I am looking into getting a Warwick Thumb and I was wondering what you guys have to say about the Thumb. Pros - Cons anything is welcome.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Warwick Thumb 4 string
- Thread starter JazzyJames
- Start date
I've played a few Thumbs before. I love the look, but I've always found 2 problems.
They don't balance well for me. They neck dive and balance at about horizontal, not at an angle.
They are difficult to play in the upper frets. I've found that the cutaway isn't deep enough.
Other people have complained about the necks, but I've never owned one so I can't comment.
They don't balance well for me. They neck dive and balance at about horizontal, not at an angle.
They are difficult to play in the upper frets. I've found that the cutaway isn't deep enough.
Other people have complained about the necks, but I've never owned one so I can't comment.
Pro - (imo) the Warwicks, thumbs very much so, have the sound that a bass should have. The sound that should be in my head comes from Thumbs, Corvettes, etc.
Cons? - Yes, they're heavy. I own 4 Corvettes, all are heavy, and no I wouldn't trade them for anything.
Cons? - Yes, they're heavy. I own 4 Corvettes, all are heavy, and no I wouldn't trade them for anything.
They weigh a ton. I'm not a fan of the newer neck profile either. If you can find an older one used, go for it!
They're pretty cool. Pretty versatile, but with a Thumb touch. I like mine. The balance issue can be solved with a strap, and their upper fret level can be fixed with technique, a lot of people love and hate them.
I love my bolt-on 5-string..... it's a wenge-necked model from 1997. It's a little neck heavy, and it's a pain finding tapered strings, but beyond that, it kicks ass!
I own an '04 Thumb bolt on. I will agree that they can balance poorly, and the neck radius/profile is not comfortable initially, but I've since gotten kind of used to it.
Likes: I like the look of the Bubinga wood. Despite feeling clumsy and uncomfortable on mine, I manage to play it surprisingly well, and I find it a very forgiving bass. They have a very responsive, percussive sound/neck that's great especially for slap and tapping, and while I'm not a tapper I can do things on it that I can't do on other basses. I'm not really into scratchy, clickity clackity bass tones, but with treble up and a light touch I find it to be the most musical bass I've played in terms of using that string clack style and attack musically. I also like the endless means to adjust it at the bridge and nut, though you could argue that too much of a good thing can lead to overkill (or over adjustment).
Dislikes: aforementioned balance; awkward neck profile; requires waxing on a regular basis; I also don't find them to be tonally versatile. They have a very modern hi fi tone that doesn't sound at all like the "Tone of wood" to me.
Likes: I like the look of the Bubinga wood. Despite feeling clumsy and uncomfortable on mine, I manage to play it surprisingly well, and I find it a very forgiving bass. They have a very responsive, percussive sound/neck that's great especially for slap and tapping, and while I'm not a tapper I can do things on it that I can't do on other basses. I'm not really into scratchy, clickity clackity bass tones, but with treble up and a light touch I find it to be the most musical bass I've played in terms of using that string clack style and attack musically. I also like the endless means to adjust it at the bridge and nut, though you could argue that too much of a good thing can lead to overkill (or over adjustment).
Dislikes: aforementioned balance; awkward neck profile; requires waxing on a regular basis; I also don't find them to be tonally versatile. They have a very modern hi fi tone that doesn't sound at all like the "Tone of wood" to me.
I tried the bolt on and NT and loved the bolt on with the two J PUs crammed towards the bridge. Neck profile was perfect for me and the bass itself was very comfortable
Thumbs are awesome, better than corvettes IMO. I have found that basses are kinda like cars, if you are a good driver, drive a new one for a while and you will eventually get over all the little quirks and become one with the bass. The only con to a Thumb is that they are ridiculously overpriced.
TONE!!!!. Seriously, the Thumb has a tone to die for, perfect if you like it punchy with powerful mids. I love the bell like high end too.
However it's not a particularly vertsatile bass, if you like your warm vintage sounds, it's not really going to cut it. I often swap between my Thumb and my RBX4-A2 that has a more traditional Fender Jazz sound, as the Thumb cannot supply that bigger, rounded low end. The p/ups are in the wrong place for that sound.
Of course, this can be rectified with judicous EQ, either amp or on board, but it's worth noting that the tone is almost polar to a traditional Fender design.
As other have pointed out, balance and neck dive is an issue. Well, not dive per se, the neck seems to want to sit parallel to the ground. Yes a good strap can help, but it's only part of the problem.
But the main ergonomic issue for me relating to this is because the body and top horn is so small, it makes the nut end seem considerably further away. If you play a lot of low end roots riffage, this can prove to be uncomfortable for lengthy periods of time. There's not a strap in the world that can counteract this. Try playing along to Loveshack on a Thumb (whilst standing, none of the sitting malarkey!) and you'll see what I mean.
If you do go for one, make sure you try it with a strap. Take your existing bass along too to A/B and make sure you like the difference in tone. If possible take your amp too. Nothing worse than trying a bass through an unfamiliar amp to find it doesn't sound right through yours.
However it's not a particularly vertsatile bass, if you like your warm vintage sounds, it's not really going to cut it. I often swap between my Thumb and my RBX4-A2 that has a more traditional Fender Jazz sound, as the Thumb cannot supply that bigger, rounded low end. The p/ups are in the wrong place for that sound.
Of course, this can be rectified with judicous EQ, either amp or on board, but it's worth noting that the tone is almost polar to a traditional Fender design.
As other have pointed out, balance and neck dive is an issue. Well, not dive per se, the neck seems to want to sit parallel to the ground. Yes a good strap can help, but it's only part of the problem.
But the main ergonomic issue for me relating to this is because the body and top horn is so small, it makes the nut end seem considerably further away. If you play a lot of low end roots riffage, this can prove to be uncomfortable for lengthy periods of time. There's not a strap in the world that can counteract this. Try playing along to Loveshack on a Thumb (whilst standing, none of the sitting malarkey!) and you'll see what I mean.
If you do go for one, make sure you try it with a strap. Take your existing bass along too to A/B and make sure you like the difference in tone. If possible take your amp too. Nothing worse than trying a bass through an unfamiliar amp to find it doesn't sound right through yours.
I used to own a thumb bass bolt-on, purchased it for studio work. However, no engineer I met could make it work in the mix (mostly pop/rock productions), and I never used it.
Same for playing live, since it has a lot of low mids, but is scooped in the upper-mids, I found that I always had to turn up the volume whenever I used the thumb as opposed to a regular j-bass or precision. It just got totally lost in the mix.
However, I suspect that if you play funk, latin or gospel that it will be an awesome bass. I must say that, played solo it was the best sound I ever heard.
Cheers,
Same for playing live, since it has a lot of low mids, but is scooped in the upper-mids, I found that I always had to turn up the volume whenever I used the thumb as opposed to a regular j-bass or precision. It just got totally lost in the mix.
However, I suspect that if you play funk, latin or gospel that it will be an awesome bass. I must say that, played solo it was the best sound I ever heard.
Cheers,
Monster tone. Not much else to say about the sound...it's a Thumb.
Initially uncomfortable to play.
If you hike it up so that the neck sits horizontally, it's fine...I just cannot recommend slinging it low at all. To set the strap, I put my fretting hand out at a natrual comfortable position, then brought the butt end up to the same height and haven't had to change it since.
Many folk don't like the 'C' cross section of the neck, personally I do, as I find the 'pinched' hold when playing thinner necks wears my hand out faster.
It's not for everyone, but it's worth trying out...you may fall in love as I did.
Initially uncomfortable to play.
If you hike it up so that the neck sits horizontally, it's fine...I just cannot recommend slinging it low at all. To set the strap, I put my fretting hand out at a natrual comfortable position, then brought the butt end up to the same height and haven't had to change it since.
Many folk don't like the 'C' cross section of the neck, personally I do, as I find the 'pinched' hold when playing thinner necks wears my hand out faster.
It's not for everyone, but it's worth trying out...you may fall in love as I did.
I've owned a Thumb for probably 6 years now. Its a 2001 model.
Pros
1. Great tone - I play mostly funk/rock/fusion type stuff. Works great for this stuff. The only complaint some have is no control for mids, but that's never bothered me. This bass actually has a great pure tone, my favorite bass sound I get is just running direct into the board and letting the PA do its thing. Clean highs, good punch with some growl. I tend to run it direct anytime I play in a large venue with a strong PA.
2. Bridge- I've always like the bridge, lots of ways to adjust your strings, but can be a little daunting if you're not familiar with setting up basses.
3. Looks great - I've always loved natural woods and this bass is really beautiful. I recently found out though that mine was a limited edition bubinga top/ovangkol bottom one though. I believe all thumbs are Ovangkol, which still looks great.
4. Electronics cover - This is fairly minor, but I love the fact that the cover snaps on and off. You don't need a screwdriver to change the battery. Very fast and the cover has held up well, as opposed to the nut (I"ll explain later about that).
Cons
1. Fairly heavy - but I've never really had issues with the weight.
2. Nut - At least on mine, the nut is kind of crappy. The nut itself is height adjustable, which is nice, but its held on by a plastic clip which tends to break. Mine has been broken for probably 2 years now. I never have a problem with the nut moving (its kind of gouged out a little groove for itself), but you have to watch it changing strings because it will just fall off without the strings.
3. Neck - The neck is a little thicker and will feel different, but once you get used to its not much of a problem.
4. Maintenance - Not sure this is a real con, but since the wood is unfinished you have to treat the wood with the wax wood conditioner to keep it from drying out. Its not a big deal, similar to waxing a car, but some may find it annoying. It does make a difference in appearance when that wood is freshly waxed though.
I'm sure there is a lot more to say, but thats all I can think of off the top of my head.
Pros
1. Great tone - I play mostly funk/rock/fusion type stuff. Works great for this stuff. The only complaint some have is no control for mids, but that's never bothered me. This bass actually has a great pure tone, my favorite bass sound I get is just running direct into the board and letting the PA do its thing. Clean highs, good punch with some growl. I tend to run it direct anytime I play in a large venue with a strong PA.
2. Bridge- I've always like the bridge, lots of ways to adjust your strings, but can be a little daunting if you're not familiar with setting up basses.
3. Looks great - I've always loved natural woods and this bass is really beautiful. I recently found out though that mine was a limited edition bubinga top/ovangkol bottom one though. I believe all thumbs are Ovangkol, which still looks great.
4. Electronics cover - This is fairly minor, but I love the fact that the cover snaps on and off. You don't need a screwdriver to change the battery. Very fast and the cover has held up well, as opposed to the nut (I"ll explain later about that).
Cons
1. Fairly heavy - but I've never really had issues with the weight.
2. Nut - At least on mine, the nut is kind of crappy. The nut itself is height adjustable, which is nice, but its held on by a plastic clip which tends to break. Mine has been broken for probably 2 years now. I never have a problem with the nut moving (its kind of gouged out a little groove for itself), but you have to watch it changing strings because it will just fall off without the strings.
3. Neck - The neck is a little thicker and will feel different, but once you get used to its not much of a problem.
4. Maintenance - Not sure this is a real con, but since the wood is unfinished you have to treat the wood with the wax wood conditioner to keep it from drying out. Its not a big deal, similar to waxing a car, but some may find it annoying. It does make a difference in appearance when that wood is freshly waxed though.
I'm sure there is a lot more to say, but thats all I can think of off the top of my head.
I have the 5 String Broad neck edition. I also noticed the neck dive HOWEVER, a new thick strap took care of it. I cant speak for others but for the broad neck, the string spacing is perfect, especially if you have big hands. Super heavy, but needed for those Warwick tones. Just a great bass, can do anything you need. Again the broad neck has soaps not jazz pickups, so I noticed that mine is really warm but still has that nice bite to it. Mine came with a bone nut already, however I've heard the newer models with the "justanut III" has none of those problems.
I've had a neckthrough Thumb for about five years now and its a keeper, where several other Warwicks were not. The quality of build is very high and it does have that distinctive "Thumbass" tone. They are crazy money new, but reasonable used. The neck dive can be controlled with a good strap and wearing the bass a little higher. I'm very pleased with mine and actually enjoy spending time with it waxing it and fine tuning my setup.
- May 12, 2007
- 481
- 43
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist for Low End bass guitars, DNA Amplification
I've had a neckthrough Thumb for about five years now and its a keeper, where several other Warwicks were not. The quality of build is very high and it does have that distinctive "Thumbass" tone. They are crazy money new, but reasonable used. The neck dive can be controlled with a good strap and wearing the bass a little higher. I'm very pleased with mine and actually enjoy spending time with it waxing it and fine tuning my setup.
This is almost my exact bass, but mine's a 96. AS above, the brass nut on mine will fall right off when changing strings, but *never* moves once they're aon, so I've never bothered to repair it. Neck dive is a problem, so I have to hike it up fairly high, but as far as tone goes, it screams. My other basses include a Conklin 7 BD, and Yami RBX Myung sig, and a Warwick corvette fretless, and the thumb has the best overall tone of any of them by far. I read a post above where a comment was made regarding poor control of mids - I may have got lucky, but mine doesn't seem to have that problem, and the center knob is a mid-control knob anyway, though you may need to fiddle with the electronics to get it to adjust the band and Q you're interested in moving around. It is tricky, I must say, to get an approximation of a nice P-Bass sound, and you need to pay attention to where and how your plucking the strings, but copping a jazz tone is fairly easy.
Here's a good place to learn more -- the Warwick bass manual:
http://www.warwickbass.com/manual.pdf
