My Warwick Thumb is dead ... is dead ...

evilsaint

evilsaint

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My 2004 Warwick Thumb BO bass (5 strings) is dead .......

The repair technician told me that the truss-rod in my bass is completely dead.
The neck is forward bow now and he can't tighten truss-rod anymore.

SAD ! SAD ! I really love Thumb than my Hot Rod 2005 LTD.

But luckily, Hot Rod doesn't have any truss-rod problem untill now.
I guess maybe the reason is Hot Rod has a Maple neck.

Two of my Warwick basses have this same problem - 99' Streamer STD & 04'Thumb BO
Both of them use Ovangkol necks.

I think I'd better stop to buy another Warwick bass to be my fourth basses.
Cry ..... And I won't expect my Warwick dealer will help me fix this problem.
 
evilsaint, where do you live?

The reason I ask, is that I wonder if the heat/humidity in your area is doing a job on your necks.
 
Sounds too coincidental to me, Warwick has the best truss rod system that I have seen. Are you using very heavy strings, or non standard tunings? Can you get the neck flat with the strings off of the bass? I also remember reading somewhere that there were some Warwick basses that had the truss rod installed in such a way that it operated backwards. In other words, turning the rod left would actually tighten it and turning it right would actually loosten it.
 
2tone said:
...I also remember reading somewhere that there were some Warwick basses that had the truss rod installed in such a way that it operated backwards.
Click to expand...

That's true, but I don't think that a bolton made in 2004 could have the reverse trussrod
 
This is indeed strange. My bolt on Warwicks are both 2002 models, and aside from an initial adjustment when I first bought them, the necks have never once moved.
 
Try to live near the beach and we'll talk about necks!! When I used to play bass (i'm re-starting soon!!!), I studied near the beach and my home town was 100Km from the beach.

Everytime I took the bass to the city where I studied, the neck of the bass needed some adjustment. And when I returned to my home town, I needed the same procedure > but reversed :twisted:
 
My Fender ('57 P-Bass reissue)usually needs a truss-rod twist in the dead of winter, and back out in the summer.
 
There you go!

People always told me that basses and guitars, but mainly basses, need at least 2 setups every year: on the begining Autumn/Winter and on the begining of Spring/Summer :P
 
wahit said:
There you go!

People always told me that basses and guitars, but mainly basses, need at least 2 setups every year: on the begining Autumn/Winter and on the begining of Spring/Summer :P
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Not my 1989 Thumb :wink:
It never move, once a year I remove te trussrod cover and I check if the trussrod is still moving, then I took it back to its position.

The most stable neck I ever dealt with, for sure! 8)
 
I agree with gary & Mr.rabble,my 03 thumb has needed 1 tiny adjustment since new.I think it's a good idea to make sure the rod turns ok every so often too.I once read a post in some forum that this guy said his warwick rod made a huge clunk every 3/4 turn,why on earth was he turning it that far for I dont know but the checking the rod is a must if you buy a used bass.You never know what a previous owner may've done to that enigmatic rod. :wink:
 
Wow Greg, I can't imagine someone cranking a truss rod that much either! The dude said it made a "clunk" every 3/4 of a turn?

I think it's a real testament to Warwick's neck construction, as you and I live in different climates, in diferent parts of the world, and our necks haven't moved.

By the way, its' good to hear that the knee is coming along better.

Gary
 
wahit said:
Try to live near the beach and we'll talk about necks!! When I used to play bass (i'm re-starting soon!!!), I studied near the beach and my home town was 100Km from the beach.

Everytime I took the bass to the city where I studied, the neck of the bass needed some adjustment. And when I returned to my home town, I needed the same procedure > but reversed :twisted:
Click to expand...

Well I live about 6.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean (Huntington Beach, CA) and I dont have much trouble with anyting. I had to adjust the truss rod on my vette when changed the string for the first time, but since, even with string changes and seasonal humidity, I have had no problems. I do store my bass in a hard shell case with custom foam. Ive played less than .125 miles from the ocean (on the sand, at a house party) and didnt notice anything.

I had a freind that had a truss rod break in a nice guitar (what it was slips my mind) and the person that broke it was a local guy called the "Guitar Doctor" I guess it happens, and it wasn't a cheap guitar. Sorry to hear about this. Maybe contact Warwick about getting a new neck or somethen?

Also, if this is happening with all your basses, are you taking it to the same guy every time that is telling you this? Second opinion time.....

Sorry to hear about this, a thumb lost is truley a tragedy.
 
Clarification please :D

Are we saying that the truss rods in two basses are broken, or is there no more adjustment left?
 
I was thinking along the same lines as Gonzo. To have two Warwicks with no adjustment left in the truss rods makes me wonder if it might be time for a new guitar tech.

It just seems strange. We have drastic climate changes in Michigan where I live. I never touched the rod on my fretless 'Vette. On my two Thumbs (BO & NT) I actually adjusted just a tad more bow into the neck as I play with a medium-to-low action and a pretty hard fingerstyle attack. I made this adjustment shortly after I bought them and they have not moved since. And I check the neck relief every time I play them, fretting the 1st and 12th or the 1st and last fret. My setups just never move. I've owned my NT5 for only 8 months, and it lives a pretty easy life in a climate-controlled house (I don't take it on the road because I'm afraid of somethiong happing to it.) But I've played the hell out of the BO4 for almost 4 years and it goes everywhere with me, at least 3 weekends a month playing out (many times in open-air gigs) along with the weekly open mic-night at the local blues club, not to mention countless practice sessions at home and with my band.

One of the reasons that I live and die by my Warwicks is that you "set it and forget it."

The Thumb Bass (or any Warwick for that matter) is a beautiful instrument and before I'd give up on it I'd sure as hell contact your Warwick distributor and have them take a look. Something is really wrong here.
 
Oil Can,

I am on board with Gonzo and yourself. The first thing that I do when I get a bass or guitar is go through it. I adjust the neck, check the intonation, adjust the pickup height and then make minor tweaks from there.
I have done quite a bit of set ups as I am sure you have as well. So I am still curious about a few points in this case that may give us a clue to the problem with these two basses
.
1) Will the neck straighten out (or better yet back bow) with the strings off of the bass?
2) Is there any more adjustment in the truss rod with the strings off?
3) Is he using a very heavy gauge of string?
4) Is he using a tuning that would add extra pull on the neck?
5) Does his tech have a crack pipe? :shock:
 
Those are excellent questions to ask, 2Tone (Question #5 included!).

I also wonder if these basses are being stored in a place that might be harmful. (such as near a heat duct, etc.)
 
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