warwick thumb is neck heavy, possible solution?

[mister fister]

yeah, so i recently got a warwick thumb 5, and its really neck heavy. what i tried was to simply attach both ends of my strap to the straplock on the upper horn, and it balances pretty well. however, this way all the only thing holding the bass up is obviously the one knob, do you think it will hold? eventually any other tips?

[fretless Bob]

i imagine that eventually, probably on a gig or something its gonna drop off, you could always have a new button mounted on it or get some kind of extention on the top horn.

or you could do what i did with mine... sell it


Dave

[mister fister]

haha, yeah we'll see. i think it sounds pretty killer, but there is some issues i'm not so satisfied about. I guess I'll keep it for a while and see which of my fretted 5's i like better and sell the other

[lug]

A friend of mine put this:

on his Thumb and said it made a world of difference. I can't find the maker anymore (I've lost his contact info) but I think it was about $19.

[Baryonyx]

I find that Thumb necks can tend to bomb if you've got them strapped on quite low. Lift it up to sit over your chest or the upper portion of your stomach and see how it feels then.

[Kael]

Originally Posted by Chris2112

I find that Thumb necks can tend to bomb if you've got them strapped on quite low. Lift it up to sit over your chest or the upper portion of your stomach and see how it feels then.

Bingo. It'll still neck dive a little (at least they do on me), but it will be WAY less. My Streamer LX 6 has this to a lesser degree. Warwicks seem to be popular with the hang it low crowd, but quite frankly they really are more ergonomic if you cinch them up high.

Wide straps help some too, but not as much as sliding the bass up higher.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by mister fister

warwick thumb is neck heavy, possible solution?

Buy another bass that is better-balanced!!


Serioulsy - I would never buy a bass that was neck heavy and this is one of the big things I would be testing for when buying basses!

That's part of why I'd never buy without trying first!

[Vorago]

This might sound really stupid, but it's something I sometimes do when playing my neck heavy Corvette. It's simple, I attach a 4 lbs counterweight! I use a leather belt that I wind through the opening in the weight and then attach that to my strap.

Granted, you need a strong back, but it's better than reselling (especially if you don't have any money, like me).

[Rano Bass]

I developed wrist problems after playing a Thumb BO 5 for a few years, just watch your hands in a mirror while playing it and you'll see the sharp angles on your wrists.
Love those basses but can't stand their playability.

[Bruce Lindfield]

I agree - I always liked the sound of Warwicks but whenever I have tried one in a shop for more than about 20 minutes, it hurt my wrist - no way I was going to play one at a long gig!!

[FAT(b)ASS]

"or you could do what i did with mine... sell it"

Don't sell it! They sound great. Just take a hack-saw and "remove" the neck. No more neck dive!

[ODDBALL]

I loved my Warwick thumb, but I had to get rid of it. I just hated the neck dive. I have been thinking of getting another but that neck dive is kiling me. I do not think their is much to do about that.

[thumbin]

I play a 6 string thumb bo, And am using a 3in wide levys leather strap. Get a wide strap and wear it high. Works great.

[HeavyDuty]

Consider installing a set of Hipshot Ultralites. Shaving off tuner weight will help tremendously.

[rbolanos]

I had a thumb bass BO 6 string with the wide neck . but i used a comfort strap. HUGE difference than regular straps. give it a shot. good luck

[TwoThumbs]

I have found by playing several Thumb basses that the location of the strap button on the upper horn of the bass plays a critical role in it's neck diving. I am not saying they are not neck heavy, as they are and others have mentioned a wide comfort type strap....this helps.
If the strap button is parallel to the upper horn the bass is more prone to neck dive because the strap lets it do that in order for it to relieve itself and hang the instrument.
If that strap button is parallel to the neck it lets the instrument balance itself while keeping the strap in a relieved position.
I know this because the first Thumb I owned neck dived like crazy and when it developed a crack in the body, Warwick replaced the bass and the new bass balanced very well......the only difference was the angle in which the strap button was located in relation to the neck. That's why when I ordered another Thumb Neck-Thru I specified that the strap button be installed in this manner. Both of the Thumbs I own balance perfectly.
Peace.....Two Thumbs

[main_sale]

Well, Duh! Having said that, you definately need to use strap locks on a bass of this value. I use a Neo-tech guitar strap and wear it high and that elps, a lot. Also consider a sweade strap, again wearing it high. The tone from this bass is unique. If it rings your ball, it's worth strap locks and a good strap. I've gat a neckthrough and I'm keeping mine. I went the Neo-tech route.

[Lord Henry]

You've had the two main answers above. The first one that I'd try is to extend the strap button on the horn. You should be able to do this with a long screw and piece of pipe that the screw can just slip through. Put the strap button on to the screw and then a length of the pipe a few cm long. Screw the whole thing into the existing screw hole and the strap button will be extended by a few cm. This will move the hanging centre of gravity and should balance it out.

I would try the above first as you can do it for next to no money. If you don't fancy the 'look' that that will give your bass then a set of light weight tuners will probably also make a difference. I've not done this myself but I've heard nothing but good things about Hipshots.

Personally I wouldn't advise attaching a weight to your bass. I worry that you might put your back out and it feels like a risk if you want to do any jumping around on stage. That said I've never tried it so I'm not speaking from experience. If it works for you then run with it.

Best of luck.

Cheers

[thumbin]

If hes smart he wont start drilling new holes in his bass and using crazy "extender rods" and such... I mean come on... You paid $1,500+ plus for this bass, so dont go and start putting holes in it. Get a WIDE strap and wear it high... Thats all you need. I also wouldnt waste my $$$ on lighter tuners... it wont help that much really... A WIDE strap and wear it high... all you need

[rockr4Christ]

Yes...
well i personally wouldnt sell it, because i love the sound of my thumb 5 (bo)...its an 05 model, and it has neck dive, but its not too bad...but i wear the bass by my stomach. ( i dont lowride the bass...feels weird.(besides this bass is contoured for your belly ) ) anyways...it seems to help. its really not bad to play it high (like every1 before me said ) :P but that tuner idea is good....i might try it.