Warwick Corvette

Warwick Corvette is a line of bass guitars manufactured by the Warwick bass company. The Corvette is one of the most famous basses made by Warwick.

Corvette Standard

Created in 1995, The Corvette Standard has a shape unlike any other bass seen before. Despite its similarity in woods and aesthetics to the Thumb Bass, it has a drastically different feel, tone, and ergonomics. It has two single MEC Dynamic Correction pickups, and has two variants (depending from which wood it was built): African bubinga or US swamp ash. Three control knobs provide flexible tone control, in the studio as well as on stage. The highly sensitive dynamic response of the Corvette Standard lets player articulate the most gentle of nuances or slap it for crisp, fat basslines. Since it has been on the market, it has been a favorite for thousands of bass players worldwide. However, a recent rise in popularity for the Corvette Standard's big brother, The Corvette $$, has caused a very steep fall in popularity for the Corvette Standard. The Corvette Standard is no longer made in Germany, but is now being made with the same specs in Korea since the company was losing money on each bass built (the bass cost more to build than what they were selling it for). Generally, Corvette Standards are distinguished for their 'treble'-ish and stinging sound, respected by jazz, funk and rock/metal bassists alike.

Corvette $$, Corvette $$ NT Bubinga and Corvette $$ NT Ash

As an upgrade to Corvette Standard models, Warwick brought three new models: Corvette $$, Corvette $$ NT Bubinga and Corvette $$ NT Ash. Even though they cosmetically resemble previous Corvette models, the Corvette $$ gets its identity from its unique pickup and electronics package. There are two passive MEC humbuckers nestled closely in the center of the body, completely covering the sweet-spot that many basses miss completely. But this bass has a 'sensitive' side too, which can be accessed via the two mini 3-way switches that allows user to coil tap each humbucker in a variety of ways (hum canceling parallel/series, single coil). To give the Corvette $$ more flexibility, the passive pickups are matched to a MEC 2-band preamp.

Corvette $$ NT, Swamp Ash or Bubinga are available as a selection for the body wood. The durable Bubinga causes an aggressive and offensive sound with much attack; the Swamp Ash version "in contrast" delivers a growling rock sound, stable and with much low-mid sustain. Both versions are equipped with the two separately configurable MM-style humbuckers by MEC with large open pole-pieces, thus being usable in a very flexible way.

Special Edition & LTD Corvettes

There are number of custom shop, limited and special edition Corvette models, made from many different exotic woods mostly uncommon to the standard models. Some of the Limited and Special Edition basses come with Bartolini electronics/pickups or Seymour Duncan pickups instead of MEC, the Warwick's default. There are approximately thirty Special Edition Corvettes made, and three Limited Edition Corvettes.

Notable players

• Dick Lövgren/Meshuggah
• Emma Anzai/Sick Puppies
• Erlend Caspersen/Spawn of Possession
• Jasmine Cain
• Chris Clemence/RapScallions

References

• http://www.warwick.de/modules/start/start.php
• http://www.talkbass.com
• http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass/product/Warwick/Corvette+Standard+4-String/10/3
• http://www.basscentral.com/warwick/corvette.shtml
• http://news.harmony-central.com/Product-news/Warwick-Introduces-Corvette-Special-Edition-Macassar