Warwick Thumb '88: How to remove nicotine smell?

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Florian

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Hi there,

when I joined the forum I was about to buy a Streamer STD but the deal was never closed. Now I am back with the good news: I traded another bass for a Thumb 4 String NT. My first Warwick!

It carries the serial A121488, so it is from January 88, an early one with EMGs and without the characteristic Push-Pull-Pot, so I assume it is limited to active mode.

However, a beautiful bass, great shape. Only thing that troubles me being the previous owner seems to be a tough smoker. I am smoker myself (though not too much, of course) ) but the smell of nicotine if even very present to my nose ...

Will a new finish with Warwick BeeWax help? Has anybody experience with this?

Once I am through with the set up and everything, I will post some pictures. ;-)

Kind regards!

Florian
 
Hi Florian,

I think scotch brite + lemon oil should clean the bass well, and remove the smell too..
 
it will clean the bass but 22 Years of heavy smoking :-) ... I don't think that it will vanish entirely (ever)
 
If you cleanse the bass of (that foul,disgusting) stench of nicotine,you might wanna have the case/gig bag cleaned too.After all,there's not much point putting the newly cleaned bass back into a stinking case,right?
Oh,btw,congrats on your new baby :)
 
Hi Guys,

thanks! I will go for Scotch Brite & Lemon Oil and see what happens. I will let you know.

@Greg: Thanks for the congratulations. ;-) I gave away a six string mayones bass to get the Thumb. And what can I say: No regrets. And don't worry about the gigbag, I burned it rightaway. The Thumb will get its own Hiscox Case. The least one can do for a 22 year old instrument I guess, except for treating it right. :-)

Enjoy your weekends!

Florian

PS: I was also offered a Fortress One 5 string for 900 Euros, mint condition. What do you think: Too much? Cheers, Florian
 
I'm far from being qualified to advise on price,but 900 euros seems a bit high.It's a real buyer's market out there at present & 900 euros would buy a Thumb NT,Streamer stage 1 & 2 etc from memory.
Good luck mate.
 
Greg, baby! I wanted to tell him to post a picture. I am pretty much sure he has a Streamer Stage I
- it is from 88
- it has EMG pickups
:-)

So the price is EXTRA right I guess.
 
Florian said:
Now I am back with the good news: I traded another bass for a Thumb 4 String NT. My first Warwick!
Click to expand...

Dude,I think he's talkin about an 88 Thumb here ;)

Florian said:
PS: I was also offered a Fortress One 5 string for 900 Euros, mint condition. What do you think: Too much? Cheers, Florian
Click to expand...

This is what I was saying might be a bit too steep;)

Mate I'm the one who's age relates to senility.:lol:
 
Hi guys,

Greg's right! The bass is a Thumb NT from '88 with EMGs. Only thing I forgot to mention is it is a left handed bass.

I will post some pics later this week!

I have been searching for an affordable Warwick bass quite some time. The other bass I was offered is a Fortress 5 (maple body) and I share Greg's point, 900 Euros seems way too much. A third alternativewas a bolt on Streamer from 94. Tthat is, in parts: body and neck incl tuners and nut, but it was missing pickups, electronics and the bridge and the owner wanted 500 Euros plus shipping. Seemed to be too high for me as well.

Well, the long search payed of, the Thumb is great. But I feel that the "W"-basses should be marked "may cause addiction and disturb peace within the family" ... :-)

Cheerio

Florian
 
Hi everybody,

pictures of the Thumb NT 88 are now online in my profile's album.

Enjoy,

Florian
 
i know this is kind of an old thread..

the best thing to remove the smell of smoke is ozone.. "The Sharper Image" used to sell those Ionic Breeze ozone generators (until people realized that it was bad for your lungs).. these are great for removing strong smell.. look for one of these.. they also made battery operated, pocket sized ones..

if you find one, or an equivalent, place your bass and the Ionic Breeze in a small enclosed space and leave it there for a day, or two.. do the same for the case and anything that has a strong smoke smell.. to concentrate the ozone, you can place the bass on a small stand, the Ionic Breeze next to it and place a contractor grade (i.e. thick) trash bag over it and run it for 12 hours.. if you notice smell from the pickups/bridge/control area.. pull those parts to expose the areas underneath and do it again.. AFAIK, it does not damage/corrode/oxidize plated parts, glue joints or electronics..

after it's done, wipe the bass/parts down with a microfiber cloth.. at this point, you can re-wax your bass..

i've done this many times for different basses and various equipment..
 
Anyway Florian, a Thumb is a better instrument than a Streamer STD, congratz and have fun with it, if you can share us some pics that would be nice :)
 
i bought a bass that was like that a couple of good cleanings and soakings with lemon oil and the smell was gone the gig bag was another problem soaked it with fabreeze and that killed most of the smell after i soaked the bass in lemon oil i put it in the bag now every thing smells like lemon oil.it took awhile foe it to stop stinking.
 
fabreeze only masks smells, it does not remove them.. and you're adding perfume oils to the case, which will eventually break down and become smells themselves.. or combine with what is causing the smell and intensify the smell.. you'll end up with a case that smells like fabreeze scented ass..

clay based cat litter in a doubled nylon stocking will help immensely.. you are introducing something that is more prone to absorb smell.. so, the smell is transferred to the cat litter and disposed of.. you can add in activated charcoal to the cat litter to absorb particularly bad smells.. about 60-40 on the litter/charcoal mix..

you can do this for the bass also.. you have to make a packet large enough that it will cover the bass.. you could use sewn t-shirts loosely filled with the 60-40 mix, and place them on top of the bass to cover it..

honestly, ozone is the best way to destroy smells..

you could take your car to an auto detail shop, and have them ozone treat the interior of your car and leave your bass/case inside the car while it's treated.. if it's good enough to take the smell of rotten milk out of the interior of a car, it's going to kill whatever smell is on your bass or case... ;)
 
it worked for me and now the bag smells like lemon oil and it's been like that for about a year now.when i got the bass i could smell it in the shipping box.i have never smelled a bass with such a strong smoke smell.it smelled up my whole house.when the seller said it came form a smokers house i expected some smell but this was bad.i would have gotten rid of the bag but it was in real good shape apart from the smell.now i use the bag as my storage bag for bass's i'm cleaning/oiling
 
Try a sock filled with Baking Soda and place it in the case with your bass for about 3-5 days.
 
it's kind of funny i keep a box of arm and hammer in the fridge to suck up any smells and i never thought to stick it in the gig bag.sometimes the brain jumps the tracks.
 
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