Warwick Thumb - recreating the sound.

[Adam Harzuf]

Hi!
I'm on a tight budget and wish to know if I can get close to the sound of the Warwick thumb. I never heard the (good) old ones, the one I played was one of the news (Ovangkol body, is it?). It's an amazing bass and I liked the sound of it much better then anything on the planet, and the stock tonal control.
BUT, it was heavy as hell, although very small, and so unbalanced! The neck goes further from my body because the body's structure and how it's positioned on my body when I use a strap (I always do). The neck dived down, and was really thick, yuck!

The 5 string version costs about $2200 in Israel I think, not really a "budget bass".

So I figured:
1. I have a person that can make the body out of a piece of "X" wood (ovangkol or bubinga, what do you say?) for a low charge. He'll do it for free.

2. I'll buy a 5 string neck made of "Y" and "Z" in eBay. Fortunatly I have a good bass rig that could go very low, and I never had a 5 string.

3. I'll try to get hold of Thumb electronics from someone who upgrades.

4. I can take all the rest from my crappy peavy fury, which is almost dead anyway.

So, what about the "X" and "Y" guys..? (-:

[maybass77]

As a former owner of 2 (older) Warwick Thumbs, i can tell you you'll want to use a combination of bubinga and wenge. You can find bubinga for pretty close to nothing. Just warn this person who is doing all the woodworking that these are some very dense exotic woods and can be very difficult to work with. You're taking on a very big task, but nothing can be more rewarding than creating your own instrument.

[Adam Harzuf]

Where to put which one?
Considering that the sound ain't going to be the same exactly, and neck will be different, I would appreciate it if you could tell me the roll of the wenge, what might happen if I didn't apply it.
What about the neck's woods, BTW?
I like really low action (but want to avoid fret buzzing), but the shorter the neck is, the better. Recommendations?

I wanted to ask about the structure. I play with my bass really high on my body (strap is on minimum legnth), and I want the neck to go really really up, and a second thing is that I want the bass to be at 45 deg to my body (visible from a top view of the player). I never found a bass that makes that happen as easily as I wanted. Any suggestions how to shape the body, and how to apply the strap screws (how are these called anyway? ).
I even though of a headless bass, but a used 5 string version is probably a dream. I read about the Hipshot Ultralites. Might help.

And..what's a good ("and not too expensive") source to buy the woods?

[maybass77]

ok, a few things to consider...you might want to alter the body a little to get it to balance. my hand used to hurt so bad after playing a gig, because half the time i was using it to hold up the neck. next, wenge will definately make a difference in the tone of the bass, so if you want to get that "woody" sound i would use wenge. the neck is comprised of bubinga and wenge and the body is bubinga. The fretboard is wenge. should be pretty easy to find. i know you can order the warwick electronics through MEC which is distributed out of California. As for the strap "buttons", the placement will change the way the bass hangs. i'm not sure how to get the bass to sit at the angle you'd like. Maybe you should experiment with some cheaper material before you spend the money on the exotics.

[Adam Harzuf]

Well I planned on a premade neck, I have no one to do a neck for me for I price I'm willing to pay..

How would you rate the importance of neck vs. body in the tonal quality?

I don't expect it to sound exactly like a Thumb of coarse, I know thngs will be different. What would be the best neck for my purpose that I can get second handed? I wouldn't want to buy a Warwick neck as they are too thick for my gentle (well, weak) hands.

About the body and buttons: today I was curious about it, so I removed the button from the top I-don't-know-how-it's-called, and moved it to the bottom one, so the strap goes between my body and the neck. SWEET! The neck goes exactly the way I wanted it. Makes my bass super playable, and she's a treat from stock.

[Adam Harzuf]

Well, I got the http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280073910488&ssPa geName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=018]SR505 neck, as it's supposed to be a nice one for gentle hands, fast, and the woods are in the ballpark.
I also got a 5 string bridge for $15 from the same seller.

Now I need to get on with the electronics, body and keys.

Which electronics set is the one I need?

Where is it best to buy Bubinga? Should the fibers go in the direction of the neck?
How much of an influence will there be if the piece of the body that goes along the neck will be made of bubinga, and what's on the top and bottom will be another warm wood, but lighter an cheaper?

Joinery of the neck and body: any tips of doing it right? (I wouldn't want it to snap!!!)