Warwick Thumb Bass Question!
 

Roughly 7 years ago I bought a 2004 Warick Thumb BO 5 off a friend. I love this bass, it's been my daily player since I picked it up. I always thought it sound good.... not the best bass I've ever heard, but the combination of playability and overall feel is unbeatable. I own several other basses and this has been the one i've always gravitated toward.

So 2 weeks ago, I hear about an amazing deal on a 2001 Thumb BO 4. Figure a matching set is pretty slick, worst case scenario, I sell it. I get this thing and string it with the exact same strings I always us (Ernie Ball super slinky's) and I gotta say, I've never been so impressed with a tone in my life! The difference between the two is absolutely night and day! The tone is so much more powerful and open. Overtones ring out, the lows are tighter than I could possible imagine. I can't put this thing down!

My question is what happened between 2001 and 2004? Why does the older instrument sound so much better? Can I get the 5 up to par with with the 4? It's got to be more than just a setup issue, although the strings are much tighter and better defined on the 4. I'm loving getting back to my routes, making a 4 my main instrument, but obviously miss the B. Thanks for any and all advice!

I owned a Thumb 4 BO and a Thumb 5 NT for a long time, and I think the differences you're hearing are more related to the pickup positioning than any difference in construction or quality. I bet if you roll both of them back to the rear pup only, they'll probably sound pretty similar. If you find that to be the case, it'll be up to your finger technique and a little EQ to try to get them sounding similar.

As stated above, the difference is where the front pup is located. It is my experience that the closer the front pup is to the neck the more the lows resonate.