1989 Thumb NT Ferrari Red

dave

dave

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Hi, I have an old Thumb NT which is factory painted brilliant Ferrari red, I cannot read the serial no because of it being painted over, Stefen at Warwick kindly dated the bass for me as circa '88 - '89. It has a JD Thumb Bass trussrod cover, Bartolini 59V70 pickups, brass adjustable nut. Push pull volume/passive mode knob, a balance knob, and a stacked treble/bass knob. The thing I want to know is what make of preamp is in it? There are no markings or manufacturers name on it. The preamp is a sealed rectangular unit with 5 wires coming from each end and has a blue trim pot that seems to boost top if turned clockwise and cut top if turned anti clockwise, I am not sure what the trim pot is supposed to do. I have owned and gigged this bass for the last 5 years and absolutely love it. If anyone can help re:the preamp/trimpot question I would be very grateful. I have attached a pic of the bass, the headstock and of the control cavity, I can put up more pics of this rare and wonderful bass should anyone want to see them, just ask.

Dave


Red Thumb NT.jpg

cavity.jpg

Headstock.jpg

Back.jpg
 
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The preamp is an MEC unit and the blue trimpot is a gain/output adjustment. It probably sounds like it is boosting/cutting top end as the gain is increasing/decreasing. You can use the trimpot to either match the output in passive and active mode, to match the input impedance of your amp or to give you a bit of a solo boost if you use it in passive mode then push it in to select active.

<edit>

Oh and welcome, nice bass!
 
Thankyou

Hi Warwickhunt, yes that makes sense, thankyou for the info.
Dave
 
from the bridge and rubber rings around the mechanic i almost sure it would be an 88'er!
it's just funny because from that time on they didn't put the jd-cover and all jd-thumbs had a one piece bridge. so maybe it's a early 88er where they placed the last jd-covers or maybe a late 87 with the first two piece bridge:)
 
herb vibes said:
from the bridge and rubber rings around the mechanic i almost sure it would be an 88'er!
it's just funny because from that time on they didn't put the jd-cover and all jd-thumbs had a one piece bridge. so maybe it's a early 88er where they placed the last jd-covers or maybe a late 87 with the first two piece bridge:)
Click to expand...

I hate to say this but the simplest explanation is often not far off being the correct one... for instance; it could be the truss rod cover off another bass! ;)
 
Yes, could be from another bass but who would want to remove a JD Thumb trussrod cover from a JD thumb to put on another bass, dunno, doesn't make sense, maybe some old stock of JD covers lying around the workshop and they used one on this bass ?? I'd love to know.
 
Beautiful Thumb Dave.

Quick question for John,or anyone really.Is there a difference in shape/size/number of screws of control cavities between JD Thumbs & say 89+ Thumbs that you're aware of?My memory is a bit hazy,but I thought that maybe the shape changed at around the same time that JD's became Thumbs,or not long after.
Cheerz.
 
Greg said:
Beautiful Thumb Dave.

Quick question for John,or anyone really.Is there a difference in shape/size/number of screws of control cavities between JD Thumbs & say 89+ Thumbs that you're aware of?My memory is a bit hazy,but I thought that maybe the shape changed at around the same time that JD's became Thumbs,or not long after.
Cheerz.
Click to expand...

No physical size difference etc. between JD's and the basses that came just after them but the JD's were only produced for a short time and every single one that I am aware of has a 1 piece bridge and I was not aware of a 5 string version. In fact as they were made for JD who played '4 string' at the time... the 5er seems a bit of a misnomer. :d

My old 1990 bass...

Thumb008.jpg


Thumb006.jpg


My 87 JD...

Thumb012.jpg


Thumb015.jpg


As you can see on the back, the cavities etc are identical as is the body outline and controls. Dave's headstock and tuners are classic 87/88 (no later) and as I type this I wonder whether the Warwick factory had left over JD covers during 88 (when I agree with Flo, this bass was likely made) and they simply fitted one to this 5 string that they had produced. However, I have seen another 4 string (2 piece bridge, no seperate battery cavity, no dot inlays) 90's bass with a JD cover... patently not a JD if it was from the wrong period and had much later features etc. but it goes to show that something as simple as a truss rod cover moving between basses can cause confusion.

Dave's bass is certainly a classic 'transition' instrument as it has the early headstock contours and dot inlays of the first production Thumbs and the later 2 piece bridge.

Either way, a very nice genuine 80's Thumb! ;)

<edit>

Ooops just reread the thread and I noticed that Herbie also mentioned that the JD cover could have been a 'left-over' from the JD run and placed on this bass. Great minds think alike Herbie! LOL
 
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Hey , thanks guys for giving me so much info, all very interesting stuff. The main thing is it's a beautiful bass to play, the paint on the neck feels like polished glass. I play it through an old Ampeg rig and the sound in wonderful.
Dave
 
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I thought the horn got slightly longer and the scoop behind it go alittle deeper...wow maybe the thumb just has a small body, had a small body, and prolly will always have a small body! With a small body how does the thumb get good resonance? Its kind of like the Flying V it has bad resonance because of most of the body being cut away. Good choice on amplification. I only play my warwick through an ampeg rig.
 
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That is one sweet thumb bass. I want it now!!!

Congrats pal.

Rusty
 
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