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The Warwick Neck Dive Issue
- Thread starter RaijohAUlik
- Start date
The wieght of the neck on the Thumb Bass is not the issue. The reason it suffers from so called
"neck dive" is because the upper horn is very short.
The result is a long reach to the nut and a bass that pivots towards a level condition when worn with a strap. Light weight tuners will not help this balance problem. On my Thumb I added an additional strap lock on the tail of the body above the original, this helped a little bit because it change the pivot point.
"neck dive" is because the upper horn is very short.
The result is a long reach to the nut and a bass that pivots towards a level condition when worn with a strap. Light weight tuners will not help this balance problem. On my Thumb I added an additional strap lock on the tail of the body above the original, this helped a little bit because it change the pivot point.
light weight tuners WOULD help, because they'd move the center of gravity closer to the pivot point, and it would exhibit less "pull" over the strap horn.
i agree that the short strap horn is the fundamental problem, but i think by getting ultralight tuners, moving the strap button, a wide strap, and perhaps even a little weight in the control cavity it could be lots more managable.
i agree that the short strap horn is the fundamental problem, but i think by getting ultralight tuners, moving the strap button, a wide strap, and perhaps even a little weight in the control cavity it could be lots more managable.
How's about those little Horn Extenders I've seen people rig up? Wouldn't that be easier than all the other mods?
I'm not saying it's pretty, but it's got to be a cheaper fix than changing tuners/adding weight/etc...
I'm not saying it's pretty, but it's got to be a cheaper fix than changing tuners/adding weight/etc...
I've tried a Thumb 6 and it doesn't dive, maybe 'cause the body is so damn heavy.
It had barts and it ruled, heavy or not it's SOME bass.
Also tried a few other warwicks like Dolphin pro, 'vette FNA jazzman, 'vette FNA, streamer LX 6, streamer standard , fortress , 'vette proline , infinity ... well 80% of warwick's basses (lol) , and none of them neck-dived.
some might say they dive... MANY might say they don't, and i'm with the last group.
It had barts and it ruled, heavy or not it's SOME bass.
Also tried a few other warwicks like Dolphin pro, 'vette FNA jazzman, 'vette FNA, streamer LX 6, streamer standard , fortress , 'vette proline , infinity ... well 80% of warwick's basses (lol) , and none of them neck-dived.
some might say they dive... MANY might say they don't, and i'm with the last group.
but does the 4 string and 5 string with norlam string spacing have the same dive?
i have a thumb 6 broad neck and it dives but...the neck is the one that dives...
if the string are so close on the 5 and the 4 is normal does they have body dive? or the neck dive?
does this happend to the NT?
does this happend also with the pre 98 warwicks? with wenge necks?
and also in my 6 doesnt feel to unconfortable i mean you get used to it and is'nt that much
it didnt stopme from buying mine back in april
by the way im selling it
i will get the sameone but in 5
i have a thumb 6 broad neck and it dives but...the neck is the one that dives...
if the string are so close on the 5 and the 4 is normal does they have body dive? or the neck dive?
does this happend to the NT?
does this happend also with the pre 98 warwicks? with wenge necks?
and also in my 6 doesnt feel to unconfortable i mean you get used to it and is'nt that much
it didnt stopme from buying mine back in april
by the way im selling it
i will get the sameone but in 5
why bring it up?
it doesnt bother me, and it doesnt bother a lot of other people.
i love "baseball-bat" necks. my hands are huge, and it takes up some of the space between my hand and the fretboard. it gives me *a lot* more leverage too.
it doesnt bother me, and it doesnt bother a lot of other people.
i love "baseball-bat" necks. my hands are huge, and it takes up some of the space between my hand and the fretboard. it gives me *a lot* more leverage too.
Why bring it up? Because neck dive is a big issue for some people, myself included. I played a small bodied, thick necked five string for a few months and my hand and wrist would hurt for two days after rehearsals. I finally gave up on anything but 4's because I thought that all 5 and 6 strings were like this.
Ditto. I like a chunky neck as much as the next guy (J necks make my hands hurt) but the Warwick is ridiculous. Give me a broad, flat Spector neck anyday!
But there are loads of basses out there that sound as good as, if not better than the Thumb bass -
so why bother with all these modifications and just buy a well-balanced bass in the first place?
negative, sir.
if you complain of neck dive fix the problem.
dont come to this forum and whine. (not you of course, just in general.)
#Originally posted by volumefiend
negative, sir.
if you complain of neck dive fix the problem.
dont come to this forum and whine. (not you of course, just in general.)
Well - the easiest way is just to buy a well-balanced bass and not a Thumb!
But it is not easily fixed and anyway why have all that bother when there are loads of other great basses with no balance problems - like Sadowsky, Ken Smith, Lakland, Tobias, MTD, etc etc..
I thin it is worth warning people and letting them avoid this if tehy want to......
agreed.
dont complain of the thumbs balancing issues.
if it bothers you, get a different bass.
everyone doesnt need a thumb.
: )
dont complain of the thumbs balancing issues.
if it bothers you, get a different bass.
everyone doesnt need a thumb.
: )
No dives here.
Must be a strap/straplocks issue.
Then again, they're Corvette bodies, not thumbs.
Must be a strap/straplocks issue.
Then again, they're Corvette bodies, not thumbs.
I own a thumb bo and have no neck dive. I've never experienced any neck dive on any of the thumbs i've tried out which is about 4.
alexclaber
Commercial User
My overwhelming feeling is that once you get into the realms of decent basses, be they fenders, carvins, sadowskys, foderas, mtds etc (yes I know that there's a big difference in price and quality etc) the issue is not one of whether it sounds good or not - almost all 'real' basses, and many very cheap ones, have a tone that suits someone.
Whether quality bass sounds good or not is a qualitative rather than quantitative issue - if the sound you want to hear is that of a Thumb then no other bass is going to sound as good to you. If your sound is that of an 80s Tobias then to you that will be the best-sounding bass. It's all down to personal opinions.
No bass out there is the best sounding bass for everyone, and if to get the tone you want requires a Thumb bass (and they are very distinctive sounding) then you'll have to suffer neck-dive or modify the bass. (However saying that, I'm sure a custom Streamer or Corvette with the same body and neck woods and same pickup positioning as a Thumb would get very close to that tone).
Alex
P.S. When I got my old Streamer I'd previously been playing a Hohner headless thing, and I was convinced the Warwick (and every other non-headless bass out there) suffered from neck dive. It doesn't, it's just that the Hohner likes to reside at a very comfy 60 deg. angle.
P.P.S. If you want the original Warwick sound (that of Wenge necks, Rosewood bodies, and EMG pickups)and don't like neck-dive there's always the Nobby Meidel...
P.P.P.S. And the early basses have much slimmer necks front-to-back
Dug up this old thread. Was wondering if people found the strap lock position that Jack Bruce's uses on his Thumb helps with the neck dive issue? I play a Warwick Thumb Fretless, but the neck dive is really killing me. I prefer to play it sitting down. I looked up a video of Jack Bruce to see how he plays it, and saw the strap lock was off center and he didn't have the stereotypical horizontal thumb. Anyone have experience with this setup? Is it an after market mod?
Thanks!
Thanks!
My thumb is my worst balanced bass. I use a suede padded strap. Problem solved. It is not a struggle. Out of curiosity...does the OP even have a Warwick? If not, it is like people saying p basses or Thunderbirds suck when they don't have one.
