BO thumb vs corvette?

[birdxofxprey]

i'm hoping someone with experience can comment on the differences between a bo thumb and a corvette? i'm interested in 5s particularly. they seem very much alike, but also differ widely in price and sound - why?

as far as i can tell both have the same ovankol neck with wenge board and bell-brass frets, and they have the same electronics package. i think they have the same hardware too, although different colors.

pick-up placement is different however (especially for the 5 string versions) with the thumb having both pups very close to the bridge. as well, the thumb has a contoured ovankol body while the corvette has a bubunga body. the corvette is heavier by about 0.7 lbs.

so why is the thumb roughly $800 more expensive? and why does it sound so much better?

 

[Warpeg]

I've been a pretty big Warwick fan for years. But, I have to say that the huge price gap between the two is ridiculous. I cannot believe that an ovankol body and contour are worth hundreds more $. My belief is that the price jump is because the Thumb line is Warwick's cash cow. The Thumb BO's and NT's have been THE premium staple to Warwick; maybe they feel that they can get away with selling them for a higher price. Take my '98 Thumb NT 4. These now go for $3039.00 at most stores. Ridiculous! Warwick makes many other fine basses that sell for even less than half of that! I can't believe Warwick gets away with it.

 

[thehurlatron]

They sell for higher price because people will pay it. I did.

A big part of the thumb sound is the pup setup.

 

[Basso54]

Supply and demand. Personally, i'm demanding a corvette standard, but my wallet is lacking on the supply end.

 

[gkbass13]

the BO thumbs, the 4 strings especially in my opinion get some of the thickest, meatiest, and best sounding low tones ive ever heard. so clear and distinguishable, yet deep. i have been so close to buying a thumb 4 a couple different times, btu talked myself out of it because i dislike warwick necks.

 

[birdxofxprey]

i have 2 corvettes, both 5 strings, one fretted and the other fretless. of course, i love them both. if i had the money to blow, i'd go for the thumb simply because it's lighter. i also think the ovankol body looks much better than bubinga - so i'm not really gassing for a NT, not to mention that the NT weighs almost 2 lbs more than the BO.

btw, the fretless corvette sounds nothing like the fretted. with the 5 string corvettes, there's very little difference between the fretted and fretless versions - both are active basses.

my fretless has an ebony board and a wenge neck, evidently that changes everything...

anyway, the corvettes have their share of the warwick growl - so i can't see that an extra 800 for the thumb would be worth it to me.

 

[thumbin]

The thumb requires more time to make, Mainly the shape of the body (arched) Also the pickup setup, And the wood, etc.

I own a thumb 6 bo and have compared it side by side to a 5 string corvette and the thumb def. has more growl, It has alot more of a mid range growl than the corvette. The thumb will also be quite a bit heavier. I cant say exactly why it costs more because I dont know... But comparing them side by side the thumb def. feels more sturdy. Although whatever you get from warwick is going to rock

My vote is for the thumb though...

 

[Baryonyx]

The Thumb is something of a cash cow. They are brilliant, and Warwick know it. The fact that they are utterly unique helps Warwick to boost the price through the roof!

 

[CBBass123]

There was a thread about this way back but it is nice to bring the thought back considering i will be purchasing a corvette 6er in 2 weeks and I already have a thumb 6er.

 

[birdxofxprey]

The thumb will also be quite a bit heavier.

as i recall, the specs that Warwick has listed online indicate that the thumb BO is slightly lighter than the corvette while the thumb NT is considerably heavier.

i have corvettes for financial reasons when i get rich i'll up-grade to thumbs.

 

[birdxofxprey]

There was a thread about this way back but it is nice to bring the thought back considering i will be purchasing a corvette 6er in 2 weeks and I already have a thumb 6er.

out of curiosity, i have to ask why you're buying the corvette?

 

[cb56]

I used to have a Thumb 5 bolt on and can say it was the best sounding bass I ever played. Unfortunatley it was also the most uncomfortable too. After 5 years of playing it I had so much pain in my wrists I thought I was going to have to quit playing. I ended up trading it for a nicely balanced Fender Jazz V and the wrist pain went away. I'm now playing G&L(similar shape and balance to fender) and still have no wrist pain. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are planning on buying a Thumb bass play it first standing up using a strap to see If you can deal with the neckdive.

 

[brandonie]

I bought a corvette 5 string and played it for a few weeks, then all of a sudden GC got a used Thumb BO 5, so I returned the corvette for it even exchange and it was one of the best musical decisions i've made. The thumb has by far a better sound for me, the neck is less chunky and the body is the perfect size for me. Just my 2 cents. Look out for used thumbs, you can score a real nice one bolted on for under a grand. BTW, I guess I'm the only one not bothered by the neck dive, It hasn't given me any problems. I go from my warwick to my jazz bass and the jazz feels like the most uncomfortable thing to me, I guess it's just what you're used to playing!

 

[CBBass123]

out of curiosity, i have to ask why you're buying the corvette?

I've seen the corvette woods and they look nice. I've heard that some people like the corvette sound towards the thumb sound...and visa versa...And i thought...since i have the thumb...why not get the corvette...its cheaper and its a warwick

 

[Papersen]

I used to have a Thumb 5 bolt on and can say it was the best sounding bass I ever played. Unfortunatley it was also the most uncomfortable too. After 5 years of playing it I had so much pain in my wrists I thought I was going to have to quit playing. I ended up trading it for a nicely balanced Fender Jazz V and the wrist pain went away. I'm now playing G&L(similar shape and balance to fender) and still have no wrist pain. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are planning on buying a Thumb bass play it first standing up using a strap to see If you can deal with the neckdive.

+1. Good advice
I had a Thumb BO4 and sold it cause I couldn´t get used to neck diving and far reach to 1st fret. Great sounding bass anyway, but not for long term live use.

 

[birdxofxprey]

is there a way to mod a vette so that it has more growl, like a thumb? on the face of it, it sounds absurd to want more growl from a warwick - but just call me greedy...

maybe the MECs could be swapped out for something else? that way you get the thumb growl with the better balance of the corvette.

 

[Fishbrain]

is there a way to mod a vette so that it has more growl, like a thumb? on the face of it, it sounds absurd to want more growl from a warwick - but just call me greedy...

maybe the MECs could be swapped out for something else? that way you get the thumb growl with the better balance of the corvette.

yeah iv wondered that?

i've got a vette fna 5 but badly BADLY want a thumb, but i cant decide which one, 5/6 fretted/fretless BO/NT arrghgh! maybe i'll just have to get 6 of them!!

one day....

 

[thumbin]

as i recall, the specs that Warwick has listed online indicate that the thumb BO is slightly lighter than the corvette while the thumb NT is considerably heavier.

i have corvettes for financial reasons when i get rich i'll up-grade to thumbs.

Actually... Ovangkol is slightly heavier than bubinga... I found that my thumb is quite a bit heavier than any corvette I've ever played... And just a tad heavier than a NT thumb I played awhile back. Although my thumb is a 6 string broadneck... So there is more wood there.