Have I done okay???

Bass Lady

Bass Lady

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Hi all, new to the forum, new to Warwicks. 8)

By profession I am a double bassist but have played bass guitar for 20 (cough) odd years. I have wanted a Warwick for a very long time but only in the last few months have I really got into looking for one. More recently, having discovered this place and wasting many happy hours reading up as much as I could I took the plunge on the weekend and got myself a 06 Thumb BO from Ebay for £543.33.



I suppose my main question firstly is, is this a good price and does the guitar look okay to everyone?

I already have it. I couldn't wait and picked it up the evening I won the auction. The seller was lovely and had said if I wasn't happy I could walk away, of course, I did not! :lol:









Playing it is a real pleasure but I need to change the strings as they are just too light for me and give the bass a good wax and clean. Which leads me onto my next question, I bought a set of RotoSound Swing Bass, standard gauge strings this morning. Are these okay?

This is where my experience lacks because up until recently, I had never bought a set of strings....... why? Because I had kept the same set of strings on my '83 Westone for over 20 years! Not because I am too cheap to buy new ones but because I LOVED the sound of them. Thud thud thud. I almost cried when one eventually broke and I had to get a new set. :roll:

I intend to change the strings this evening so am planning to use lemon oil on the fretboard whilst the strings are off. Any ideas how long this should take, do I need to leave the strings off for a certain amount of time?

One last little question. Are there many other lady Warwick owners out there?

Thanks for any answers in advance. :D

Cheers, Rachel
 
The Thumb BO4 is a fabulous instrument, and has been my main stage bass for nearly 5 years. The great thing about this bass is that I can immediately get a great tone in any venue I play in, which is important when you have to play in rooms that are not as acoustically friendly as others.

Rotosound strings are great. and I had used them from about 1978 to 2002 until I switched to DR's (Marcus Miller Fat Beams) which have a little smoother texture and last a long, long time.
I re-string about every 6 months, and apply some lemon oil to the fretboard at that point. Just wipe on a small amount and let it set for a few minutes, then wipe off the excess.

Enjoy your new bass, I think you will love it.

Regards,

Oil Can
 
WOW! that is a beauty! i'd have preferred a thumb NT (bubinga pommele!) anytime but suddenly this BO looked pretty neat. maybe its the lighting but the first 2 pics didint amaze me untile the 3rd and 4th.

Some people swear by rotosounds but i have heard way too many stories of them eating frets. they are just way too rough. and who would want to ruin your lovely bell brass frets? (oh, do remember to clean up your frets as well. i still wonder what works best)

i'm a fan of the sound spanking new strings only can give. and IMHO warwicks deserve the bottom and and high end bite of stainless steels. i use DR long necks (because warwick bridges only accept tapered end strings, and i scratched up my bridge while trying to file it to fit an expensive set of thomastik infelds! i'm still pissed about that).

lemon oil shouldnt take that long to sit. by the time you finish oiling the final bit it should be time to start wiping off the excess where you started.

and finally congratulations on your new buy! she's a real beauty and at quite a steal too! maybe you'd like to try recording how it sounds like once you're done with your initial setup.

welcome to the Warwick club!
 
I haven't looked at many thumbs but as far as I can remember that is half the price of a new one (I think).

Good looking bass.

A bit of advice. Go for what you like. What some people think is a good looking bass others will hate. It's all down to taste. If you like it then don't worry what others think. They may well have a bass you don't like.

Also Rotosounds are very reputable and good quality. I don't think I ever broke one. I currently use Ernie Ball and love them, but found lots of people on here really don't like them. Once again it is a matter of taste. Wait for the strings to settle and if you like the sound then rock on. If not just try another brand.

Hope this helps.
 
Z3r0_G said:
(oh, do remember to clean up your frets as well. i still wonder what works best)
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Polishing cloths for brass instruments are perfect. No chemicals, no abrasives, no moisture. Five minutes worth of scrubbing and polishing and they look like burnished gold... ~M~
 
Very nice :) . I was looking at that one and thought shall I? You got if for a very good price in my opinion. Watch Rotosounds because they tend to be a little harsh on the frets and the fingers! :wink: Have fun!
 
Thanks for the welcomes and the answers. :D

The strings are changed and immediately felt much better to play on although I think a bit of tweaking is still needed to get the action right. I shall certainly bear in mind the advice about RotoSounds Thanks and will be keeping an eye on any fret damage although being a double bassist, I am not too worried about my fingers as they are used to the rough and tumble. :wink:

What did suprise me though was just how long the strings were and therefore how long it took me to put them on. I even checked to make sure they weren't extra long scale! They are in fact long scale, is this the best for Warwicks or would medium scale strings be more suitable? Sorry for so many questions. :oops:

Polishing cloths for brass instruments are perfect. No chemicals, no abrasives, no moisture. Five minutes worth of scrubbing and polishing and they look like burnished gold..
Click to expand...

Thanks, that sounds like a great tip, I can get hold of these easily so will give it a go.


Cheers, Rachel
 
Long scale is what you'll want to look for. Standard Warwick's are 34" scale. Xtra long would be for the Infinity NT series or 35" scale basses, and mediums would be for the 32" and 30" Warwicks which pop up from time to time. In our Tips and Tricks section, there is an excellent resource for doing your own setups which I think you'll find most useful for tweaking the best performance out of your new Thumb. Enjoy! ~M~
 
Long scale strings are what you want, unless your bass is a custom shop short scale model. I don't know if you had received a owner's manual with your instrument, but you can trim the string to length approximately 3" to 4" beyond the tuning peg post before you start winding the string onto the post. Just remember to take a pair of pliars and bend the string about 1/2" from the place where you trim it to length. This will help prevent the windings from slipping on the string's core wire.

This will give you about three winds around the tuning post and the bass should stay in tune like a dream, once the strings are "seated in".

Have fun with your Thumb!

Gary
 
Hello Rachel,

and welcome to the forum too. :D I'm not an expert on scale lenght of strings. I've been using Warwick's Black Label and EMP strings, and they're both longscale, so I don't see why any other brand of strings would be a problem when they're longscale too............ :roll:

Geat looking bass by the way. The Thumb 4 Bolt On is my first Warwick which I still own.................fabulous sound.............. 8)

Cheers. :D
 
Thanks for the string info guys, the tip about cutting them down a bit certainly makes lots of sense. I was just a bit worried because there was almost not enough room for all the spare string around the post.

I don't know if you had received a owner's manual with your instrument, but you can trim the string to length approximately 3" to 4" beyond the tuning peg post before you start winding the string onto the post.
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Thanks Gary, I did get the manual which I will have a good read of tonight. You know what it's like, play first, read the instructions later! LOL :lol:


Ooooooooh, did I add, I LOVE my new bass. :D
 
avionix543 said:
In our Tips and Tricks section, there is an excellent resource for doing your own setups which I think you'll find most useful for tweaking the best performance out of your new Thumb. Enjoy! ~M~
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will definitely be checking this section out tomorrow when I have a go at tweaking.
 
The Thumb is an incredible bass, congratulations! And welcome to the forum as well.

But be warned, Warwicks seem to be a lot like potato chips... you can't have just one. :P
 
Welcome to the family of professional musicans - Well maybe not myself but I can dream
 
Heya Rachel,nice Thumb mate.As for keeping an eye on your frets,it's not really an issue with Warwick.The frets used on your bass are alot harder wearing than you normal garden variety frets.Rotosounds are rough strings but so are Black Labels & EMP's.These frets were designed to last donkeys years with the roughest strings available.If ya like the string,dont worry about the frets,just play em. :wink:
Edit*
Is that fretless a Hanwinkle?
 
Welcome to the forum, Rachel.

Just to answer your very first question - I think you've got a real bargain there! But I'm a bit biased when it comes to Thumb BOs.
 
Yup, definite bargain - you've saved about £400 and it's a great looking bass.

Funnily enough I also wanted a Warwick from the moment I saw the ads for Thumbs way back in 85. I also nearly bought a Westone bass back then too!
 
EVOLVEBASS said:
The Thumb is an incredible bass, congratulations! And welcome to the forum as well.

But be warned, Warwicks seem to be a lot like potato chips... you can't have just one. :P
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Thanks. :wink:

Yes, I am already itching for a Warwick fretless but I'll have to save again now. :lol:



Is that fretless a Hanwinkle?
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Hi Greg, no it is an Aria IGB 68, a lovely bass to play but now I have one Warwick............ :roll:

The other two are cheapy 5 and 6 string fretless basses.

Thanks for all the warm welcomes and good to know that I paid a good price.

Been loving playing the Thumb all day. :D


Cheers,
Rachel
 
Sorry, one Warwick is never enough. Its the law! Almost got an LX JazzMan on Saturday but it had five strings! Sorry its just me :roll:! BTW my first ever ever bass was a Westone!
 
Sorry, one Warwick is never enough. Its the law!
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LOL! I was just wondering if it is wrong to go to sleep at night dreaming of the different Warwicks I would want. With space for 7 basses on the rack am I giving myself enough to dream about!!! :lol:

I still have the Westone '83 Concord II although I am looking for a new home for it now to get more pennies for a fretless Warwick, maybe a $$.........

My very first basses were Marlins but we won't even go there. :lol:

Cheers,
Rachel
 
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