Any advice and/or wisdom for a first time Warwick Thumb NT 5 owner?

It's true, Greg! I constantly ask the rest of my band if they can hear me, and they look at me like I'm crazy. From where I stand I can hear myself, but can't imagine my sound travels well enough for them to hear me. Standing 10 feet in front of my rig, however, the sound can move earth!

EDIT: And threadstarter, if you love the neck of the Thumb but don't like the sound, why not see if you can swap your Thumb for an SSII?
 
thefitz said:
EDIT: And threadstarter, if you love the neck of the Thumb but don't like the sound, why not see if you can swap your Thumb for an SSII?
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Actually, I love the neck of my Corvette $$ 5 more than the thumb. Just a bit fatter D shape and flatter towards the body. 8:

I'd probably be better off just selling the Thumb in the end.:|
 
Btw Thumb Bo and Nt sound completely different as do $$ to J pickups. It all depends on your style of playing as well as what tone your looking for... And welcome to the Forum!
 
After re-reading this thread.....and playing the thumb a little more tonight.

While it isn't my tone.......it's still a freaking awesome bass.
The tone is wonderful.....just unforgiving and tight.

The neck is great like the $$, just more C shaped and rounded.
The body is substantially smaller, and the tone is drastically different. The most unique sounding bass I've ever played.

I wish I was more of a slap player.....since the tone seems perfect for that style?

It also seems to lend itself to finger picking too........
pick picking seems a bit harsh.
 
I don't think the slap is the best part here, but the fingerstyle. Give some time to your bass, you will love it more an more. And you will clearly see that it is hard to replace it with other bass, because you, and everybody else can hear you better with the thumb, and this is a very important quality :-)
 
Florin said:
I don't think the slap is the best part here, but the fingerstyle. Give some time to your bass, you will love it more an more. And you will clearly see that it is hard to replace it with other bass, because you, and everybody else can hear you better with the thumb, and this is a very important quality :-)
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I'm not much of a slapper, but the slap tone sounds "right" to me. :|

Fingerstyle does a lot to fatten/soften the tone.;)
Which sounds much better to my ears than a pick....

That said, I did not experience the "everyone can hear you better" thing??

It's got great tone, but I hear it more as a smooth tight growl and slightly scooped?

I tend to play basses that are really aggressive, punchy, ballsy, and nasty. :|
 
I've never seen a bass more aggressive than the thumb 5... Never!
 
GAS KING said:
(side discussion: Has anyone tried flats with the Thumb?)
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I have Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats on all of my basses and love them. I mainly play reggae, afrobeat, and R&B stuff on bass.

I hope you're enjoying your NT Thumb!
 
Had the thumb under my bed for a while....in the case.....since I didn't care for it with the band, and didn't want to take it on the road.
It's got an aggressive tone.....kind of tight, mid honky, grindy and active sounding overall....but it's not the most aggressive that I've heard.

Pretty much the exact opposite in tone to the Corvette BO $$ 5.

I spent more time with it last night.
Probably the clearest sounding bass I've ever played. Very dynamic and responsive.
The most unique tone too. The character is unmistakable.
Amazing fingerstyle tone. Pickstyle is a little harsh. Don't slap or tap....so I don't know.

I found that I prefer the neck pickup either completely solo'd or close to solo'd.
In Jazz, both ON mode....the tone gets a little honky and dark. which is okay, but not as sweet.
The bridge pickup alone and a boost in the lows is a great tone too.......

Overall, it's a really great bass.
I'd really been thinking of selling or trading it off.....but I might just put it under the bed again.....just sit on it until it becomes something I need (and am worthy to play)
 
GAS KING said:
Had the thumb under my bed for a while....in the case.....since I didn't care for it with the band, and didn't want to take it on the road.
It's got an aggressive tone.....kind of tight, mid honky, grindy and active sounding overall....but it's not the most aggressive that I've heard.

Pretty much the exact opposite in tone to the Corvette BO $$ 5.

I spent more time with it last night.
Probably the clearest sounding bass I've ever played. Very dynamic and responsive.
The most unique tone too. The character is unmistakable.
Amazing fingerstyle tone. Pickstyle is a little harsh. Don't slap or tap....so I don't know.

I found that I prefer the neck pickup either completely solo'd or close to solo'd.
In Jazz, both ON mode....the tone gets a little honky and dark. which is okay, but not as sweet.
The bridge pickup alone and a boost in the lows is a great tone too.......

Overall, it's a really great bass.
I'd really been thinking of selling or trading it off.....but I might just put it under the bed again.....just sit on it until it becomes something I need (and am worthy to play)
Click to expand...

If you ever think of trading or selling it, there could be a few people on the forums for that. (Me possibly being one of them)
 
If you love the tone of your $$ with your band, and love the the thumb but not in your band why not keep the thumb and just use something else for your band. Wicks are built well enough that you can hand them down to your grandkids when you are too old to play. You might not be playing the same style with the same band in 2 years time, but that thumb will still be a great bass. It would be a shame to sell the thumb, and a couple of years down the track find yourself in an metal/jazz/rock (or any other genre the thumb kicks ass at) band wishing you still had it.
 
lasteffect said:
If you ever think of trading or selling it, there could be a few people on the forums for that. (Me possibly being one of them)
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PM'd.

I'd be up for something....since I have so many other basses.

Augie said:
If you love the tone of your $$ with your band, and love the the thumb but not in your band why not keep the thumb and just use something else for your band. Wicks are built well enough that you can hand them down to your grandkids when you are too old to play. You might not be playing the same style with the same band in 2 years time, but that thumb will still be a great bass. It would be a shame to sell the thumb, and a couple of years down the track find yourself in an metal/jazz/rock (or any other genre the thumb kicks ass at) band wishing you still had it.
Click to expand...

Actually, I'm playing a Peavey Foundation 5 right now as my #1.......go figure.
Not sure why but it just works so well for what I'm doing right now.
I've also taken a fond liking to an Ibanez ATK305.

The Thumb is a work of art, and amazing overall.....just not my thing.
The Thumb is like a boutique shop of rodeo drive, while I only shop thrift. know what I mean. I have the money to shop boutique, but choose to shop thrift.

It's just too nice....if that makes any sense?

I could easily stick it under my bed for a few years.......or just part with it......I'm really indifferent.
 
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