NBD - Thumb twiddling

[vincbt]

As some of you know, by now I've had a fairly long journey in search of the Warwick bass that really works for me. I started out with a cheap passive Corvette with ash body (and slightly twisted neck it turned out), then moved that on in part exchange for a Thumb bolt-on, which was frankly great and was sold here only because I wanted to try the NT version and @Cosmo Valdemar was turning 40 at the right time.

 

I then had Thumb NT5 for a while, but I realised my use of the 5th string is very limited and I don't like the string spacing, so on we go.

 

Having just sold that bass to @Homelander, today I picked up a Warwick Thumb from ‘88 in great condition. The neck feels completely different from the previous models I've had and it's generally quite light and well balanced. The previous owner swapped the original EMG pickups with EMG JAX, but everything else looks original, based on very helpful advice from @Kev @DrDrill and @warwickhunt. All my previous Wicks had MEC so I can't compare them exactly but the sound is very punchy and clear.

 

The only thing left now is to decide whether to swap the gold hardware for black, but this one is not leaving me any time soon!

 

        

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by vincbt
Tags fixed

[4000]

Beautiful. One of the few basses I’ve wanted but never owned. Love the early Thumbs. 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

1 hour ago, vincbt said:

As some of you know, by now I've had a fairly long journey in search of the Warwick bass that really works for me. I started out with a cheap passive Corvette with ash body (and slightly twisted neck it turned out), then moved that on in part exchange for a Thumb bolt-on, which was frankly great and was sold here only because I wanted to try the NT version and @Cosmo Valdemar was turning 40 at the right time.

 

I then had Thumb NT5 for a while, but I realised my use of the 5th string is very limited and I don't like the string spacing, so on we go.

 

Having just sold that bass to @Homelander, today I picked up a Warwick Thumb from ‘88 in great condition. The neck feels completely different from the previous models I've had and it's generally quite light and well balanced. The previous owner swapped the original EMG pickups with EMG JAX, but everything else looks original, based on very helpful advice from @Kev @DrDrill and @warwickhunt. All my previous Wicks had MEC so I can't compare them exactly but the sound is very punchy and clear.

 

The only thing left now is to decide whether to swap the gold hardware for black, but this one is not leaving me any time soon!

 

        

 

Absolutely stunning. Leave the gold, I say!

[Grahambythesea]

I agree with @Cosmo Valdemar keep the gold - classy

[Doctor J]

4 hours ago, 4000 said:

Beautiful. One of the few basses I’ve wanted but never owned. Love the early Thumbs. 

 

Same here. A Thumb is on the list for sure. Lovely bass, congratulations.

[DrDrill]

OOooh very nice. Enjoy.

[horrorshowbass]

Really want to try one.

One on reverb with ebony fretboard and the EMGs mentioned above (stock in the limited edition)

On the watchlist

What are the necks like? 

[LukeFRC]

88 thumb will have lovely solid brass hardwear made by Schaller compared to the cheaper alloys they used later - (change in early 90s)  ild keep them as they are  

[vincbt]

1 hour ago, horrorshowbass said:

Really want to try one.

One on reverb with ebony fretboard and the EMGs mentioned above (stock in the limited edition)

On the watchlist

What are the necks like? 

It really depends on the year. The early necks are slim and fast, the later ones get chunkier and then I think they switched back recently, it really needs to be tried. Generally speaking the lower  notes feel quite far given the size of the body.

[vincbt]

25 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

88 thumb will have lovely solid brass hardwear made by Schaller compared to the cheaper alloys they used later - (change in early 90s)  ild keep them as they are  

True that, plus I found out the old Schaller bridges are smaller than the newer ones, so they don’t actually fit. Currently on the lookout for an old black bridge if any comes up for sale…

[tauzero]

That's nice. I have an 87 JD Thumb which has that lovely slim neck - I don't play 4-string any more but I'm not selling it, I'm too attached to it. 

[NikNik]

Those late '80s/early '90s ones are, imo, the best of the bunch.

[MacDaddy]

14 hours ago, tauzero said:

That's nice. I have an 87 JD Thumb which has that lovely slim neck - I don't play 4-string any more but I'm not selling it, I'm too attached to it. 

 

i've only seen and played one Warwick which had a slim neck, @G-77's IIRC?

It was so nice 😎 far better (for me) than the usual baseball bat type Warwick necks.

[Misdee]

17 hours ago, vincbt said:

It really depends on the year. The early necks are slim and fast, the later ones get chunkier and then I think they switched back recently, it really needs to be tried. Generally speaking the lower  notes feel quite far given the size of the body.

 Lovely bass. I would like it even more with black hardware.

 

The low notes feel further away because of the small compact body with a top horn that only extends to about the 17th fret.  You will adjust to it, I am sure 🙂. 

 

Warwick basses from this era built in West Germany are a completely different proposition to the instruments bearing the Warwick name nowadays. I remember when Warwick basses first came out and they were so distinctive in terms of sound, feel and looks, ( even though it looked distinctly like they had copied Spector). These were proper handmade basses with a great modern tone. Very much an object of desire for trendy bass players back in 1988. Enjoy your new bass, it's a genuine classic of the era.