” all over it!!!!! The Vampyre LTD features a neck-thru
construction which gives the sustain you would expect. Warwick
also offers the Vampyre in a Set-neck construction as well, which reduces the
price a bit. The Set-neck is only available in high gloss black
where the LTD is available in natural or any
of the offered colors!!! The LTD is made
from an ash body with a sculpted 1” quilted maple top. The
maple neck sports an ebony fingerboard. The inlays are these cool
bass clef inlays made from paua abalone.
Last but not least on the list are the Buzzard LTD 2003 and the Buzzard Bolt-On. These basses really warmed a lot of people's hearts due to their respective designer, the late John Entwistle. John had befriended Warwick's founder Hans Peter Wilfer years ago and asked him if he could build something of John's own design. Hence the Buzzard was born. Hans and John were talking of re-introducing the famous Buzzard bass long before John's passing. Staying true to his promise, Hans released the Buzzard this January in tribute to his long, lost pal John Entwistle.
The Buzzard is unlike any bass you would ever play, as you'd expect. Construction wise, it's built like a tank. The body is made of zebrano with an ovankol neck-thru construction. The neck is capped with the famous wenge (pronounced WEN-gay) fingerboard complete with numeric fret markers (actual numbers) custom inlaid of paua abalone. The pickup configuration is a bit different on the Buzzard with it's opposing P style pickups. The pickups and electronics are all MEC with a 2-band preamp. The neck on this bass is a little different than the traditional Warwick necks. It's a bit more chunkier and rounded than usual. I'm assuming this was the to John's liking. It does feel very comfortable to the hands too. Especially if you're an old P-Bass player.
The scaled down
version of the LTD is the Buzzard Bolt-on. Scaled down is really an inappropriate
word though. This bass is really in it's
own class. It features the same zebrano
body with an ovankol neck. The headstock on the BO is the
traditional Warwick headstock as opposed to the 4-inline Buzzard
headstock found on the LTD. The electronics are all MEC as well.
The 4 string version sports the same P/P pickup configuration
where the 5-string version sports a more traditional J/J set up.
These basses are very unique and special to the Warwick family. Something you don't see everyday. Very cool stuff indeed!!!! It goes to show what Warwick will do by listening to the needs of their players. If you have a chance, go check out these very special basses at a dealer near you and play your favorite Who lick on the Buzzard in tribute to one of the gentlemen who made the electric bass what it is today!!!!
Peace,
Dino
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