This is a beautiful bass to own and play. It's the ideal instrument for the typically English bassist - tasteful, refined, subtly understated looks but with a real depth of quality about it. It's made in Germany and you can feel that unmistakable German engineering quality as soon as you pick it up. The shape looks a bit strange, with a long straight top horn, but that's the clever thing about the design - when you strap it on it just falls naturally into place and makes playing really comfortable.

By now you'll have gathered I'm very impressed with this bass! But the real important side of any bass is the sound, and this bass doesn't disappoint. The tone is rich and mellow, and when the action is set properly the harmonics really sing all the way up the neck. This Corvette Standard is the all-passive model - I've also used the active Warwick Corvette Pro-Line for a couple of years and that has quite a good range of tones, but somehow the passive version seems to have a very pure, natural tone to it (and it's a lot cheaper too!). I play it in a jazz trio, and whether it's at an exclusive lounge gig or a 2000-seat auditorium the sound is always just right with minimal EQ on the monitor and at the desk.

There are some nice features on this bass too. The angled tuners on all Warwicks are quite handy if you've got short arms like me, and the bridge is fully adjustable and very well made. The nut is also adjustable so you don't need to fiddle with the bri dge just because you've changed your string gauge. The straplocks are very neat and are recessed into the body, giving a smooth profile to the instrument. It comes supplied with a gig bag, but for an instrument of this quality it pays to keep it in a ha rd case - fortunately it fits quite well inside a standard Hiscox case. For me, of all the basses I've played, this is my personal favourite.

Construction	100%
(sheer quality you can feel, see and hear)
Playability	100%
(feels just right when strapped on, full neck access)
Appearance	95%
(shape is a bit unconventional but lovely oiled wood body finish)
Sound	100%
(very smooth; if you could taste it it would be like Irish cream liquor!)
Value	90%
(not a cheap bass but it justifies the price)
Cust. Service	90%
(Warwick provide good backup but only through licensed dealers)
Overall	100%
(the best all-round bass I've come across)