How to play a Warwick Thumb

[TFunkadelic]

Just sell it now, they never get more comfy to play and there are other basses that growl just as well.



The only redeeming factor of the Thumb is they tend to hold decent resale value because there will always be another player who likes the look and thinks they can get used to the ergonomics.

 

[conttador]

I thought the 90s Warwicks had non-Louisville slugger necks…

you probably just need to play around with the strap position until you find what's comfortable for you. Even if it has the slimmer 90s neck it may require some getting used to.

Whatever you do, don't stop playing it, in all likelihood you probably need a break-in period. The bass is fine, it's you that just needs to get used to it, it's normal since it's different than what you're accustomed to.

 

[Soma666]

I am very fond of my 06 thumb Bass. Yes it is very different from most other basses and mine has been my number 1 for a long time.

I had very little bass experience at the time I purchased my Warwick. I took a chance on buying the bass for I am a big Jack Bruce fan.
There is a video on you tube where Jack Bruce gives a lesson/lecture on playing Bass and he talks about his Warwick.

Very worth while watching and will show/tell you how to get the best out of the Instrument.
Yes his Bass is fretless.

Where is it in thw video. It goes for an hour. I am time poor atm

 

[GTHintz]

I would start by moving the strap around and see how that does. Then maybe try a longer strap lock on the horn. If it's still too much to handle then check out a Corvette or a fortress. Those are the closest to the thumb in body style and overall sound but you will definitely notice the balance point being more forward and should be easier on you. Personally I like my Corvette 5 string and am anxious to see how I like the streamer. I'm also really looking at a fortress bass to round out the Warwick collection. To me the rich tone is so hard to top. They all look really good and I like the neck. It just seems to feel good to me about i prefer the reach to other basses. I'm not sure how a thumb feels but I know that the reason why Warwick created the Corvette and fortress was to try to make a well balanced alternative to the neck heavy thumb that as lovely as it is it's probably the most polarizing of the Warwicks. To me the double humbuckers on my Corvette remind me of the thumb tone especially when favoring the bridge pickup but the character gets a little deeper thanks to the front pickup. I feel like it's familiar thumb tone that I adore but it still has it's own thing going on. Best of luck and I hope you get it figured out.

 

[Levent]

Put It on your right leg and angle the neck forward and tilt It up a bit. You will gain atleast a feet of distance to your shoulder fretting first fret.
Funny she is the first example on google and consistent over years.

 

[andruca]

Nope sorry, that's not why.

It's because the upper horn is shorter and does not come up to the 12th which is why the reach to the first fret feels a bit longer, because it is… and other bases where the upper horn does come to the 12th fret do feel a bit more comfortable to play and actually balance better.
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I use a wide neoprene strap to begin with, and I tend to tilt the neck up a little bit higher when playing my thumb and that seems to make the reach a little bit easier.

You're 100% right. In the case of my Star Bass it's both factors, worst combo probably...

 

[Goatrope]

Since we're listing conflicting datapoints, I'll add that my '13 NT 4 was the slimmest, skinniest C neck on any bass I've owned over a 40 year span. Including a GL Jazz.

 

[Swings]

Hi.
Not new here, newly registered.
TB is a long-watched forum.

Just wanted to contribute:-

My Wthumb is an '01. Owned it since it was bought, new.

I'm not a bass aficionado but the neck on mine (BO 5) is arguably the fastest and most ergonomic neck for me. It's really thin! It has a relatively flat back of neck, then a relatively short arc up to the fret board. I would call it a D shape but i don't think that's what most players associate with the d shape neck? Comparison, the double bass i used to own had a U shape neck?
I have small hands compared to most bassplayers.
I don't notice having to reach for the lower frets but practice has made many things easier.

like has been said, "Warwicks are individuals, no two from the same year are alike".

After 22 years of lugging this waxen smooth hunk of Ovangkol around (definitely a labour of determination), it feels like "home".
Irony is, i hated it at first. Tried desperately to trade it for a less awkward 5. no luck.

Tips I found that have made it more playable:

-Customise your strap. Something grippy, maybe a hemp weave or something else with friction
-distribute the load, have the strap from the end of the bass to just after the volute (this requires some work, i have hooked up mine with a special rig so that the neck end of the strap hangs distributing loads between the top horn and behind the volute (takes the neck front dive away. Why use your left hand to hold the neck up, fingering is freer if you aren't)
-play standing. Practice standing. Don't overdo it, work your way up to longer sessions. this bass will break you if you let it.
-economy of posture and movement. For me this means bass is at a height where i rest my forearm down from the rear of the body and have my hand resting above the strings. (i use the Warwick for fingerstyle, pick but keeping my hand anchored without taking the arm off facilitates my slap technique)
-Not all warwick thumbs are playable or set up correctly when new. Mine needed my filing some frets, tweaking the string spacing, rounding off the edges of frets so they didn't catch on my palm, the just-a-nut is *ss and the A string needed some paper underneath it because it sat too low (the other strings fine though!)
-there's hardly any need for "thumb position" left hand technique on the upper frets but i play like that above the 12th fret anyway, it feels comfortable.
-Persevere. Unless you're a built out of average, the bass will feel too heavy, strings too close, neck dive, it can be so bad you stop enjoying practice.
-Many thumbs come with a warped neck. It doesn't always stay this way, but become familiar with adjusting your truss rod and experimenting with string gauges
-bc tone/feel/2 piece not accepting b strings not tapered, I prefer to play with a heavier gauge E string in place of the B.
It works well for me..!


The Warwick is a niche sound.

My other basses include an Ibanez fretless, a reissue CIJ Fujigen Fender J, a Yamaha rbx755a and, a fretless acoustic.
(Give you an idea of the other necks I'm used to playing)

I really dislike the "chirp" weird tones that it makes if i slap without "thumb-through" technique. It's not an easy bass to transition onto without developing EVERY thing you do a little differently "just for" the bass.
I'm not fond of the frets, they are huge and unavoidably apparent in the sound. Shrug. They are not showing signs of wear yet though.

 

[thebandcircle]

I play a Broadneck 6 string. Using Schaller straplocks helps a little as it extends the front horn ever so slightly. Dunlops sit flush to the mount. (I've never trusted Dunlops anyway). I find myself constantly changing positions in anyway that I can, body under armpit, body out front covering belly button. I change the angle I hold the neck, pointed up or down-ish. I also drop my fretting hand to my side to rest my shoulder every chance I get. Mine is heavy and the neck is huge but it has a unique tone that really stands out from my arsenal. Ryan

 

[Sparky Mark]

I've owned my 1991 Thumb for over 30 years. I'd played my Stingray for the previous 10 years when I saw a guy gigging one through a Hartke 3500 and 410+115XL rig. Within 3 months I had my Thumb and that rig. The Thumb was polar opposite ergonomically to the Stingray but I made myself get used to it because I loved how it sounded. Same for me with Rickenbackers; if you want that sound you just have to learn how to play them. A soft wide leather strap definitely helps with Thumbs. The neck on mine is slimmer than my Jazz basses.

 

[Swings]

I've owned my 1991 Thumb for over 30 years. I'd played my Stingray for the previous 10 years when I saw a guy gigging one through a Hartke 3500 and 410+115XL rig. Within 3 months I had my Thumb and that rig. The Thumb was polar opposite ergonomically to the Stingray but I made myself get used to it because I loved how it sounded. Same for me with Rickenbackers; if you want that sound you just have to learn how to play them. A soft wide leather strap definitely helps with Thumbs. The neck on mine is slimmer than my Jazz basses.
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i used some fine grit sandpaper on my neck for a satin finish. it felt like sacrilege on an already thin fast Warwick 5 neck:-

It became BETTER, "enjoyable" to feel and more so to MOVE on.

Warwicks are very polarising. I think it's because the ones that are spec'd for playability are "black swans" amongst mostly "white swan" Warwick builds.

 

[Sparky Mark]

I remember trying a Thumb at the London Bass Centre a couple of years before I bought one. It felt so awkward that I put it back on the wall after only a couple of minutes. If I hadn't walked into that pub and heard what a Thumb NT can do I doubt I'd have ever looked at one again. It became my main gigging bass for the next 20 years.

Because my playing style is pretty basic I have learnt to swap easily between my slab Stingray, Thumb, 4003S, Jazz, Precision, Mustang, SG, SR1200 without any real problems. For me it's similar to driving different cars; once you've driven enough of them it gets easier to adjust IME. I accept that if I had a highly developed intricate playing technique it might be very different.

I rehearsed and gigged with my Thumb last weekend for the first time in a few years and it took me about 2 minutes to adjust and feel comfortable with it again. I've never noticed any neck dive but that could be an issue with narrow shiny straps that I have never used.

I'm 5'8" and the reach to fret 1 is fine even for me and now my belly really appreciates the concave body shape!

 

[MasterBrianD]

I find wearing my Spector bass up higher than a typical Fender shaped bass definitely helps with the reach, ease of movement around the fretboard (especially up at the higher register) and overall technique.

I'm pretty sure these body shapes were designed to sit just around the top of your gut when Ned Steinberger designed them, hence the NS body curve on Spectors and Spector copies like the Streamer, and then later the Thumb which also has the curve.

 

[Sparky Mark]

I find wearing my Spector bass up higher than a typical Fender shaped bass definitely helps with the reach, ease of movement around the fretboard (especially up at the higher register) and overall technique.

I'm pretty sure these body shapes were designed to sit just around the top of your gut when Ned Steinberger designed them, hence the NS body curve on Spectors and Spector copies like the Streamer, and then later the Thumb which also has the curve.

This photo shows how different the Thumb and Streamer body shapes and sizes are : -

 

[Soma666]

This thread has been amazing so far. I love my Warwick. It's been the guitar I've wanted for about 10 years ans I finally have it. Just played it again for a little and proper A/B'd it with my fenders. It sounds amazing. Still, a very difficult instrument to play.

I don't think I'll get rid of it. But it's a "sometimes" guitar I think.

I've played around with the strap height and it doesn't really seem to help as much as people claim to. It's a guitar that I have to adapt to. It won't become more comfortable. I have to change the way I play for it.

Thanks so much for all the replies and conversation points. You're all legends

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Just thought I'd toss a bit on this thread for future readers...

First, I've played Warwick... a lot!

(2) Thumb 4 NT (*99, 94)
(1) Thumb 5 NT (late 90's)
(1) Streamer Stage I (Broad Neck)
(1) Fortress 1 4 (mid 90's)
(1) Fortress 1 5 (*'99) COVID sanity project *see pic
(1) Streamer Stage II 4 ('96)

*EMG JJ w/ East J-Retro
*Ultimately, Aguilar DCB & OBP-3 - 3D printed mounting system

Anyway, the original "JD" Thumb 4 NT was for a US Army member stationed in Germany who was a known quantity in the area club scene. He was a slap player! He had the Bass jacked up under his arm to play. Small body good!

The original headstock had carved out areas on the back around the Schaller tuners to lighten the neck dive. Also, the body was not exactly like a recognized body shape we commonly have come to associate as the Thumb 4 NT. The horns are a bit different and the lower bout was a bit more bulbus.

I think they made the Bass available in mid-late 80's as the "JD" Thumb (John Davis) and quickly dropped the initials and made the body changes, that included dropping the headstock sculpting in favor of the smaller Gotoh GB-7 light weight tuners. I believe it came stock with EMG pickups before Warwick started making MEC electronics. Duncan Basslines were also available as an option.

&

A very customized SSI BN with Delano pickups, preamp, custom shop Brass bridge and two-tone Hipshot Ultralights (first set ever!) tuning keys.

I'd like to have another Thumb 4 and play it like Jack Bruce. Kinda like an Upright!

 

[Sharko]

With a pick and very loud