Can you ID this Warwick's neck type?

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WhiteKnuckles

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So...I've got a fair trade I'm working on for a Warwick Thumb BO5. It's a '98 model, and I'm unsure about the neck construction.

Could anyone be able to ID the wood types and perhaps even the neck profile and string spacing from this pic?

Warwick_Thumb_Bolt-On_98_002.jpg


It looks to be a three piece neck with Wenge on the outside with maybe an ovangkol center...but I would have no idea if it would be the slimmer neck, or the chunkier one.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go through with the trade, I'd just like to know what to expect.

Thanks!
 
I haven't heard of a Warwick with a wenge/ovangkol neck. I'd say it's just made of 3-pieces of ovangkol, just that the outer two are a little darker. The body should be ovangkol.
I think the volute at the back of the nut indicates that it'll be a chunky neck, but I'll await a more expert opinion on that. Estimating string spacing from a back picture is a tall order! I only play 4, but that looks narrow for a 5-stringer, so I'd guess it's fairly narrow spacing. You could always scale the picture up and estimate the width of the neck as a proportion of the body length, and then go and look at some stock pics of broadneck 5-stringers and regular 5-stringers and make a comparison.
 
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mart said:
I haven't heard of a Warwick with a wenge/ovangkol neck.
Click to expand...

Me either...which has me a bit confused. My '98 Thumb 4-string has the all wenge neck and it has the same look as the outer portions of this neck, but I have no idea when in '98 they switched the neck type, so this thing is a mystery to me.

As far as string spacing goes, I don't believe it's changed over the years (other than the BN models), but I know the profile had.

If it's of any help...here's a pic of the front side.

Warwick_Thumb_Bolt-On_98_001.jpg
 
The outer pieces on the neck sure do look the shade of wenge, and even the graining looks like wenge. But having never even heard of a w/o neck I still think it's likely to be different shades of ovangkol. Assume that, and then, if it turns out to be a mix, then you've got an even more unique bass than you bargained for.

I think you're right about strings spacing - it's either narrow or broad, and that's certainly narrow. No, I don't know what the spacing is in mm (or inches) but the main Warwick site will probably tell you that.
 
It's a full Wengé neck you got here. But Wengé can be a very dark wood, almost like Ebony, or very clear, more like Ovangkol. So, you have both with this bass, but it's a Wengé neck, no doubt about that.
 
I have had a '97 corvette bubinga and a '98 Thumb BO 5 and both had Wenge necks... this one looks like it has a Wenge Neck with one middle part made of Ovangkol, but it could also be an all wenge neck with a part thats just lighter, i guess it is that.
 
Thanks for the input guys...I guess I'll find out Sat. when I get in my grubby little hands. I'm assuming that if it is a wenge or mixed-wood neck that it is likely to have a slimmer profile than my 2008 5er. I'm wondering if it'll throw me off as I'm so used to the '08s neck now.

Ack! I'm excited...I've wanted a Thumb 5 for a while now and just have a couple days before I can plug it in and make great snarling beastly sounds. :)
 
+1 on the All wenge neck, but a lighter wenge on the center. I think it's a very beautiful neck!
 
The neck is ovangkol, the string spacing is 16.5mm at the bridge(non broadneck) the neck profile is U, or thick.
The centre piece looks lighter, probably coz of the pic accentuating it. The neck laminates are cut & glued with the grain running in different directions.
 
Greg is 100% right - ovankol neck.
Plus it is a neck with 4 not 3 laminations. So standard.
It probably has the thick neck profile, and non removable two way trussrod.
 
But the necks were still made of Wengé back in '98. With the slim C Profile. Unless it's some kind of "prototype" or Custom order, I don't see how this bass could have an Ovangkol neck.

BTW, the outer pieces are way too dark to be Ovangkol.

I still think that's a full Wengé neck, but if not, well, I can recognize my mistakes. If I'm right.... can I haz it? :-)
 
1998 was the year wenge changed to ovangkol, the volute became standard & the neck profile changed. So it's very possible to have an all wenge neck,no volute, & slim profile, as well as the ovangkol,volute,thick profile from the same year.
Like Pantene, these changes didnt happen overnight.
If that neck's wenge, I'll dress like a lady for the rest of this year & call myself Dorothy.
 
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Hehe...I'm even more confused that before. 8:

You mention a 'volute'...what exactly are you getting at? The shape of the neck at the heel?

Will there be a huge difference in tone between the two neck types?

If this is an ovangkol neck, that makes me question the value of my deal. I'm actually trading my '98 Four string with a Wenge neck + $175US for this bass.

On the other hand, mine has been gigged and has seen the normal wear associated with frequent playing, It's been taken care of, but the is some thumb mojo over the front pup as well as a dark area on the body where my forearm rests. The owner of this one insists that it's like new and has seen very little play. He never made the adjustment to a 5 string over the 6 months or he's had it, and the guy who'd originally purchased it barely played it...it's was his first bass and put very little time into learn before packing it in.

I'm OK with the neck, but was wondering if anyone thinks it might be worth renegotiating before driving out to meet the seller...or just quit my whining and go get it.
 
just go get it!! the volute is the bump at the headstock end on the back of the neck!

Rusty
 
Greg said:
1998 was the year wenge changed to ovangkol, the volute became standard & the neck profile changed. So it's very possible to have an all wenge neck,no volute, & slim profile, as well as the ovangkol,volute,thick profile from the same year.
Like Pantene, these changes didnt happen overnight.
If that neck's wenge, I'll dress like a lady for the rest of this year & call myself Dorothy.
Click to expand...

+1 to the changes not happening overnight.

I have a 1999 Corvette std. 5 with a Wenge neck. My guess is that it was one of the last few stock basses with Wenge to leave the factory.
 
I just got back from making the trade, and will post some pics, and some more info after I grab a bite to eat. It was a long trip, but well worth it.

Greg...errr...Dorothy may want to get her little black dress to the dry cleaners....:P
 
So...I've been working on this trade for a few days now, and made it happen this morning. I took off on my 230 mile round trip this morning at 10:00 AM. I called the other party and had him meet me at a larger music store in that area. I'd gotten there a bit early so that I could do a bit of trading with the store for a couple sets of strings and a new gig bag as the one I had was ratty as hell.

Just after I'd finished with the store I'd walked outside to put the bag and strings in my car, and the other party was walking up. I greeted him and he decided to pull his vehicle to mine so that would could look at the basses.

When he took the 5 string out, a ray of sunshine beamed down on me and angels started singing the sweetest of melodies. We've all heard 'like-new' before, but he wasn't kidding...the bass is immaculate! I was damn near ashamed to pull mine out. Though it's been taken care of, it's also been played...this one has never even seen it's first waxing. The only blemish on the thing is the usual slight oxidation on the allen screws.

At this point I really felt like he may want to renegotiate, but he said he was happy, I was definitely happy and we parted ways. I spent 2 hours driving home and grinning ear to ear.

So...for the proof. My 'like new' 1998 Thumb BO5.

ThumbDay005-a.jpg


ThumbDay004-a.jpg


ThumbDay006-a.jpg


Hmmmm.....let's get a closer look at that neck.

ThumbDay007-a.jpg


Looks like wenge to me, though the middle pieces are as light as I've ever seen.

Anyways, I'm am super thrilled to finally have a Thumb 5....and the condition of it couldn't be better for a bass of it's age. :d
 
MOUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH§§§ :evil::evil::evil:

Greg? :P
 
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