Rig planning / New bass?

The ShadowKnight

The ShadowKnight

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Hello everyone,
first time poster, but long time Warwick/Framus Fan :)

I am wanting a bit more growl for especially Metal sets, ans someone pointed me in the direction of the thumb bass, so I wanted to check with the forum if it makes sense (I can not try warwicks out here in the countryside), and I do not have the luxury of gearing up all the time, 1-2 instruments and 1 Rig is all I can afford - and it took mea long time already :) ( I bought most of my kit on sales, so hey, I admit I am on a budget)

Bass Rig:

Warwick Corvette $$ 4 String (nirvana black)
Klotz Cables
Eden WTX500
Warwick 115 and 210 Cab
 
You should add my Thumb NT 5 string to that list to make the perfect set up :-)
 
I remeber hearing an NT and liking it, however I do not know if the thumb basses in general have more of that grinding growl to warrant grabbing one in addition to the corvette :)

New NTs are mighty pricey XD
 
I think Thumb is THE synonym for growl.

Here's a 4 stringer, the fiver is even more growly because of the different neck pup position:

[video=youtube;keQs-Ml5uBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keQs-Ml5uBE[/video]

The ShadowKnight said:
New NTs are mighty pricey XD
Click to expand...
Keep your eyes in the classifieds. Wicks are usually pretty fairly priced second-hand.


I think you should also check Streamer Stage II:

[video=youtube;HPRi24nIsuk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPRi24nIsuk[/video]


All the Wicks can provide growl but I think those two models and Dolphin are the most brutal, aggressive growl beasts of the lot. Also check the clips section of this forum. Lotsa nice samples for you to judge.
 
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Thanks for helping :)

yeah, tengburtons totally guttural bass sound makes me smile :) The streamer is good, but man, the thumb just sounds awesome.

I considered a thumb 4 string bolt on model, and the books tell us that it makes an instrument faster in attack, however the neck PU is moved more to the neck to balance, so all is well?
I could not get my corvette $$ to go as growly as the clip above, which is in part due to wood, and pickup type/positions I presume. I always asume that if it does not sound right, its me and my lack of talent :P

3k (NT) euro vs 2k (BO) :P

I just hope it's worth investing, I am always paranoid about making a purchase as I normally save for ages :D SO if its worth investing in a 2nd bass (thumb?) should it be the BO or NT? Donations of thumb basses welcome (As if that would happen, ever)
 
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The Thumb NT 5 is the definition of metal growl In my opinion :-)
 
The ShadowKnight said:
Thanks for helping :)

yeah, tengburtons totally guttural bass sound makes me smile :) The streamer is good, but man, the thumb just sounds awesome.

I considered a thumb 4 string bolt on model, and the books tell us that it makes an instrument faster in attack, however the neck PU is moved more to the neck to balance, so all is well?
I could not get my corvette $$ to go as growly as the clip above, which is in part due to wood, and pickup type/positions I presume. I always asume that if it does not sound right, its me and my lack of talent :P

3k (NT) euro vs 2k (BO) :P

I just hope it's worth investing, I am always paranoid about making a purchase as I normally save for ages :D SO if its worth investing in a 2nd bass (thumb?) should it be the BO or NT? Donations of thumb basses welcome (As if that would happen, ever)
Click to expand...

I am looking to sell my NT 5....feel free to PM me :-)
 
The ShadowKnight said:
I considered a thumb 4 string bolt on model, and the books tell us that it makes an instrument faster in attack, however the neck PU is moved more to the neck to balance, so all is well?
I could not get my corvette $$ to go as growly as the clip above, which is in part due to wood, and pickup type/positions I presume. I always asume that if it does not sound right, its me and my lack of talent :P

3k (NT) euro vs 2k (BO) :P

I just hope it's worth investing, I am always paranoid about making a purchase as I normally save for ages :D SO if its worth investing in a 2nd bass (thumb?) should it be the BO or NT? Donations of thumb basses welcome (As if that would happen, ever)
Click to expand...

I really really suggest you to try it out live. Thumbs have different kind of ergonomics compared to many famous bass models.

About the pickups, it's not about neck construction, it's about the string count. 5-stringers have 2 jazz pickups near the bridge, 4-bangers got one near the bridge, one closer to the neck.

NT has 26 frets opposed to BO's 24. I wouldn't give too much thought to the different neck constructions' attack/sustain differences. To my ears they have pretty much the same amount of both, but I'm not a Thumb owner.
 
If you can't test the bass try get as much information as possible, read reviews, listen sound samples, get the specs etc. But you should really try bass if its possible Ive seen many good sounding and looking basses that didn't fit into my hand : //
 
I will travel over to a town with a big musicstore as I am getting married in the town, so I may be able to take a quick hour off to the store :) And yeah I know what you mean, feel is important.
 
Thanks :)
Testing Basses and marrying...good combo, unless she finds out I am saving money to actually buy one :eek:
 
hi The Shadowknight, u should check thumb nt. I love nt thumb, bolt on are not so cool and i never play good bo thumb model ! NT for sure ! AND u should try thumb before u buy - there is always chance that u will "meet" deaf model so better do not take a risk and try before buy.
 
I might have been lucky so far, I do not remeber trying a bad Warwick yet :) I will have a look at both if I can (afford it :P )
 
Congratulations! Get your basses now, they are much harder to buy once you 're married. :lol:
 
Hehe :) Wending went awesome and I was able to test some basses :)

They had only the old 4 string BO and a BO 4 string Black edition (basically the std ovangkol body 4 BO thumb with black stain paint, ebony fingerboard and the brass nut) and I have to say I like it however the 4 string BO sounded a bit dead, very possibly due to a screwed battery and old strings, while Black edition played quite nicely, however I would still prefer more low mids, which hope fully the new edition will provide and am also now pondering whether to invest in getting an ebony fretboard on a new bass :P However, I don't think its worth the upgrade and I like my wenge fretboard corvette $$

One very fun fact is I can still pick up any $$ corvette and it feels like home :)
 
Any ideas? I love the tone TenguBurton has, and as far as I could see its a NT4 with wenge fingerboard, ovankol neck and bubinga body, so would the new BO 4 with the same wood (except the pommele bit) be the closest thing to it? Hopefully I can find a shop to try but I have not seen reviews between the new thumb and the old one , and sadly I did not have the opportunity to play one of the new models. The shop guy just said I had to wait or order one, in which case I outright buy it without having played it - exactly what I am trying to avoid. I like the thumb shape as well, and the PU setup makes fingerstyle playing nice and easy, so my only beef is the sound now :)
I could not try NT vs bolt on on a similar warwick, and they did not have a bubinga warwick in store either :(
 
Tengburton's thumb is from 90's if I can recall so it would be wenge neck also?
 
its a 99 one according to him, but I can't see in the vid if its a wenge neck, it appears to be lighter than the fretboard though which points at ovangkol.

Edit:
If I remeber correctly, they added the JAN 2 and Ovangkol neck in 98....might be wrong though
 
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Well you should ask Morgoth as he is thumb / wenge freak, I know more about corvettes ;p
 
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