Getting a Thumb NT 5 tonight!

Gastrok said:
I must say I thought I'd hear a bigger difference, but the're pretty similar to my somewhat damaged ears.
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Nice playing! I think I have to agree with you - I'm listening through a nice PC speaker system and don't hear much of a difference at all. The Thumb might be a little more forward, but that's really about it. Maybe the SSII and Thumb NT are just the pinnacle of Warwick tone... :)
 
The Thumb is much more audible in the mix, the SSII more supportive of the track... Of course I'm assuming the Thumb is first. :)

 
+1 Jester.SS2 sounds slightly under the where the Thumb sits above that.
The Thumb sounds a little more compressed,the SS2 sounds softer.But only just.
I'm gettin a new bass next year & it's going to be impossible to decide between a Thumb NT4& a SS1.
 
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the Thumb is more forward

I think ppl will hear more of a difference if you've put the SS2 clip before the Thumb clip. The way you put it now, my mind is actually telling me what I am supposed to hear in the second section, because the Thumb clip in the beginning is very forward.

did you record both sections with both pickups on full?
 
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Greg said:
I'm gettin a new bass next year & it's going to be impossible to decide between a Thumb NT4& a SS1.
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Thumb NT all the way - only bass that has made me think twice about an SS@. My 'Vettes are fantastic, but the Thumb is on a whole different plane.

On topic -great point about putting the SS2 first. I thought I heard other differences, but chalked it up to expectation instead of actual hearing. Maybe post another clip blind.. don't say what is what and let people guess :)
 
I've had a Thumb NT before,so I know what I'll be getting into.It's just that as i get older,I find I'm more attracted to that somewhat generic maple tone.& they SS1 just sounds soo bloody good.It's gonna be hard.
 
OK - I've switched the order. Now the SSII is first and the thumb 2nd. I just did a drag and drop with the same clips. Again, everything is identical; the EQ setting (flat), volume (all the way up) and signal chain (direct with some compression).

I was pretty tired last night so I was not hearing the difference, but yes, the SSII is more "supportive" while the Thumb is more "forward" - I think that's an excellent way to describe the difference!
 

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Greg said:
I've had a Thumb NT before,so I know what I'll be getting into.It's just that as i get older,I find I'm more attracted to that somewhat generic maple tone.& they SS1 just sounds soo bloody good.It's gonna be hard.
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damn it Greg, why do you have to say it so bluntly
now I feel old too :((

I have been drawn towards the maple tone too lately
I hope this is not a sign of early hearing lost :P
 
noodles said:

Thanks for the A/B Gastrok, nice playing!
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+1. A lotta effort goes into a short clip.

All those parameters, setting all to detent, both
PUs full on in both basses etc etc.


Always innerressin yet an A/B always leaves me
wondering ... 'PK Wondering' type stuff ...
​
  1. Both basses have new strings ?
  2. Center detent is most/least meaningfull ?
  3. All PUs dimed is most/least meaningfull ?
  4. Identical playing style is most/least meaningfull ?


-----------------------------------------------------------


Re: '1'. Nobody asked, you didn't specify, and
I'm not sure it's the best way to test. Frinstintz,
the Thumb might be more dependent on newer
strings to emphasise its "forwardness" while the
Streamer is more able to hold consistent voice
as the strings age ... or whatever.

Re: '2'. Center detent looks to be the obvious
default for A/B testing, but is it, really ? Center
detent is like you drive a Peterbuilt and a BMW
down the center lane of a highway at 60mph ...
like thaz gonna show us much difference ? Now
throw both vehicles into a fast curve and brake
hard ! Differences become more obvious when
you depart from "center detent" !

Re: '3'. Kinda like the "center detent" thang ...

Re: '4'. Different axes support different playing
styles. IOW, A/B doesn't reveal what each bass
will best support. We all tend to bleeb that there
are "slaphappy" basses, "fingerstylin" basses etc.
A BMW won't always outshine a Peterbuilt. Drive
both vehicles at maximum load for 15 hrs, every
day ... with 500,000 miles already clocked !



#@%&@#%&#@%&@%&@#&%@#&%@#@#



Our ears have told us, over and over again, that
there's more difference in basses than we hear in
A/B tests at center detent, all-default, etc ... yet
the only "reliable" test is A/B at default settings ?

A/B is cool for testing "EMG vs Barts" in a pair of
otherwise identical basses ... and even then, who
can say if the chosen strings, woods, neck joint
construction, etc, of the matched basses is gonna
showcase the difference between EMG and Bart
... or minimize it ?


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Yeah, OK, one steaming heap of PK-think. After
all, if not "A/B with all-default settings" then
what other approach is there ? Well really I'm
not doubting our cherished A/B test procedure,
I'm only critiquing the way we digest the data
we get from A/B testing. And I'm critquing our
definition of A/B testing. Frinstintz I'd A/B two
basses for fingerstyle with the low-mid dimed
and treble at minimum. A slapper might EQ at
the opposite of me. Thaz the slapper's default.

A/B testing shouldn't mean that we each ignore
our own personal defaults just to feel the center
detents solidly click into place. Center detent is
not any sort of "common ground", but more of
"no man's land" where neither of us will actually
set the dials for what we actually play.

​



 
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babebambi said:
damn it Greg, why do you have to say it so bluntly
now I feel old too :((

I have been drawn towards the maple tone too lately
I hope this is not a sign of early hearing lost :P
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I think,& hope,it's the other way round mate.
If your age was affecting your hearing,you'd be more attracted towards the Thumb.It can be heard above anything thrown at it.
But then,that mapley sound just wreaks of nostalgia.& it's mainly the old farts that get all nostalgic.
Bugger it.I've reproduced & still breathe,so I'm lucky.Most species mate,then die.So I should consider myself lucky.8:
 
Golem, you are right.

I agree with you, never rely on soundclips when buying a bass.

Still, from an A/B you will hear the DIFFERENCE between the two of them. And this helps a lot if you know/ own one of them.
It also let you have a pretty good Idea of the bass's character, voice, especially when you hear more clips with the same bass, different players.

For example, we have more clips with SSII, and more clips with thumbs. A person will start to notice the "vocal" quality of the SSII, the proeminent mid, and the tightness and growl of the thumb.

So I guess no mater what we say, the clips do help a man to narrow the search.
 






I very much agree on the value of having
more and more clips, different players etc.

This creates the broader sample and gives
a more real-world impression. It's pretty
much the opposite of A/B, which just too
small of a sample .... but what really bugs
me about the fascination with A/B testing
is that, unlike a larger but less organized
multi-multi clip sample, A/B tests give an
IMPRESSION of being more objective and
more organized, etc .. when it's really just
waaaaay short on real data.

The multi-multi clips 'test' may be totally
non-organized, but at least it's data-rich !
I find that to be more like real-life.

​



 
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Still I think the A/B is great IF you really know one of them. FOr example a MEC vs Bart is great since we all know how MEC pickups sound, so we will have a very good idea of what change will bring the Bart pickup.
 
Crossdrop said:
Yes, I think that bass has got purpleheart stripes between the ovangkol pieces!
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Though it does look a little like that, and it would be pretty cool, I don't think it's truly the case here. I have a big slab of purpleheart sitting in my front hall and its VERY purple.:lol: The purplish hue that shows in the neck of my bass is just a glimmer, and only in certain lighting conditions.
 
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