These are the most affordable Warwick basses ever. They are made in a small Chinese factory under Warwick’s strict quality control. Initially these were made with the beginners market in mind, but quality is so good that even experienced players have bought one or several Rockbass instruments to their arsenal.
What you get is a bass that not only looks like a Warwick. It plays and sounds surprisingly similar to a Warwick, because it is a Warwick in essence. Amazing value for money.
Whether you are a beginner and want to start playing with an affordable instrument that actually sounds good and allows for low action or if you are an experienced player that just wants to know how a 5 string or a semihollow bass feels, a Rockbass is an excellent choice.
This model in particular is the Warwick Corvette Multiscale 5 String Nirvana Black Transparent Satin
The body is made from red alder and the neck is made from maple and ekanga, a really solid and stable combination plus it has the classic Warwick oil finish which makes it a joy to play. The wenge fingerboard is just perfect.
Sustain in this bass seems to be endless indeed. This is also thanks to the great tailpiece/bridge combination which allows the strings to have the perfect break angle at the bridge. Of course you can adjust the bridge in all directions: overall and individual height, intonation, string spacing, etc.
Small details such as pickup height adjustment have been redisgned and improved using metal inserts for the screws in the body of the bass meaning you can set the correct pickup height effortlessly. Cool.
Of course there's a two way truss rod so you can tweak the neck yo suit your climate and/or playing style. The truss rod can be accessed easily.
Also electronics are easily serviced. No tool is needed to access the battery which by the way is found inside an ultra clean electronics area. Just use your fingernails to open the rear electronics plate. Cool. Conductive paint is used thoughout and just the right amount of wireand top notch parts. We love it.
Warwick's trademark headstock is also ergonomic. All tuners are placed for the player to reach them easily. The adjustable nut (a classic feature from Warwick) is the final touch on a perfectly designed bass.
Two great sounding passive MEC Soapbar pickups are used. Electronics are also MEC and these you get Volume, Balance and 2 band EQ plus two 3 way mini switches for Single Coil, Parallel or Series operation on each pickup. Possibilities are endless. Electroncis are completely noise free as you'd expect from a Warwick bass.
We left the best for the end: as you can see this is a Multiscale bass, meaning each string has a different leght.
The whole multiscale or fanned fret system consists of giving each string the proper lenght and tension for optimum performance. Physics dictate that you need thicker AND longer strings in order to get lower notes on a stringed instrument. That's the basic principle that pianos and harps are built on. On an electric bass this is achieved by using the same method as on a piano: using individual bridges for the strings and placing them in a "fan" arrangement. Of course the frets on the instrument need to follow that pattern, hence the "fanned fret" arrangement. In practice each string has the right ticknes and length for it to sound full and clear but without having extra tension. It is simply perfect and it works.
Despite the unusual look of this system, you actually don't have to do anything to accomodate to this arrangement. It feels completely natural and ergonomic. Actually some lines are easier to play than on normal basses.
It might take you a couple of minutes to get used if you've never played a Multiscale bass before but believe us: you'll feel at home immediately. Actually you will check that your fingers fall into their natural position immediately.
This instrument comes with all the tools you need to set up and a nice padded gigbag.