If I put Warwick Thumb Bass pickups on a Jazz Bass, what would it sound like?

[thebrig]

Just thinking, I absolutely love the growl and tone of a Warwick Thumb bass, but I don't want one because it will be far too heavy, probably suffer with neck dive, and with my short arms, I would never be able to reach the lower frets, but I am wondering what it is that gives it that distinctive sound.

I had a Corvette a few years ago, and although it didn't growl as much as a Thumb, it still growled none the less, but it was passive, so it couldn't have been the eq that gives it the Warwick sound.

And it really can't be the neck or body wood, because a lot of people will insist that the wood hardly contributes to the sound/tone of a bass.

So is the pups, and if so, what makes them so different?

If I put a pair of pups from a Thumb into a Jazz bass, would it sound like a Thumb? it should if the wood doesn't have much say in the sound/tone, but if it doesn't, does that mean the wood does make a difference.

Sorry, I don't really want to bring up the old wood/tone debate again, but just wondering...

[Sparky Mark]

I have a 1991 NT4 Thumb with MEC jazz pups and it sounds nothing like any of my other jazz basses. You are correct about the weight (10lbs) but I haven't noticed neck dive. I do attribute the unique sound to the neck through construction and the extremely dense woods used throughout.

I bought the Ibanez SR1200 as a much lighter alternative to my Thumb as the neck construction although not the same uses similar woods and feels similar too.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Sparky Mark

[LukeFRC]

Well thumb basses have MEC pups.
Early ones had EMG, bartolini, Seymour Duncan actives or alembic.
Whatever they are it's still a thumb.

Stick a set of MECs from a Warwick in a jazz bass and it will sound like any video on YouTube of a jazz bass with emg pickups in it.

The preamp is warwicks own, kinda cloned from an emg one originally that has a bass freq about 100hz - higher than many others - that's part of the sound.
Also the woods and the form of construction do make a difference.
And the pick uplacrment is way closer to the bridge....

Also my thumb is under 9lb so not that heavy!

[thebrig]

I've had two Corvettes, both had MEC's and they both had that Warwick growl, but one was bubinga and one was swamp ash, they were both passive with bolt on-necks.
I've heard bolt-on Thumbs live, and they also have that distinctive "Thumb" sound just like the NT, so I'm not sure if there is any real difference between bolt-on or NT.

This only my thoughts of course, but it would seem that the MEC's contribute to a certain extent, but because the Warwick bodies can be made from various woods, I would say that its possibly the neck wood that contributes the most to the Warwick growl.

The reason I'm asking these questions is because I would love to be able to put the same pups they use in a Thumb into a Jazz, and then hey presto! I've goy myself a bass that feels and plays like a Jazz, but has that distinctive Warwick Thumb growl, but I have a feeling that it just wont!

[Kiwi]

Single coil or humbucking pickups (in my experience at least) are a blunt tool when it comes to tone. They're useful for general changes in that you can move a resonancy peak around, boost/cut output level and cut the highs back but that's about it. If you throw a set of MEC's in a jazz bass you'll just get jazz bass, albeit with whatever changes MEC made to impedance, voltage and output to get the Warwick character they wanted.

The most interesting (and sophisticated) pickups I've encountered are those on Wal basses. Each pole piece has it's own coil and is essentially it's own pickup. Potentially you could wire up stereo panning from that arrangement but the potential for tweaking the resonancy peak for each pole piece is interesting - and the effects of cross talk between pole pieces. It would be really interesting to throw some of those in another bass to see what happened.

[TrevorR]

How's a bout these...

Foderawal...



Seiwal

[thebrig]

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1476165354' post='3151818']
How's a bout these...

Foderawal...



Seiwal


[/quote]Mmm, very nice, I would love to hear how they sound.

[Kiwi]

Me too!

[progben]

I own a Warwick Dolphin Pro II and despite not having a tonne of experience with high-end Warwicks, it does definitely sound like a Warwick (as confirmed by several, more knowledgeable friends)

Different to the usual Warwick's, it has a thin ash body & maple neck (so IMO the wood isn't the main contributor here).

It does however use the same 3D bridge, brass frets, nut, wenge fingerboard MEC pups and pickup placement (bridge p-up way back) of many of their higher end instruments.

I'd be inclined to say it's mostly the placement of the pickups (rather than the type) which makes the most difference.

[Ajoten]

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1476142722' post='3151787']
...they also have that distinctive "Thumb" sound...
[/quote]

Any examples? I'm intrigued by the Thumb look but didn't realise they had a particular sound.

[margusalviste]

I think you should consider building a custom jazz from Warmoth or other manufacturer's parts. Warmoth makes great parts and you can have them to choose the right woods and cut pickup holes based on Thumb positions. I have built more than 10 basses from Warmoth parts and they were just superb instruments.

[Grangur]

If you want a Warwick sound then in all probability, what you need to add to the pups to make them sound like a Warwick is to fit them into a Warwick.

You might like to dismiss the effect that wood density has on tone but there has to be some reason why other body-neck combinations don't quite get that sound.

Alternatively you could try getting some Andy Irvine fingers, if you want to pursue the other popular theory.

If wood has no effect, why don't all Fenders of a specific type sound alike?

[bassjim]

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1476174808' post='3151896']
Mmm, very nice, I would love to hear how they sound.
[/quote]
I saw a guy with a rare carl thompson at a festival that had wal pickups. Its sounded like a wal.

[thebrig]

So can I conclude then? Pickups and Wood DO make a difference?

Whoops! that can of worms is open again.