Here are my 2 cents on the subject. For years I had owned an '88 Thumb thinking it blew away any of the newer ('92 and up) models . . . until I found an '86 JD! When it arrived I was expecting something very similar to my '88, save for the bridge and the electronics. To my surprise, the '86 had a very sleek and fast neck and body. Now, I had previously come across an 80's streamer which (to my surprise) was also very thin and sleek, but I had no idea there were some thumbs with these specs. My point is, if you do decide to go ahead with the purchase , you won't regret it. The handmade feel of these instruments is clearly evident. Some people swear by the newer models, and although I do acknowledge there have been a few improvements here and there, I wouldn't trade any of my vintage thumbs for twice the amount of newer models. I find that since the mid to late 90's, the incredible attention to detail you find in the older models hasn't been there. The '86 thumb I bought had such a good feel, I decided to trim the neck (and part of the body) of my beloved '88 (which in fact, was better shaped than any post-89 thumb I had tried before)! One major difference between the 80's and post 92 thumbs is the heel (of the neck). Mid-to-late 90's thumbs are rather sub-par in this department. As for the price, I was lucky enough to get mine for $1,300, which I still think was a steal (this was 7 years ago, though). Once again, this is just my (not-so-humble-yet-well-founded) opinion.
PS: And just in case someone comes ranting about how I haven't really tried out newer Thumbs . . . sorry, I've played a good amount of them (from almost every year) for a long time now and the only advantages I give the 'new' ones are the volute and the electronics.
