=The Warwick Fortress Club=

[Pedro]

looks like you did a good job! Are you gonna stain it a different colour or leave it natural?

[Ali]

Leave it natural. Thinking of doing the same with my red 96 fortress one.

[herb vibes]

natural all the way baby, no colours for me

[Ali]

This is mine. 96 Fortress one, played through a Pro-fet 5.1 and two 15" cabs. Oh, and me Vette, both sound fantastic. I have changed my mind about stripping it as I think I have a reasonable chance of ruining a perfectly good guitar.
Never posted pictures before so apologies if : a) pictures are too big. b) pictures are too small.[IMG][/IMG] or even c) pictures are not attached at all. If it should all go pair shaped, any guidance on posting pictures greatly accepted.

[Pedro]

Hey Ali!! Think you need to do 'advanced post' and then 'attachments', but i'm not entirely sure (aint posted any pics on the forum since it upgraded). I'm sure someone with a bit more knowledge will get back to you on that one.

Looking forward to seein' your bass, and welcome to the club!!

[Ali]

Thanks Pedro. Have tried advanced but the system of attachment is the same. I can't find an http address for my pictures. I will spend some time over the weekend looking into it and hopefully have pics uploaded next week. Thanks again.

[Pedro]

Thanks Pedro. Have tried advanced but the system of attachment is the same. I can't find an http address for my pictures. I will spend some time over the weekend looking into it and hopefully have pics uploaded next week. Thanks again.

Send a private message to Greg or Flo (or Herb Vine), they'll get back to you with the answer and it'll save you wasting loads of time!

Soz i couldn't have been of more help!!

[Ali]

Ah, easy when you know how. Now just need to improve my camera technique. Thanks for your help guys.

[Pedro]

ah very nice, see the drummer is trying to get in on the photo action in picture 3 lol....typical drummer

[Ali]

Cheers pedro. Yep, I think he was feeling neglected. I managed to finish building my 2nd cabinet at the weekend (same as the one in the pic) and tried them out yesterday. Now have an absolutely awesome sound. Am soooooo happy.

[Passi]

Hey,

I`m really unhappy about my Warwick Fortress One `93 passive EMG P/J pickups & electronics. The very low ouput, the hum from the brigde single coil and the absolutely useless bass/highs controller are the reason to change it all.
So I`m searching for a new ( passiv ) PJ set to gain more attack, punching lowmids, humcancelling and of course a much better output.
Any suggestions?

[Florin]

Hey Passi, well, the safest way would be to buy an active MEC set :-)

[Still Face Paradime]

Does anyone know if there is a 6 string option for Fortresses in the custom shop? I think it would be amazing if I could get my hands on a 6 string Fortress with high gloss white finish, maple body, wenge neck, black hardware, 2 active MEC soapbars (angled like a Thumb) with the same control layout as the Fortress Masterman (Master Volume/Blend, Neck Bass/Treble, Bridge Bass/Treble).

[Greg]

Does anyone know if there is a 6 string option for Fortresses in the custom shop? I think it would be amazing if I could get my hands on a 6 string Fortress with high gloss white finish, maple body, wenge neck, black hardware, 2 active MEC soapbars (angled like a Thumb) with the same control layout as the Fortress Masterman (Master Volume/Blend, Neck Bass/Treble, Bridge Bass/Treble).

Unfortunatly,the Fortress comes in 4 & 5ers only mate.

[Still Face Paradime]

That's what I thought. I can always dream though, haha.

[Pedro]

defo go for the high gloss white, it is sweeeeet!!

[Ali]

Anyone played the Stuart Zender signature? Looks like an incarnation of the Fortress, does it sound like one? Praps it could be incorperated into the Fortress Club, might keep the thing going!!!

[Florin]

I played one. It doesn't sound like a fortress to me. The sound is round and soft, which usually translates in big fat slap sound.

[Ali]

Ok, its just that in Ali land I was wondering if Warwick had regretted discontinuing such a classic as the Fortress. I also think that in comparison with the Corvette the Fortress has a warm and rounded sound. Unfortunately for me these are the only Warwicks I have any experience of, but as their sound is so different and I think they are 2 of the best looking models in the Warwick range (past and present) I feel no need to look any further. Am I missing something?

[Florin]

The only thing you could miss is the MUSIC :-) Basses are tools ...

[Ali]

NO! A bass is art and craft and MUSIC.

[Florin]

Well, if you put it that way, I would try several more Warwick models :-)
The Thumb NT and BO - is simply different. If you like it you cannot go back to ordinary basses :-)
Streamer Stage II - you hear in a second where the extra money are. Incredible ax.
STreamer LX - Fat, huge, growly, but still articulated.
Buzzard - a weird P bass.
The corvette and the fortress you have tried, are the most "conventional" warwicks. They have that specific W character, but the others I mentioned have much stronger characters.

I agree with you 100%, a good bass (or YOUR perfect bass) can help you reach the next level.

[Ali]

Thanks, I've been looking at the Thumb and Streamers but I don't really like the look of them, some will say that's shallow of me but looks are nearly as important to me as sound. Now it's obviously no use having a bass that looks great and sound awful but as I've said before you can have both so why settle for less? Anyway I like the look of the Infinity so if I can scrape some cash together, or win the Lottery that's the one I'll be going for.(I just hope it sounds ok) Cheers.

[Greg]

Looks are just as important a factor as any other.Wheather we choose to admit it or not.

[Pedro]

Anyway I like the look of the Infinity so if I can scrape some cash together, or win the Lottery that's the one I'll be going for.(I just hope it sounds ok) Cheers.

I'm with you on that one...and trust me, it sounds OK. Take a listen to anyone playing an infinity, they sound absolutely awesome!!! Check out the 'Once' album by Nightwish, Marco is using an infinity through a 'wick extreme head and it sounds amazin in a band situation

[Ali]

Thanks Pedro, didn't will the Lottery on Saturday which came as a bit of a surprise! So will have to try and scrape some cash together over the next year or so to buy one. Getting it passed the wife and into the house will almost be as difficult as getting the money together in the first place. Anyway, haven't had chance to listen to Nightwish yet but certainly will do so in the near future. Thanks again for the advice.

[PHILIFAN313]

ALI, dont fret too much over the thumb and streamer models. i just bought a fortress one bass and i love it!! the funniest thing is that i've tried many other models including the thumb and streamer and they were just too much for me. corvettes and fortresses are the standard. both very simple and very versatile, and they fit in any band!

[Ali]

Good point Philifan313, I had forgotten how pleased I felt when I first played my Warwicks. I still think that they are both fantastic guitars and I love playing them, I suppose I have just become accustomed to them and hanker for the next bass guitar fix! I can imagine that even if I could afford several thousand £ for the ultimate bass guitar fairly soon after I'd want something different! All that aside I have managed to blow both of my cabinet speakers, so my next difficult choice is Eminence or Celestions?

[PHILIFAN313]

whoa not too familiar with Eminince, but the Celestions are amazing and i know cause i've played through one. as for the wicks i know exactly how you feel, i have the need for a corvette or a katana after i got my fortress. Wick does a tremendoes job with body shapes and technological innovations on bass. its like theres so many features to choose from that it fries your brain. lol

[Ali]

I play in a band with 2 guitarists one swears by Celestion the other Eminence. I've been looking about on the Internet and think I may go for the Fane Sovereign 15 500's, it won't look like I'm taking sides then! Any experience of these? The first basses I played I had made myself, I was never overly impressed with the sound I was getting so thought I needed to get a quality named bass. To try and keep a long story short I went for Warwick for the very same reasons you mention above and have no regrets. Played one of my homemade basses at a gig a few weeks ago, it sounded rather good detuned. May post some pictures one day.

[Ali]

The Fane speakers seem to work well in me cabinets. I'm about to change the strings on my Fortress and am thinking of trying a light gauge string. I've always thought that size is important and gone for quite a heavy gauge. Has anybody got good experience of light strings? Just a bit concerned that I may not be heard, and that wouldn't do!

[Bassman]

Fortress 1A 5 string 1994. I was told in the shop that it was a "special" and not the normal spec. It has flame maple finish/gold hardware which looks great with the antique tobacco colour. Passive pups/active electronics. Sorry you can see more of me than the bass in the photo's! This is the only bass I've ever had that balances perfect as I'm playing the keys.

a7.jpg

Tim.gif

[Bassman]

Forgot to mention in previous post... ANDONOVA bei MySpace Music - Kostenlos MP3s anhören, Bilder & Musikvideos ansehen to see the bass in a video and hear recordings made with it.

[d'Averc]

a look at my pair?



odin´s (thunder)bolt and thor´s hammer

[Ali]

Sex on stands! Congrats d'Averc, they look beautiful.

[d'Averc]

Sex on stands! Congrats d'Averc, they look beautiful.

more pics?

[Florin]

I love the flashback!

[Pedro]

oh man them flashbacks make me cringe, loving the MM though!

[Ali]

more pics?

Yeah, more pics would be good. Love them both.

[d'Averc]

Yeah, more pics would be good. Love them both.

ok. fortress one or masterman - we know, they fit the same.



the flasback is an uncommon fortress (-warwick?). heavy ash, body-contour only rounded.



take a look on the back of the massive 2tek-bridge:



my flashback was build in 1996. that means, new "steel-armed" neck-construction, trussrod and "volute". as special: hipshot Y-key ultralite machines:



but i love the "old neck" on my masterman more



conclusion: different constructions, different sounds and different operation purposes