Claudia | soldguitars

(SOLD)

1993 Warwick Fortress One (MIG) Bass

"Claudia"

The eagle-eyed will note that I snagged a German Warwick Corvette a while back, and that I like it. In fact, I like I a lot. So, as is often the case (perhaps too often?!) I went straight out on the prowl looking for another Warwick ... something sufficiently different from the Corvette to justify owning both, but something that played and felt similar to the Corvette. BOOM! Here she is ... Claudia. A big-assed chunk of SOLID flamed maple, made in Germany the way that they used to be made, with quality and craftsmanship oozing from every joint and screw. This is a VERY nice bass ... it's a real shame that they got discontinued in 1999 (at least the German ones did ... another case of the top-end German basses costing more to make than they were sold for ...) but the saving grace is that this one is safely in my greedy grasp, and is going nowhere.

Right then. Specifications are ... three-piece solid flamed maple body, bolt-on neck (almost certainly ovangkol) and a wenge board with slinky brass frets. Lovely. We've got MEC 'Dynamic Correction' pickups (a p-style at the neck and a j-style at the bridge), which I suspect are passive, although the electronics are all active, which makes it (essentially) a 9V active. Which is nice.

The body shape is perhaps quite odd, but it's that way for a reason ... our German cousins pushed that upper horn WAY out there so that the bass balances PERFECTLY on a strap, resulting in a marvellous absence of any neck-heaviness. The fact that the upper horn is phallic is just an unfortunate complication of the need for good balance. One thing is for sure, when I need to pick the bass up, I DO NOT lift it by grabbing the upper horn phallus. Feels wrong on many levels. As a result f all that flamed maple, this is one heavy bitch of a bass ... although I'm not exactly a light-weight, so I have no complaints.

In use, this feels similar to my Corvette (understandably), but the PJ pickup combination and the active electronics make this more tonally versatile. I'm still working out what the controls DO exactly, but one is clearly a mid-boost, which is fully awesome. That is run flat out all the time. Once that Warwick "growl" is dialled in, there's no real justification for trying to change it ... that would be like trying to change your lobster thermadore into egg and chips.

All in all, this is a LOVELY bass. The only issue ... is where my NEXT one is coming from.