Used Warwick Thumb - any Warwick experts...

[Jigster]

Hi Guys

tried out a Warwick thumb thru-neck today - very nice - but a whopping 1300 at a used price - it this a lot? Guess there's the shop'smark up to account for. No way of knowing how old it is as I'm unfamiliar with serial numbers etc for W's. Pretty bloody good condition tho

Also, neck dive ya? Felt very horizontal, altho I'd have to go back with my own strap to be sure..

Cheers for any info

[thisnameistaken]

They go a lot cheaper in private sales (4 strings usually around the 7-800GBP mark) on here and eBay, but they are massively undervalued IMO.

I've never had any issues with neck dive on mine but it's an older one (1991) so maybe construction has changed since then. You can tell the year of manufacture by the serial number on the end of the headstock - two separate digits will denote the year.

[Waldo]

That's significantly higher than the going rate for a private sale, as above £700-800 would be right. Neck dive seems to be a common issue with them too.

[Dubs]

Depends on year/condition, but you could probably expect a bit of change from £1300, even for a very nice condition early Thumb. In the current market you could probably expect to be able to find one for about £900 without too much looking, even cheaper if you're willing to wait.

[sprocketflup]

I have a Bolt on thumb 4 for sale, £600, theres a thread about it here - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=90567&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=90567&hl=[/url]

[Jigster]

oh okay - that's a pretty amazing difference in price!! So it's a 98, much neck dive? - I really worry about that - the one I tried was sooo horizontal

[EBS_freak]

Is this the one in PMT in Brum....?

[Jigster]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='941694' date='Sep 1 2010, 08:19 AM']Is this the one in PMT in Brum....?[/quote]

yep - tried it? The more I think about it, the more I think PMT are just being proper greedy - they're gr8 guys there, but I think it's a wee bit exploitative

[simon1964]

[quote name='Jigster' post='941604' date='Sep 1 2010, 12:04 AM']oh okay - that's a pretty amazing difference in price!! So it's a 98, much neck dive? - I really worry about that - the one I tried was sooo horizontal[/quote]

You should certainly play it for a while on a decent strap. Its not just the balance, but also that the body is much smaller than I was used to, and I found the neck felt a lot longer than most basses (even though its still 34" scale). I loved the tone of my old bolt-on Thumb, and a decent strap made the balance less of an issue, but they do take a bit of getting used to.

But I definitely regret selling my old one!

[tonyf]

[quote name='Jigster' post='941710' date='Sep 1 2010, 08:45 AM']yep - tried it? The more I think about it, the more I think PMT are just being proper greedy - they're gr8 guys there, but I think it's a wee bit exploitative [/quote]

The PMT Thumb is Phil's (AlfieNoakes) old bass. It maybe worth dropping him a PM about it.

Having owned a couple of them, I'd say it's a fabulous bass and a great example of a Thumb but I'd agree with the other comments about the cost. Typical "used gear in a shop" price.

T

[Jigster]

[quote name='tonyf' post='941728' date='Sep 1 2010, 09:16 AM']The PMT Thumb is Phil's (AlfieNoakes) old bass. It maybe worth dropping him a PM about it.

Having owned a couple of them, I'd say it's a fabulous bass and a great example of a Thumb but I'd agree with the other comments about the cost. Typical "used gear in a shop" price.

T[/quote]

do you mean it's a commission sale?

[tonyf]

[quote name='Jigster' post='941732' date='Sep 1 2010, 09:20 AM']do you mean it's a commission sale?[/quote]

Phil traded it against his US Spector so it's not a commission sale.

Ultimately, it's OK sitting here listening to us all give opinions on costs etc but these are just that, opinions.

If you really love it, it maybe worth seeing what deal they can do on it. If you don't ask, you don't get and these are tough times so there's probably some movement for them. Depends if they want your business. I'm guessing the price is the only reason it's been stuck on the wall for so long as it's an otherwise fabulous instrument.

T

[sprocketflup]

[quote name='Jigster' post='941604' date='Aug 31 2010, 11:04 PM']oh okay - that's a pretty amazing difference in price!! So it's a 98, much neck dive? - I really worry about that - the one I tried was sooo horizontal[/quote]

Cant say as I noticed too much tbh

[wrinkleygit]

Check the position of the lower strap button,later thumbs have the button on the centre line of the bass early ones especialy with the recessed strap locks have them positioned further round almost mirror image of the jack socket if this makes any sense,the way a thumb hangs on its strap will make a big difference to neck dive, my 93' thumb had both buttons fitted when I first had it ,the centre pos button was a major factor in contributing to neck dive,I always use the other button when playing on a strap,, thumbs are great basses & second hand values don't do them justice,either start haggling at the shop or if you fancy a 5 string josh has one for sale that looks like a bargain.Buy one now while they are cheap, look at the price of a new one for comparison, all the best, mike b.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Jigster' post='941710' date='Sep 1 2010, 08:45 AM']yep - tried it? The more I think about it, the more I think PMT are just being proper greedy - they're gr8 guys there, but I think it's a wee bit exploitative [/quote]

It's a great player... the price was what put me off - I was hoping to snag a bargain.

[Jigster]

[quote name='wrinkleygit' post='942554' date='Sep 1 2010, 07:51 PM']Check the position of the lower strap button,later thumbs have the button on the centre line of the bass early ones especialy with the recessed strap locks have them positioned further round almost mirror image of the jack socket if this makes any sense,the way a thumb hangs on its strap will make a big difference to neck dive, my 93' thumb had both buttons fitted when I first had it ,the centre pos button was a major factor in contributing to neck dive,I always use the other button when playing on a strap,, thumbs are great basses & second hand values don't do them justice,either start haggling at the shop or if you fancy a 5 string josh has one for sale that looks like a bargain.Buy one now while they are cheap, look at the price of a new one for comparison, all the best, mike b.[/quote]

so if you moved the strap lock this might make a difference anyway??

[wrinkleygit]

The position of the lower strap button on any bass will determine how it hangs on a strap,to try & make this a bit clearer, imagine your bass lying on a clock face with the head @ 12.00 & the bridge @ 6.00 a button placed somewhere between 7.00 & 8.00 will make a big difference, to experiment strap your bass on, get someone to support the body, unhook the the strap from the lower button & hold it in different positions to find the best position, make sure you have someone in place to catch it if you let it slip,

[Chris2112]

[quote name='Dubs' post='941328' date='Aug 31 2010, 08:13 PM']Depends on year/condition, but you could probably expect a bit of change from £1300, even for a very nice condition early Thumb. In the current market you could probably expect to be able to find one for about £900 without too much looking, even cheaper if you're willing to wait.[/quote]

I recall there was a fretless NT 6 string Thumb here for £1300 a while ago - that just shows you the huge mark up you get in shops!

As it is, NT thumbs are pretty common and finding a good used one shouldn't be too much bother, but £1300 is a lot. I had a BO Thumb from 1999, with a wenge neck and the old neck profile. I loved it, and it definitely wasn't a neck dive nightmare, although I wear my basses "Mark King" style - if you like to wear them low it could be an issue.

[mart]

[quote name='wrinkleygit' post='945466' date='Sep 4 2010, 03:55 PM']The position of the lower strap button on any bass will determine how it hangs on a strap,to try & make this a bit clearer, imagine your bass lying on a clock face with the head @ 12.00 & the bridge @ 6.00 a button placed somewhere between 7.00 & 8.00 will make a big difference, to experiment strap your bass on, get someone to support the body, unhook the the strap from the lower button & hold it in different positions to find the best position, make sure you have someone in place to catch it if you let it slip,[/quote]

There's been some long discussions of this on the Warwick forum. I'd recommend looking at [url="http://forum.warwick.de/10-warwick-basses/12300-moving-strap-buttons.html"]this thread[/url] to start with. The broad conclusion I drew was that moving the lower strap button is never going to make much difference, but moving the top strap button (i.e. by extending the horn somehow) would be a lot more effective.

[Jigster]

thanks Mart very useful

ok, so what about other models? Do Streamers dive?

[mart]

[quote name='Jigster' post='946453' date='Sep 5 2010, 06:02 PM']thanks Mart very useful

ok, so what about other models? Do Streamers dive?[/quote]

From my experience no, Streamers are very well balanced. The Thumbs really are far and away the worst culprits, because they were designed to be horizontal. I've heard a few people complain about Corvettes a little, but not had any problems myself. Maybe 5 or 6 string Corvettes are the problem - I don't touch anything with more than 4.