Warwick Thumb BO, an early one

RickC · #1 10-16-2012, 08:29 AM

First or second year Thumb BO. I was told it was a '92, but the serial number is 000159-93. Either way, it's an early one with all the great vibe that implies. Ovankol body, solid wenge neck, MECs. Wonderfully comfortable weight at 8.75 lbs. Sounds like a monster. A little road rash on the top as you can see in the pics. Frets are worn but still have plenty of life in em. Ships in a Roadrunner bag (I pack well, no worries)

$900 shipped in conus. No trades. Thanks

/rick

calgone47 · #2 10-16-2012, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickC

First or second year Thumb BO. I was told it was a '92, but the serial number is 000159-03. Either way, it's an early one with all the great vibe that implies. Ovankol body, solid wenge neck, MECs. Wonderfully comfortable weight at 8.75 lbs. Sounds like a monster. A little road rash on the top as you can see in the pics. Frets are worn but still have plenty of life in em. Ships in a Roadrunner bag (I pack well, no worries)

$900 shipped in conus. No trades. Thanks

/rick

03 would indicate 2003

RickC · #3 10-16-2012, 08:45 AM

Sorry, typo. The serial number is indeed 000159-93. Thanks for catching that.

/rick

Joel Graham · #4 10-16-2012, 04:22 PM

I am surprised this one doesn't have a Walnut body, the earliest ones did... Could this be a Walnut body?... If you have access to Bass Player mags from that era- those will show the change from Walnut to Ovankol...

almightycrunch · #5 10-16-2012, 05:22 PM

How is the butt on this one???? The problem I generally have with the Thumb is that it is just "too much bridge" toned, that neck pickup is certainly much closer to the sweet spot than many. Why do they do this???

RickC · #6 10-17-2012, 09:25 AM

Answers:

You may be right. I a) did not know that Warwick did these in walnut and b) am not familiar enough with walnut to be able to say for sure. I'll look into that some more.

Re butt, my experience with Thumbs consists entirely of this one and the new (at the time) neck-thru that I played in 1989; I can't honestly say I noticed a butt-deficit in either one. But I'm also not sure how those compare with more recent examples, and whether or not there has been a decline (a sagging butt, if you will) as this model progressed. I'll do a butt-check with "buyer's ear" on this one and report back.

/rick

RickC · #7 10-19-2012, 10:09 AM

Thump

re walnut, I did some research on the web, and it might be. Color and grain wise, it does seem less ovankgol and more like the walnuts that I found. If the weather cooperates, I'll get some nice natural light pics up this weekend.

/rick

brendanbassist · #8 10-19-2012, 10:43 AM

I believe that's actually a bubinga body. And an amazing price.

If it only had one more string....

socialleper · #9 10-19-2012, 01:29 PM

If you aren't sure about the body I believe you can check Warwick's website (http://www.warwick.de/modules/suppor...ID=22701&cl=EN). I was going to but the serial number listed here isn't complete. There should be a letter before the numbers.

Joel Graham · #10 10-22-2012, 10:34 AM

From the Warwick reference above...

Please enter the serial number of your instrument into the box below and you will get every information available for this particular instrument. This option is only available for instruments built in 2000 or later. (this excludes a '93)...

In case your instrument could not be identified by means of the serial number, e.g. because it was built before 2000, we still can help you with your enquiry. For this we need the following information:

- Model name
- Serial number

Please send us additional photos of your instrument via e-mail:

- front view
- back view
- photo of the opened electronics compartment
- photo of the serial number

Please note that we cannot answer your enquiry without these photos! Please send all 4 of these photos as described via e-mail, otherwise your enquiry will not be processed. The photos should be in a usual file format, preferably .jpg, and should depict all details and numbers clearly. After having received the photos and information we'll answer your enquiry as soon as possible.

See that swirling of grain in lower bout, around and below the controls... Looks like Walnut...

RickC · #11 10-22-2012, 10:02 PM

Since posting this up for sale, I've checked out some more recent versions of the Thumb at local GCs. At least with the ones I've seen there is no comparison; the early Thumb is so much "chewier". As with some of the great vintage Fenders I've come across, there's an alive quality to it.

/rick