Getting a Thumb NT 5 tonight!

Gastrok

Gastrok

Joined
Apr 12, 2007
Messages
1,319
Reaction score
17
It's missing the trussrod cover, but at $1499 it's a steal - GC in Nashua NH. Early birthday present from my lovely wife Erica!
 

Attachments

  • 105365728_lg.jpg
    105365728_lg.jpg
    41.4 KB · Views: 530
Very nice. We're gonna need some more pics when you get her home.

BTW, you have an awesome wife!
 
nizzrooster said:
Very nice. We're gonna need some more pics when you get her home.

BTW, you have an awesome wife!
Click to expand...

Got it! Wow - this baby sounds amazing. The b string is unbelivable! Pics tomorrow. Heading out to the pub.
 
wow wow wow!
OK....i totally get what the thumb is all about now!

Full report in the morning. must sleep now...
 
congraz GASTROK
and who cares about truss cover anyways, hahaha

looking forward to your review
if possible, plz do a comparison with the SS2
 
Lovely. because of this thread I'll take my thumb to practice today instead of the Infinity.

Enjoy :)
 
Man your wife rocks!! I couldn't even convince my ex to buy me a set of bass strings for my birthday lol.

Happy b'day man, get some more pics up soon!!
 
Sa-weet! I just picked one up a week ago and it's incredible! Mine was also an anniversary gift of sorts :) Here's to amazing wives!
 
I'm gonna clean up the new Thumb now and get some pics posted later when she's freshly waxed and oiled. The bubinga is very dark and has a nice wavy swirl to it in some places.

Oh, and she's fully intact - I thought the truss rod cover was missing, but I was wrong. There is a bit of corrosion on some of the bridge screws, but it doesn't bother me a bit. I'll probably replace them at some point.

I still can't believe I got a Thumb NT 5 - and I nabbed it for only $1499!

The electronics are 18 volt - is that standard for a Thumb NT?
 
Standard for good old Thumbs (before 2000 circa?)... ;)
 
Congrats Gerry! I know the feeling. My girlfriend bought my NT5 for me a few years ago. I'm very happy for you:d
 
After nearly 3 hours of work cleaning her up I've got some pics to show.

The back of the neck had some ridges where the different woods had swelled differently so I attacked it with a scotch bright pad. Then I decided to strip the entire bass - old wax, small dings, etc. - all all scrubbed off. I scrubbed the fretboard and frets as well.

Then I rubbed it down with lots of lemon oil - from stem to stern. Then removed and thoroughly cleaned the bridge and tail piece (lots of gunk on these, and maybe even some food or chocolate!), waxed buffed, and replaced the strings. I think it looks fantastic!

I'm particularly please about the neck;it is smooth as silk now.

This is a 2001 model.


here are some pics...
 

Attachments

  • sm-ThumbNT5 001.jpg
    sm-ThumbNT5 001.jpg
    146.9 KB · Views: 487
  • sm-ThumbNT5 002.jpg
    sm-ThumbNT5 002.jpg
    96.7 KB · Views: 500
  • sm-ThumbNT5 003.jpg
    sm-ThumbNT5 003.jpg
    74.7 KB · Views: 480
  • SM-ThumbNT5 006.jpg
    SM-ThumbNT5 006.jpg
    111.5 KB · Views: 473
That Bubinga Grain! :o :go and bury his old Thumb:

Congratulations. Sure it sounds as great as it looks.
 
A petty rare combination of woods too. Usually it is with all Wenge neck, or the new ones are with Ovankol neck - ebony fb.
This one is with ovankol neck - wenge fb.

Nice catch! Insane grain too!

Your wife is amazing! I know how you feel! Wait and see, after one month, you'll not play other bass anymore, The thumb is highly addictive.
 
Florin said:
A petty rare combination of woods too. Usually it is with all Wenge neck, or the new ones are with Ovankol neck - ebony fb.
This one is with ovankol neck - wenge fb.

Nice catch! Insane grain too!

Your wife is amazing! I know how you feel! Wait and see, after one month, you'll not play other bass anymore, The thumb is highly addictive.
Click to expand...

So was this maybe sort of a transitional neck construction between the old (all wenge) and the new (Ovankol/Ebony)?

The thumb sound is very satisfying! I'm sure I'll be playing it lots...but probably equal time with the SSII. They have quite different voice that I think compliment each other.

I just noticed that the output level is WAY lower than my SSII....I had to give my pre-amp input level knob about a 1/3 boost to get the volume of the thumb to match the SSII. what's up with that?
 
It must be a transition model, yes.

The gain... should be to match the output in passive mode. If it is too low, check if the pickups are close enough (2,5 mm for bridge pickup)

The thumb sounds smaller than the SSII because of the pickup placement, but in the mix is a bigger monster!
 
Florin said:
It must be a transition model, yes.

The gain... should be to match the output in passive mode. If it is too low, check if the pickups are close enough (2,5 mm for bridge pickup)

The thumb sounds smaller than the SSII because of the pickup placement, but in the mix is a bigger monster!
Click to expand...

Cool!

The passive mode matches the active mode perfectly - but the bridge pickup might be a bit low.

I can't wait to try this baby in a band context. It's going to my next rehearsal for sure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top