Manual for all

RockBass® Models

ENGLISH 1
 Markneukirchen in March 2017

Dear Customer,

Congratulations on your new RockBass® by Warwick.

Innovation, taking risks, countless new technical developments, the most state-of-the-art technology
and a lot of dedication and diligence by all of Warwick’s coworkers have, over the years, created
instruments that are cherished by enthusiasts worldwide. They also represent a model for many
other manufacturers. The RockBass® series follows this tradition and offers a high quality instrument
for a reasonable price to musicians worldwide.

Today, Warwick designs are already classics. Their innovation and contemporary appeal are always
present in the whole RockBass® range, too.

Satisfied customers and continuous worldwide success prove us right time and again. The customer
is always first when it comes to success because he puts down his money to get the best possible
product and the best possible customer service from us.

We wish you a lot of fun with your new RockBass® by Warwick.

Sincerely yours,

Hans-Peter Wilfer

2
Index
1) Tuners - Stringing / Tuning Procedure 4
2) Truss rod cover / Truss Rod Adjustment 6
3) Nut / Bridge 7
4) Strings 8
5) Pickups 8
6) Electronics for all Models 9

Model, Specifications
Corvette Basic Passive 9
Corvette Basic Active / Corvette 8-String 9
Corvette $$ 9
Corvette Classic 9
Corvette Premium 10
Streamer Standard 10
Streamer LX 10
Streamer NT I 10
Vampyre / Vampyre Dark Lord 11
Fortress 11
Robert Trujillo Artlist Line 11
Triumph Lite 11
Rex Brown Artist Line 12
Adam Clayton Artist Line 12
Bootsy Collins Artist Line 12

7) Tips for Body, Neck and Fingerboard Care 13

8) Easy AccessTM Electronics Compartment 14
9) Security Locks 14
10) Warranty / Customer Service 15

3
1) Tuners - Stringing / Tuning Procedure

Tuners:
All RockBass® instruments come standard equipped with high quality precision tuners (20:1 ratio). Warwick tuners
feature a sealed, self-lubricating gear that warrants high tuning stability and needs no maintenance.

The tuners are installed slanted facing the player The turning resistance of the tuners can be adjusted
to improve ergonomics and handling. using a Philips head screwdriver.

4
Stringing / tuning procedure

Place the string’s ball end on the bridge string Cut the string approximately 8 cm / 3 1/4”
holder. Hold the ball end down with one hand behind the tuner. You’ll need this excess
and with the other feed the string to the tuner. length for the windings around the tuner’s
post.

The tuner’s post has a slot with a hole in Tighten the string while winding it around the
the center. Put the string in that hole before post. This avoids string slippage and increa-
you start winding. This system avoids the ses tuning stability.
string poking out to the side of the tuner and
stabilizes the winding, giving the bass better
tuning overall.

2-4 windings around the post are ideal for

good tuning and stability.

5
2) Truss rod cover / Truss rod adjustment

Truss rod cover:

The truss rod cover of a RockBass® gives you - when needed - quick access to the truss rod. You’ll need a flat
screwdriver to unlock the integrated latch mechanism.

Truss rod adjustment:

A neck is set up correctly if it has a slight forward bow. You can easily verify this by pressing the lowest string at the
1st and last fret and measuring the distance between the fret and the string at the 7th fret: it should read between
0.6 and 1 mm (0.02” and 0.04”). This value is independent from the action (height) setup of each individual string.

Direction A = back bow

Direction B = forward bow

Turning the truss rod key clockwise (direction A) will tighten the truss rod and give the neck a back bow. Turning the
truss rod key counterclockwise (direction B) will loosen the truss rod and give the neck a forward bow. These adjust-
ments should be done in small steps because the neck’s reaction is not instantaneous. You should check the results
after approximately one hour and probably check again the following day. Readjust the truss rod if needed.

A change in humidity, particularly during the changing of seasons or during strong weather fluctuations, is when one
should pay attention to the neck’s setup and the corresponding truss rod adjustment.

6
3) Nut / Bridge

Nut:
Just A Nut III is the standard on RockBass® bass guitars since 2008, manufactured using high-tech material with the
best tonal characteristics, fine adjustability and stability.

Use the included 1.5 mm Allen wrench to

adjust the string’s height at the nut.

Press down on the string at the 3rd fret. Check the distance between the first fret and the string.
It shouldn’t read more than 0.3 mm / 0.01”, which equals
the thickness of a business card.

Bridge:
The Warwick 3-D Bridge features additional adjustments on the top of the floating bridge: Intonation, string spacing
as well as individual string saddle height adjustment to accommodate the fingerboard’s radius.

1 2

4
5
First loosen the locking screw (1) with the included 2.5 mm Allen wrench, the bridge is now unlocked and can be
adjusted with the adjustment screws (2). To adjust the height of each individual string saddle as well as adjusting the
string spacing, loosen the locking screws (3) with the included 1.5 mm Allen wrench and now the saddle is
unlocked. The saddle can now be moved sideways to the left or right to obtain the desired string spacing. In this
step you can also adjust the height of each individual string saddle, and for that take the 1.5 mm wrench and adjust
the adjustment screws (4). An ideal setup is the one where the strings follow the fingerboard’s radius.

You can adjust the intonation screws (5) with a screwdriver. Turning the screws clockwise will increase the string’s
length between bridge and nut; turning them counterclockwise will decrease the string’s length. Once the setup is
concluded please tighten locking screws 1 and 3 to secure it.
7
4) Strings

Standard Strings Gauges for RockBass® Models

Warwick Red Strings Electric Bass Stainless Steel

4-String: .045” .065” .085” .105” (42200 M 045/105”)
5-String: .045” .065” .085” .105” .135” (42301 M 5B 045/135” plus 42135 TC Single String)
6-String: .025” .045” .065” .085” .105” .135” (42401 M 6 025/135” plus 42135 TC Single String)
8-String: .017” .025” .035” .045” .040” .060” .080” .100” (42501 M 8 017/100”)

Triumph Lite
4-String: .049” .065” .081” .107” (44200 TRIUMPH 4)

Vampyre Dark Lord

4-String: .085” .105” .135” .175” - Extra Longscale for Dark Lord (42175 DL TC)

Corvette 5-String Medium Scale

5-String: .045” .065” .085” .105” .135” (42301 M 5B 045/135”)

Attention!!!
If the string gauge is thicker than .125” we strongly recommend using tapered core strings. Otherwise the string
won’t fit in the ball end holder. Warwick Red Strings Electric Bass Stainless Steel with tapered core are available as
single strings with .130” gauge (42130 TC) or .135” gauge (42135 TC).

5) Pickups

All RockBass® models are equipped with pickups by German manufacturer MEC (Music Electronic Company)
exclusively. This continuing collaboration brings new ideas to market and delivers high quality.
More information at: http://www.mec-pickups.de

Factory setup:
The factory setup for the pickups is such that pressing the lowest and highest string at the highest fret will create a
distance of 2 mm between strings and pickup

8
6) Electronics for all models

Balance Control Balance Control Corvette Basic Passive

Bridge Passive Pickups / Passive electronics

Balance Control Volume / Balance / Neck Tone / Bridge Tone

Neck
Volume Control

Bridge
Balance Control Bass Corvette Basic Active / Corvette 8-String
Control Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics

Treble Volume / Balance / Treble Control / Bass Control

Control
Volume Control
Bridge

Corvette $$
Passive Pickups / Passive electronics

Push/Pull * Neck Volume (Push/Pull) / Bridge Volume (Push/Pull) / Tone

Volume Control Tone Control
Push/Pull *
Bridge * Pulling the volume controls switches the pickup coil
Volume Control
Neck wiring from serial to parallel mode.
Bridge

Balance Control Bass Corvette Classic

Control Passive Pickups / Active 2-way electronics

Treble Volume / Balance / Treble / Bass

Control
Volume Control
Bridge

9
 Balance Control Bass Corvette Premium
Control Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics

Treble Volume / Balance / Treble / Bass

Control
Volume Control

Bridge
Streamer Standard
Passive Pickups / Passive electronics

Volume Control Neck Volume / Bridge Volume / Tone

Bridge Tone Control
Volume Control
Neck
Bridge

Streamer LX
Passive Pickups / Active 2-way electronics
Bass Control
Volume / Balance / Bass / Treble
Balance Control Treble Control

Volume Control
Bridge

Streamer NT I
Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics
Bass Control
Volume / Balance / Bass / Treble
Balance Control Treble Control

Volume Control
Bridge

10
 Vampyre / Vampyre Dark Lord
Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics
Bass Control
Volume / Balance / Bass / Treble
Balance Control Treble Control

Volume Control

Bridge
Fortress
Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics
Bass Control
Volume / Balance / Bass / Treble
Balance Control Treble Control

Volume Control
Bridge

Treble/Bass Robert Trujillo Artist Line

Balance Mid Active Pickups / Active 3-way electronics

Volume (Push/Pull*) / Balance / Treble/Bass stacked / Mid

Volume
(Push/Pull*) * Pulling on the volume knob bypasses the on-board Active
preamp and deactives the tone controls.

Triumph Lite
Piezo Pickups / Passive electronics

Volume / Tone
Bridge

Volume
Control
Tone
Control

11
 Rex Brown Artist Line
Treble/Bass Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics

Balance Volume (Push/Pull*) / Balance / Treble/Bass stacked

Volume (Push/Pull*)
* Pulling on the volume knob bypasses the on-board Active
preamp and deactives the tone controls.

Bridge
Adam Clayton Artist Line
Passive Pickups / Passive electronics

Treble Neck Volume / Bridge Volume / Tone

Volume Bass
Bridge

Bootsy Collins SpaceBass

Treble/Bass Active Pickups / Active 2-way electronics

Balance Volume (Push/Pull*) / Balance / Treble/Bass stacked

Volume (Push/Pull*)
* Pulling on the volume knob bypasses the on-board Active
preamp and deactives the tone controls.
Bridge

12
7) Tips for Body, Neck and Fingerboard Care

Colored Transparent Satin Finish/Transparent

Satin Finish:
A matte and transparent surface with visible wood structure and accentu-
ated grain are the essential characteristic of the Colored Transparent Satin
Finish/Transparent Satin Finish. Here the surface is either color stained
(Colored Transparent Satin Finish) or the wood stays natural and sealed
with a thin layer of clear satin matte lacquer (Transparent Satin Finish).
This sealed finish does not need special care.
If the surface gets dirty it should be wiped with a damp cloth or with one
of the many non-abrasive spray cleaners available in selected stores or
specialist shops.

High Polish Finish:

A High Polish Finish is produced with the use of a high polish lacquer. Polishing Cloth (RB TOOL CLOTH MF W)
The wood is completely sealed under the finish; the surface is as
smooth as glass and without noticeable wood grain structure. As with Colored Transparent Satin Finish, care is
limited to the visual aspects. Wipe the surface clean with a damp cloth or with the correspondingly suited spray
cleaners, or you can use polish that reinstates the full shine of the finish, removing small scratches and typical
traces of playing.

Tips for Neck Care:

All RockBass® necks are sealed with Natural Transparent Satin Finish. The care procedure thus is the same as with
Colored Oil/Natural Transparent Satin finished bodies.

Tips for Fingerboard Care:

All fingerboards that come standard with RockBass® instruments are not lacquered and thus require a little
maintenance once in a while to avoid getting rough or dull.

To clean and protect the fingerboard use products specially made for this pur-
pose and that are available at selected stores or specialist shops. Please refer to
the manufacturer’s product information to achieve the desired result.

You can also use the Warwick Beeswax for your fingerboard’s maintenance.

You can order our cleaning products from our webshop:

shop.warwick.de

Visit the support section of our web page for more information and instructional
videos:

www.warwick.de, www.warwickbass.com Bees Wax (SP W 50015)

13
8) Easy AccessTM Electronics Compartment

With your fingernails, press on both latches Life the upper part with both hands and remove
simultaneously to open the Easy AccessTM the cover.
Compartment.

9) Security Locks
All RockBass® instruments are shipped with Warwick Security Locks.

Assembly:

Put the piece with the outside thread in the strap Pull the ring on the thread from the other side of
hole. the strap.

Screw the nut on the thread. Press the button of the Security Locks to
Tighten with a wrench. unlatch it so you can remove the strap or put it on.

14
10) Warranty / Customer Service

Warwick’s warranty for all musical instruments is limited to 2 years.

Please register as a Warwick User. You find the Product Registration on our website under ‚Support‘.

In case of a defective product please refer to your musical instruments dealer.

If you have further questions about your instrument feel free to contact us.
Email: info@warwick.de or service@warwick.de

The manufacturer reserves the right to any technical modifications.

Visit our websites:

www.warwick.de, www.warwickbass.com

Visit our distributor page:

www.w-distribution.de

Please direct your custom shop requests to:

custom-shop@warwick.de

For replacements, spare parts and cleaning products please visit our Webshop:
shop.warwick.de

Follow us on:
www.facebook.com/warwickframus instagram.com/framuswarwickofficial/
www.youtube.com/user/warwickofficial www.framuswarwickartist.blogspot.de/
twitter.com/WarwickFramus

15
 Do not trash.
Dispose of accordingly.

Weee-Nr.: DE93670540

Family Owned • Solar Powered • Sustainably Manufactured in a Green Environment

Distribution: Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG

Gewerbepark 46, D-08258 Markneukirchen / Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 37422 555 0 • Fax: +49 (0) 37422 555 99
e-mail: info@warwick.de • service@warwick.de

Branches: Shanghai/FR China • Dübendorf/Switzerland

Praha/Czech Republic & Slovakia Republic
Warsaw/Poland • Hailsham/Great Britain • Nashville/USA
16