Defretting a Warwick thumb 5?

j_sun23 · Jul 11, 2003

Ok. I was lucky enough to purchase a '92 thumb five for a good price. It was the bass of my dreams since the first time I played one. I've also always wanted a thumb fretless (I love fretless, I love the thumb bass...why not). Lately I've been really fiending for a fretless but I don't have the money to get a decent one.

The $1500 question is: Should I even be talking about defretting my lovely bass?

I've done one defretting job on a cheap acoustic bass and it turned out pretty good. I was wondering if any of you have ever had any experience deflowering...I mean defretting a warwick in particular or any nice expensive boutique bass for that matter. I'm not talking about HAVING it done by someone. I mean defretting it yourself.

So, am I crazy?

XPshychoticXPyr · Jul 11, 2003

Nooooooooooooooooo dont touch that warwick!...odds are you will take away the tone that comes with the high quality of ur bass...id advise against it...go buy a cheap frettless or something or get a good one like another warwick...but id say no to defretting it.

-Vince

DEFELDUS · Jul 11, 2003

heres a smarter idea... you send me your thumb and ill send you my defretted mia fender jazz

Halftooth · Jul 11, 2003

That would be a dumb move! I agree with what others have said, go get a cheap fretless instead of ripping that one apart.

FiveStringsNme · Jul 11, 2003

if you truly want a fretless outta your thumb bass, get it professionally done, otherwise you'll regret potentially damaging amateur jobs. Especially on a beauty like that.

Osama_Spears · Jul 11, 2003

Dude...dont even think about it...

go buy a fretless,please dont defret a thumb...

-Jon

j_sun23 · Jul 13, 2003

Thanks for your emphatic responses. I needed that to kill the crazy voice in my head telling me to 'customize' my beautiful (and only) instrument. Looks like I'll be in the market for a cheap yet awesome fretless in the near future. Any suggestions?

DEFELDUS · Jul 13, 2003

well i dont know what type of basses you are into but you could get an essex/SX fretless for under 200 bucks. people here that have them love them and say they are great and for that price its a ridiculously good instrument. maybe you could look into that...

Ben Mishler · Jul 13, 2003

I would defintley get a cheap fretless rather than defretting a bass of that value, it would just be a bad move to defret it. I would not defret anything over $300 really.

Groovecenter · Jul 13, 2003

Maybe not the greatest idea, but if your thumb is a bolt on, you could probably order a fretless neck and bolt it on. If you like it, leave it, if not, but the fretted back on.

Ben Mishler · Jul 14, 2003

Originally posted by Groovecenter
Maybe not the greatest idea, but if your thumb is a bolt on, you could probably order a fretless neck and bolt it on. If you like it, leave it, if not, but the fretted back on.
Click to expand...

It's a better idea than just defretting the neck. It could turn out a LOT less costly in the long run.

j_sun23 · Jul 14, 2003

Maybe not the greatest idea, but if your thumb is a bolt on, you could probably order a fretless neck and bolt it on. If you like it, leave it, if not, but the fretted back on.
Click to expand...

It's a neck thru, so no dice.

warwickben · Jul 14, 2003

save 600 to 700 and get another warwick a Corvette Standard, from ebay. i belive u can get them for cheaper now

lamarjones · Jul 14, 2003

I've got a warwick thumb 5 fretless. If you have the wenge neck, maybe we could swap if it is in great condition.

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Defretting a Warwick thumb 5?

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