Not just another pretty face:

A closer look at the Flamin' Blonde's Lacewood top and back

Every year, when Warwick's bass design team gathers to dream up the next Limited Edition bass, the first topic is always which body wood to use. The team will look through a mountain of tonewood samples until they all agree on just the right selection. Sometimes the discussion is heated and it takes weeks to come to a decision. For the Flamin' Blonde, however, the decision was almost instantaneous! The lacewood sample not only grabbed the spotlight with its unique and rare appearance, but the sample bass that they built with a lacewood top and back sounded warm, yet defined, with an nice edge to the upper mids. The team unanimously agreed that lacewood would be the perfect choice as a body wood for the Flamin' Blonde and, from the reaction that we have received so far, they made the right choice!

Once the choice of wood was made, it was up to Warwick's wood team to handpick the pieces which would ultimately end up on the basses. They quickly found that this rare tone wood is not readily available in slabs thick enough to make solid bodies, so they started experimenting with different combinations. Once again, the team unanimously agreed that they would use lacewood for the top and back, with a ekanga/yellowheart/ekanga veneer in between. This stylish combo gives players both a killer tone and a sexy visual.

Warwick also found that the best-looking, highest-figured lacewood came in narrow slats that were not nearly wide enough to make a 1-piece top. Being slaves to the natural beauty of lacewood, the design team opted to make either 2-piece or 4-piece tops, whichever would result in the most striking appearance. This was where the luthiers started having fun! Exposing themselves as the true artists that they are, the luthiers started playing with the lacewood pieces. Deep, pocket grains were bookended with sweeping grains to create visual motion. Pieces with differing movement in the grain were paired up to make a bass that caught the eye and drew it into the center of the instrument. The result of their artistic creativity is a series of limited edition basses that are each unique and undeniably beautiful.

Words can only do so much to describe these stunning basses, so here are some images:

Above is an example of a 2-piece lacewood top which pairs two grain patterns to create a unique visual movement.

This picture is of a 4-piece lacewood top where the outside pieces perfectly frame the darker interior pieces. Notice how closely the grain matches on the butt of the bass (the two pieces nearest the input jack, for example)!

Here is another 4-piece top that has an almost hypnotic look, with the directions of the grain seemingly converging at the seams!

If you have your heart set on a 2-piece or 4-piece top you must act quickly! Supplies are extremely limited! When you get your Flamin' Blonde you too will fall under the spell of the magic that is lacewood.