Paulhauser

Very nice, congratulations! What's that color? Kinda hard to tell from the pic, looks like blueish...

On 27/06/2021 at 01:14, zbd1960 said:

OK... this seems like a sensible place to ask...

I'm thinking of trying a 6 string... just for fun... so one of the ones that pops up when I look around is the Spector Legend 6. Anyone familiar with this and have any thoughts?

Ta.

Can't go wrong with a Legend 6, they are well built and great quality for the price especially used. Scale lenght and specing is like those of the bigger brothers (Euro 6, NS-6) but with a different headstock and slightly different bridge pu placing. If you wanna have a 6er just for fun, a Legend 6 will more than deliver. 

White pearloid is the best of both worlds for me.....

On 11/06/2021 at 15:07, nekomatic said:

So standard 5-string tuning is BEADG, obviously, providing an extra fourth of range below a 4-string bass.

If you’re a pretentious jazz noodler, on the other hand, you can string your 5 EADGC, giving you access to an extra fourth of top-end pretentious jazz noodling.

Here’s the thing though: I do sometimes want a D below my low E string, but I don’t actually like the really low end of a 5-string in a lot of contexts: it just seems to bring a different, somehow more synthetic character to the bass sound that doesn’t fit for me. On the other hand, I am (or try to be) a pretentious jazz noodler who could definitely stretch out on an extra high string from time to time.

So why not get a 5-string and tune it, say, DGCFBb - or even (ulp) C#F#BEA - apart from the fact that it’s self-evidently weird and wrong and likely to cause havoc on swapping to a normally tuned instrument? Does anyone do this?

Would be a 5 string tuned to E A D G C a solution with a Drop tuner on the E to get it down to D (or even C if it is a double stop one) 

edit: you have written 'sometimes' for a D so maybe the possible difficulty - if any -  in playing in drop D tuning for those occasions are overshadowed by the otherwise normal tuning (EADGC) Btw DGCFBb is good, but anytime I have used that tuning lost some reference points on the fretboard, everything felt 2 frets off normal 😄 But I never spent an awful lot of time getting adjusted tbh. 

4 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

I’ve got a 2009 Ovangkol BO Thumb and it has the chunky neck. Common claims that they are like ‘baseball bats’ are an exaggeration. They are actually very comfortable IMO.

That said I have switched the MEC preamp for a Bartolini (I wanted a 3 band EQ) and plan to do the same with the pickups. 

I think it is the 6 string when it really matters..... I play Spectors for 15 years and some said some of them have chunky necks (talking about 5ers)  but I never had one that I had a problem with in this regards. Now 6ers are where every fraction of an inch matters... or maybe we all can get used to pretty much anything and it's just nitpicking. 

8 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

Every time Obscura are meantioned I mentally think of The band Canera Obscura and feel confused

For a long time it brought me back the Obscura record by Gorguts 😄 Differents strokes I think 😄

@bassbora thank you for your thoughts on your own Thumbs. As for JPT I'm well aware of him, I happen to like the Obscura record he first played on with them (Cosmogenesis) also like his Ensemble Salazhar record (was it a demo?). He is a monster player and one of the reason I always thought that fretless Thumbs have some of the best fretless sound for me. The other is the Hungarian player Attila Fehervari with Special Providence, he played a lot his Thumb BO5 fretless and has great sound in the mix. 

6 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

'  Likewise I doubt 6 string basses have the 'broad neck' option.  

The bolt on Thumb 6 and the singlecut Thumb 6 both have the broadneck option and there are quite a few out there. However I haven't seen a NT6 broadneck....

@thodrik the Spector is 5,15 kgs, the Thumb is 5,6 kgs. 

15 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

I'd have thought a 6 string Thumb before 91 would have been a custom order... in the 80's period of Warwicks even a 5 string was a rare bird!    

Warwick started in 82 though the Thumb (4) didn't arrive till 85 iirc.  You do get mid/late 80's 5 string Thumbs but 6 strings weren't 'fashionable' back then so I doubt there was a demand for them to produce for stock.  Lots of the 80's basses had an element of hands on work, which became less so as production techniques changed.  Into the 90's and 00's you had a lot higher number production, so 5/6 string basses would be regular production. 

Ok, I see what you have meant. Do you know that the stories of the 2000' ovangkol neck basses had chunkier profile than before or after? Maybe it is not so much true for a 6 string neck but seem to remember reading about that in general Ww neck profiles changed through time and there was a period of think / chunky necks....

1 hour ago, bagsieblue said:

Good point!!! - seen many of the truss issue basses  - had a few myself. 

I cant recall any of them being Thumbs, so anecdotally fully agree that this would be much less common on Thumbs.

Actually it was some of your comments in a WW related topic about truss rod issues that caught my eye as a potentional problem for basses from 2000-2010-ish.

1 hour ago, thodrik said:

This is pretty irrelevant to the thread @Paulhauser,  but could you be kind enough to provide a brief comparison between the Warwick Thumb 6 and your Spector Forte 6? 

The reason I ask is that they are both Spector and Warwick are options I am considering as a first six string in the future and it is highly unlikely that I will find them in a shop to try out side by side! 

Cheers!

Happy to do it, mind you I am a full time Spector owner-user (you know that I guess) and the Thumb I only played for a week- albeit quite a lot.

Both have incredible build  and finish quality so both winners there.

The Thumb is 34” but due to the design the first fret positions are the same place as with the 35” Spector. 
Thumb is heavier.

IIRC neck dimensions are very similar (nut width 82 vs 84mm fingerboard widt at the  24th fret 85 vs 86mm) but the Spector neck profile is thinner front to back. Also spacing at the bridge is the same (17mm)

Soundwise they’re different and both represent well the characteristics of their breed (NT6 Thumbs vs NS Spectors with soapbars) but there is lot more sonic difference between 5 and 6 string Thumbs than between 5/6 NS Spectors. As said above the NT6 is really stands in its own.

 Happy to answer any further questions you may have...

@warwickhunt thank you for taking your time to comment. I never was very deep into comparing or swapping pickups other than the EMGs in my Spectors so what you have written is fair enough of an information for me and answers my question. 
 

As for necks, what do you mean by the NT6 not being around? Were they not produced for a while? I found NT6s from 91, 2011 and iirc from the end of the 80’s...

Calling Warwick experts / Thumb historians here 🙂

I have recently took possession of a mid-2010's Warwick Thumb NT6 which I quite like. It piqued my interest in the model and its history. I had a '91 Thumb NT5 before which I did not like, neither the ergonomics not the sound but this NT6 is surpassing my expectations in both departments and as strange a beast it is I like it a lot (honeymoon period maybe).

As this one has EMG's in it not the typical MEC or Bartolini I went a bit of a window shopping trip to see what's out there for sale (used) Only NT, no bolt-on and masterbuilt / whatever it was called before. Not that I need another one but just....you know how it is 🙂 Mainly I was looking for the natural bubinga bodied ones and digging into the model's history I became aware that there are a couple of phases. Like the early ones had somewhat skinnier necks and mainly Barts in them, then MEC came in and also in the 2000's the neck became ovangkol and thicker, too. Also I read about the truss rod/nut issues that were popping up in the same time.

So anyone in the know could verify these or point me out what to look for or avoid in terms of woods, time periods, pickups (Mec vs. Barts) Or simply elaborate on the models history a bit (or direct me to someplace where this already have been discussed. What I'd like to especially know:

- how much is the difference between Barts and Mec soapbars

- which period has the skinnier necks (in Ww terms, anyway)

- anything to look for / avoid as if I will ever make a purchase it will be a distance purchase most likely so can't try or inspect (truss rod)

Thanks in advance!

19 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

@Paulhauser The strings spacing at the bridge of a Yamaha TRB-6P is 19mm. I had a few, even some defretted ones that sounded really great, but they were all on the heavy side so they went away.

Thank you. Secretly I hoped it to be less but alas, no. 

2 hours ago, Cairobill said:

Yeah - this TRB6P is INCREDIBLY well made. Unusual colour as well - it's what I would call a 'Tequila Sunrise' burst. Not the usual orange or cherry/redburst.

What is the string spacing at the bridge on these? I had a TRB-II6P which was a great sounding bass but IIRC the spacing was like 19mm plus they left an ample amount of wood on both edges of the fingerboard so that made it like a Jumbo could land on it. I had a bolt on TRB-II6 before but this was wider (and a lot heavier)

27 minutes ago, DiMarco said:

Will make decent pics with a DSLR once I cleaned and waxed it, and replaced those awful strings.
Battery compartment showed a leaking 9v has been in there. I think the bass has been stowed away unused for a very long time.

I like old Warwicks over the newer ones  though. I have no real reason why.

The neck is asymmetrical on the back which is really nice ergonomically. I wonder what I should use to remove all the grime before waxing it. Common soap?

 

My only other Ww so far was a '91 Thumb NT5 which was a disappointment both ergonomically and sound-wise. My recent Thumb 6NT is a pleasant surpriese in both ways. It does not seem to have asymmetrical neck carve though but has a very playable neck (which is thicker front to back that my other sixers but feels great) Keep us updated on the cleaning process as I'm curious....as I was looking at some older natural finished Thumbs and seen some excessive usage of the Ww wax which is not really my liking aesthetically. 

I have recently did a trade with Vincent (Rollo). Trading high end basses remotely (ie. not in person) are always a bit risky and based on complete trust in each other.  Communication and making sure both parties are happy and kept updated in the process is a key element of a flawless transaction.

This was my first deal with Vincent and couldn't be happier with the way things went. Great communication, bombproof packagind and fast shipment - plus I got what was promised to get and in a condition it was described. 

I was a bit sad letting one of my basses go but I got another great one  in which I'm happy about so in the end it has been great. 

I would deal with Vincent again without hesitation, great and trustworthy person! Have fun with you new bass!

@DiMarco how are you liking the Thumb? Any pics of it? I recently got my Thumb NT6, a fairly recent one and that piqued my interest in earlier NT6's. 

11 hours ago, DiMarco said:

I just bought my 2nd six string. A Warwick Thumb NT from 1990 with Bartolini pickups.
Cheers! Marco

 

Ohh cool. I'm looking at WW Thumb NT6s myself.... 

19 hours ago, binky_bass said:

There's only one reasonable course of action here:

The BassChat Brawl... 

We all meet up in a dimly lit carpark at exactly midnight with our basses and engage in a battle royale, smashing each others faces in with our basses until one person walks (crawls?) out victorious, that person shall hence for dictate to all others which bass we must all play. 

I see this as the only fair way to break this deadlock. 

I have 4, 5 and 6 string basses so where do I stand? (also two guitars and a few cymbals, too 🙂 )

16 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

No new bass from BD, I am afraid, only clearing our "living"room to make my wife happy. Although, I am still looking for a Stingray Classic, natural finish, maple FB 😉 

I see. Pity for that 1977, these are really great basses...

On 10/05/2021 at 16:58, Eldon Tyrell said:

I don't know. What I do know is that after having applied the Feed-N-Wax, the 77 looks better than ever! The colour of the wood just looks more intense. Difficult to explain. So, thanks again @Bunion 👍

@Eldon Tyrell I'm seeing this and a Forte at Bassdirect. What are you getting? 😉 🙂

@Bunion and @Eldon Tyrell I always thought that these 1977 and 79's have clear coating on them, a satin, thin one but still it is not untreated wood or not oil finished. But I might have been mistaken as clearly the wax must have gone somewhere IN...or simply evaporated into air? 

The only thing I'd comment on is the Cobalts have great feel and sound and they are now my preferred strings of choice (yes, pity about the no 6 string set...and would love a .125/.045 5er set, too. I know, they offer single strings, too but they are a PITA purchasing with the options I have)

1 hour ago, Moos3h said:

Hi folks

I’m STILL struggling with the move to a five string, but do want to persevere with it - my Woodworm is a lovely thing but I really don’t get on with how wide the neck is as my hands are quite small.

Not knowing much about these things, is there a brand that is known for a slightly narrower neck when it comes to five strings? Some look like the width of a floorboard and I have no hope at all!

 

 Thanks,

James

James, which part of the neck have you problem with? Is it already too wide at the neck or it is fine for the first positions but tapers too much much towards the bridge making it wider as you go for the higher positions?
For example the Spector Euro 5 that I use a lot has a tight spacing at the bridge (17mm) and the nut is not wide so the whole fretboard tapers not that much. Whereas my old Yamama TRB had much the same nut measure but the bridge spacing was wider (19mm iirc) so the whole board  tapered big time, it became almost like a landing zone for military aircrafts 🙂