Boodang Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 I just picked up an early 2000s Warwick thumb bo4 from Bass Bros (really nice guys and good service) for a friend of mine as I was in the area. I gave it a quick play and the neck is way chunkier than I remember them being. In particular the depth of the neck which gets quite thick by the time you’re at the 12th fret. It’s not uncomfortable to play, I’ve got small hands and actually I found it nice. I quick bit of research revealed that Warwick neck shapes have varied over the years. I’m not familiar with Warwick basses but it seems you have to be careful if you have a strong neck profile preference. For those in the know what’s the deal? Are modern thumbs slim? At some stage I fancy a Thumb NT but I would prefer a slim neck, are there any model/years that are best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Early thumbs had the thin necks, from ‘88 to early nineties I believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 My '87 has the thin neck. At some point (I think it was late rather than early '90s) they got fat, and certainly my 2000 NT was a fat neck until I had it reprofiled to the same as my '87. Then they slimmed down again but I'm not sure if they went as slim as the early ones, haven't played a recent one. If you're after a 5 rather than a 4, you'll find that the neck in the slim neck era is a little chunkier than you'd expect if you were extrapolating from the 4-string. However, the profile in the fat neck era wasn't consistent either, some felt more comfortable than others. Some info at https://forum.warwickforum.com/threads/neck-profiles.15019/ and I'm sure there's other similar threads on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2elliot Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 My late 90s Thumb NT had a deeper profile than any of the Streamers I've owned, it was very comfortable and absolutely rock solid. I've yet to play any Warwick that I could describe as having a fat neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 My Corvette Standard (2005 German) is thick front to back if that makes sense, not a problem for me but has put off others who've tried it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTool Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Just to confuse the issue, my '98 NT has a slim neck 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, 2elliot said: My late 90s Thumb NT had a deeper profile than any of the Streamers I've owned, it was very comfortable and absolutely rock solid. I've yet to play any Warwick that I could describe as having a fat neck. To put some numbers on it, the bo4 Thumb I just picked up is 23mm deep at the 12th fret and my jazz (which has a ‘61 profile) is 17mm. Admittedly the jazz is particularly slim but the thumb does feel ‘thick’ to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 1 hour ago, BassTool said: Just to confuse the issue, my '98 NT has a slim neck 🤔 Warwick abandoned wenge necks in 1998, in favour of ovangkol. At the same time the neck profile changed to a chunkier shape. So yours must be from just before the change They moved back to thinner necks around 2009/2010. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 5 minutes ago, LeftyJ said: Warwick abandoned wenge necks in 1998, in favour of ovangkol. At the same time the neck profile changed to a chunkier shape. So yours must be from just before the change They moved back to thinner necks around 2009/2010. Anybody know what possessed them to start making chunkier necks? Presumably not super popular if they switched back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 I think it had to do with ovangkol being a less rigid wood than wenge. But presumably Warwick got an offer they couldn't resist on a huge supply of ovangkol that would last them 10+ years Both my Streamer LX's are early 2000's and chunky too, especially my 5-string, but not uncomfortably so to my big hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 (edited) "The Warwick Fatnecks": Sounds like a bassball team to me. Edited July 9 by Count Bassy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, Count Bassy said: "The Warwick Fatnecks": Sounds like a bassball team to me. ... that's probably because Warwick fatnecks were originally made from baseball bats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTool Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 On 08/07/2024 at 17:04, LeftyJ said: Warwick abandoned wenge necks in 1998, in favour of ovangkol. At the same time the neck profile changed to a chunkier shape. So yours must be from just before the change I think you're bang on 👍🏼 as it is definitely wenge 👌🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 On 08/07/2024 at 17:04, LeftyJ said: Warwick abandoned wenge necks in 1998, in favour of ovangkol. At the same time the neck profile changed to a chunkier shape. So yours must be from just before the change They moved back to thinner necks around 2009/2010. I had a 1999 Thumb BO 4 with a wenge neck that was very slim. I've got a 2009 Dolphin Pro-I 4 string now with an ovangkol neck on it which is definitely a fatter 'D' profile than the older Thumb but not as far as the earlier Millennium era 4 strings. I quite like being a versatile player as I've found most Warwick necks, most necks on most basses actually, quite playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediocre Polymath Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 I used to have a Warwick Corvette Standard from either 2001 or 2002 (don't remember exactly). It had a neck like a baseball bat made from a very open-pored set of, I think, Okvangkol laminates. It also had an oil finish that was always just a little sticky to the touch. Beautiful bass, but yeah, deeply unpleasant to play. I eventually gave up and sold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 How did it end up with an oil finish? The manual always said to leave the neck untreated, even with the body wax, because the oil from your hand was sufficient to keep it conditioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediocre Polymath Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 43 minutes ago, Chris2112 said: How did it end up with an oil finish? The manual always said to leave the neck untreated, even with the body wax, because the oil from your hand was sufficient to keep it conditioned. Not sure, when I got it it was already about eight years old. I tried various things the clean the neck, but it kept seeping back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 I had a very short-lived endorsement with Warwick back in 2003, back when the band I was in at the time was doing OK, and Warwick had very few UK-based endorsers. I got them to make me a 5-string Streamer Jazzman for 20% below trade price. I got it, and the neck was... horrendous. Super-thick and hard to play. Sounded good, but it made my hand cramp up! I ended up basically saying to them, "thanks, but no thanks" and called things off, and I sold the Streamer for quite a lot more than I paid for it, so it all worked out in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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