My Thumb NT Arrived Today!!!

maddrakkett

maddrakkett

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The Thumb I won on eBay for $1425.00 USD arrived by UPS today, and oh man, she's a BEAUTY!!! The seller was absolutely right when he told me it looks better in person - the Bubinga Pommele is absolutely STUNNING, and she plays and sounds like a dream!

Even came with a new set of Warwick Black label strings, tuned down to slack for shipping (good job :wink: ) and a can of Warwick surface finisher, plus a leather Levy's strap that matches the tone of the wood!

I do have minor upgrades planned: I will replace the strap locks with Warwick security locks on order from Bass Centre, London, then I received a black Hipshot D-Tuner also today, I will need to replace the input jack with a black Switchcraft I have in my possession (my Monster Bass cables have smaller plugs that struggle to make good contact with the Warwick jacks), and I will be visiting Dana B. Goods at the end of the month and will pick up a JAN III.

All I can say is that I love eBay - it came through for me big time once again, and now I own my dream bass!!! :D

Here's some pics I snapped at home:







And here's the ones the seller had posted on ebay:








One quick question: This was made in 2000, and the fingerboard looks like Wenge from the top, with the porous, open grain, but from the side, it has the exotic figuring like my Tigerstripe Ebony fretless 'Vette. Is it really Ebony?
 
Woohoo. That's a lovely grain. Swirleyswoosh bubinga! Grats!!!!!!
 
Great - I love Wenge fingerboards, ever since I bought my $$!

This is on the "Show us your Bass" thread too, but here's my complete Warwick family, all obtained within the last 6 months:
 
every time i see that fingerboard on the left, i almost wet my pants :oops: :D
 
Stunning, stunning, stunning, stunning Bubinga Pommele..............That piece of wood can compete against the most exotic boutique wood in the world.................. :D
 
That's incredible wood. I was watching the auction too. Congrats!

O
 
Thanks all.

I'm going to have to replace the input jack tomorrow because I can't get my guitar cord to make contact at all (but this will be no problem for me). Earlier though, I was able to get a few minutes of contact and the tone that came out of this thing was WAY different from my Corvette $$ - and in a good way! Even without the active EQ kicked in, this thing sounds so unique and distinctive - it sounds as awesome as it looks! Now I know what you Thumb NT owners have been talking about and why you treasure your Thumb basses as I will mine!

Also, thanks again to those who helped with my previous questions that led to my decision to stick this auction out. There were only a couple NTs on eBay, so it was great odds to find this gem! Had I not had such a helpful family here on this forum, I might have hesitated and missed out on a dream-come-true, so I genuinely thank all of you here!
 
Awsome collection, but what do you need two 4-string fretless 'vettes for though?
 
NeonVomit said:
Awsome collection, but what do you need two 4-string fretless 'vettes for though?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't really *need* two, but here's the story:

The '03 was my first Warwick. Back in April, I got bit by the gear bug, and I got major GAS for a Warwick fretless. I had a Dean Edge fretless that just wasn't cutting it for me, so I went to a local Guitar Center that I knew still had Corvette fretless basses in stock. I ended up really getting into fretless playing for the first time because of how good that 'Vette felt and sounded.

Then in June, I was in another local GC when I spotted that '06 hanging on the wall. Soon as I saw that fingerboard, I was literally mesmerized! I went home that day and could not get that image out of my mind. It had such a rare, exotic look like I've always wanted... I went back a couple days later and played it. It was all over. The mwah and growl from that bass were so definitive... I struggled with the same question you're asking - how do I justify two Corvette fretless'? In the end, it didn't matter; I had to have that '06. Sometimes a bass just has a way of picking its owner I suppose!

One other thing is that I have customized my '03 with Bartolini dual in-line coil pickups, so it is dead quiet, yet still passive, and sounds incredible. It is actually still my main instrument for playing at church, where I can't afford hum or buzz, and where the music director and members of the congregation have requested I continue to use the fretless - they love the sound (and we play traditional hymns, with only piano and sometimes organ accompanying my bass, no drums).

I have thought about swapping the pickups and then I could sell my '03, but I like having a backup and two different sound options because of the differing pickups. And I actually like how the '03 looks as well, with a nice solid black ebony fingerboard and its own grain pattern to the Bubinga body...

In the end, I can honestly say that someway, somehow, all four of my Warwicks found a way to pick their owner. I feel so honored... 8)
 
out of interest, is the neck on you NT ovangkol or wenge? it looks like Ovangkol, but I couldn't be certain...?

The wenge fingerboard is really nice, wish mine had one, I love the tone of a wenge board ;-)
 
Son of Bovril said:
out of interest, is the neck on you NT ovangkol or wenge? it looks like Ovangkol, but I couldn't be certain...?

The wenge fingerboard is really nice, wish mine had one, I love the tone of a wenge board ;-)
Click to expand...

The neck on my Thumb NT is Ovangkol, and I agree - I do love the Wenge fretboard, at least on the fretted basses. I prefer the Ebony on the fretless. It must be something about the year 1999/2000, that the Wenge necks were switched to Ovangkol (mine's 7-piece, with Bubinga in the mix), but the fretboard stayed Wenge? Then they went to an all-Ovangkol 5-piece neck with Enkanga stripes and Ebony fretboard...
 
It was so cool waking up today and finding that it wasn't a dream - the Thumb NT is really mine! And wow! I just finished doing a lemon-oil and surface wax cleaning and man does the Bubinga Pommele GLOW in 3D! Gots ta put on my sunglasses! 8)

I found the problem with the input jack - it was a loose ground wire, due to the jack being loose and the wire being short. The jack is loose because the nut is stuck to the threads - can't loosen nor tighten it up. If I can ever get the nut loose, I will replace the jack with a black Switchcraft, but for now, I soldered a flexible ground wire to the jack and all is well. It sounds sweet!

Next up, I added the Hipshot GB-7 Xtender D-tuner key. I never knew just how cool a 4-string could be! I play a Squire Jazz 4, but c'mon... Still love my $$ 5-string, but this Thumb NT 4 is definitive of "The Sound (and Look) of Wood"!
 
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