Looking to upgrade my Bass. Torn between 2 very different animals.

[FarFromTheTrees]

In the not too distant future I will have about £1000+ to throw at a Bass. New or used is unimportant to me as long as I get a bass that sounds amazing and is comfortable to play. Right now I'm somewhat torn between a Stingray 5 HH and a Thumb BO (both used of course). My research tells me these basses are worlds apart in both tone and ergonomics...and I love the sound of them both though I prefer the style of the the Thumb BO. Tone-wise I think i'm leaning more towards the Stingray at the moment.

I play mostly metal and [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQSiSqCiaDM"]heavy post-rock[/url] though I am beginning to branch out into funk, reggae/dub, ska and a bit of jazz.

Which would you choose from the two I am torn between and why?

Which of the two has the better b string in your opinion?

Are there any other basses you would consider with the amount of money I have?

There's no music shops that carry these instuments anywhere remotely near me so trying them out before I buy is off the agenda.

Cheers!

[Twincam]

There is no way I would spend any more than 500 quid on something I would not be able to test out (bass wise).

Look locally for similar used basses and try them out if possible. Most bass players won't mind you going and having a play.

Or maybe there is a friendly bc member that you can go see or maybe even ask if they would come to you. You never know.

[Grangur]

If you're any where near me, I have a Thumb 5 BO you can try.

[TrevorR]

It's a long while since I tried wither but my recollection was that the MM and Warwick had very different neck profiles/feels., Different to the extent that I loved one and absolutely hated the other - which isn't important in this context. However, it does strengthen the "try before you buy" imperative if that's where your researches have led you...

[Roger2611]

Have you considered the Warwick Corvette $$? it is suggested it is a Warwick take on a Stingray, I actually traded a Stingray for mine because I couldn't take to a Stingray sound and thus far have kept the Warwick, so I assume it doesn't sound exactly like a Stingray! I do find everytime I play it everything seems to end up a little funky! It could be the prefect bass?

If you are near Northampton I have a 4 string you are welcome to try

Rog

[blue]

Basses don't sound amazing, the person playing has to play amazing.

Blue

[Chaos Daveo]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1468356545' post='3090442']
Basses don't sound amazing, the person playing has to play amazing.

Blue
[/quote]

This 100 percent, my advice for what it's worth make sure your rigg and bass are to a similar standard. Try as many basses amps and combinations as you can, make friends with your local music shops, they can be invaluable in helping you land on a bargain.

[Grangur]

[quote name='Chaos Daveo' timestamp='1468357367' post='3090450']


This 100 percent, my advice for what it's worth make sure your rigg and bass are to a similar standard. Try as many basses amps and combinations as you can, make friends with your local music shops, they can be invaluable in helping you land on a bargain.
[/quote]
When I try a bass I take my amp with me. You need to have a "known" entity in the chain.

[Kev]

[quote name='FarFromTheTrees' timestamp='1468283910' post='3089882']
Which would you choose from the two I am torn between and why?

Which of the two has the better b string in your opinion?

Are there any other basses you would consider with the amount of money I have?

There's no music shops that carry these instuments anywhere remotely near me so trying them out before I buy is off the agenda.

Cheers!
[/quote][list]
[*]I would choose neither. For £1,000 I would wait and buy a Thumb NT 5 when one pops up. Different class of instrument to the Bolt-On, and quite exceptional. A thumb has a very baked in tone due to the pickup placement, much as a Stingray has its own backed in tone. Very different, entirely dependent on what you want. For me, the Thumb NT is of a much higher build quality than the Stingray. The Bolt-On is comparable, but IMO still better due to the quality of the woods used. The BO is typically uncomfortable on a strap, plenty of neck dive on a lot of examples. The NT balances much better. I have only tried one Stingray 5 and it balanced perfectly. With Warwicks, I would look at instruments 1992 and older, or 2009 and newer. Best experience I have had with Warwicks (I have owned over a dozen) have been built during these periods.
[*]There is no 'better' B, but I am not sure what your definition is. They are both 34" scale instruments, so a lot will be dependant on the setup.
[*]Tons of basses, little merit in suggesting many, but the first that comes to mind is a Dingwall Combustion.
[/list]
You need to try some basses out. Stingrays and Warwicks are worlds apart, being active is about the only thing they have in common. It is a buyers market out there, I would wait for an NT thumb if you were insistent on buying without trying, unless you find a BO for the £600-£700 mark (come up more often than you would think).

Edited July 12, 2016 by Kev

[AustinArto]

I would defo play both before deciding. Stingrays have an odd sort of feel to them, I don't like it, it's very chunky and mass-produced-feeling. Thumbs are different again, the position of the top strap point moves the neck a couple of inches further out to the left than you may be used to from Fenders etc. Some people can't get on with that and it's not good if you've got wrist tendon problems, especially not if you're playing fast metal patterns in the lowest positions.

Sound-wise again the Thumb is really quite idiosyncratic. If you want a ton of bottom end you can't have it, but they do make a lovely purry, burpy mid-boosted sound that sits well with distorted guitars. Stingrays are almost the opposite - they tend to sound scooped. Of course both basses have active EQ on board but still they have their own characters.

Personally I really like Thumb basses but I wouldn't recommend buying one without trying one.

[Chiliwailer]

I've very recently switched from a 1989 Thumb 5 NT to a 2014 Stingray 5 HH.

Both of mine are great quality with good B strings. I liked the Thumb a lot and only sold it due to the body being too small for me. Though I was genuinely gutted to let it go, it just so happens that the Stingray is a way better option all round for my tastes as it's more comfortable to play (both neck and body) and the tone variations are very useful. I get to use 3 out of 5 of the pickup selections regularly and the other 2 every now and again. With the Thumb, I only ever got on with the neck pickup.


Of course, this is all down to taste but as you were asking...

[FarFromTheTrees]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1468291744' post='3089886']
There is no way I would spend any more than 500 quid on something I would not be able to test out (bass wise).

Look locally for similar used basses and try them out if possible. Most bass players won't mind you going and having a play.

Or maybe there is a friendly bc member that you can go see or maybe even ask if they would come to you. You never know.
[/quote]

I have tried looking locally to see if anyone plays either of these, but I've had no luck thus far. I live in the lake district (i.e the middle of nowhere) and bass players seem to be spread pretty thinly here!

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1468340306' post='3090291']
Have you considered the Warwick Corvette $$? it is suggested it is a Warwick take on a Stingray, I actually traded a Stingray for mine because I couldn't take to a Stingray sound and thus far have kept the Warwick, so I assume it doesn't sound exactly like a Stingray! I do find everytime I play it everything seems to end up a little funky! It could be the prefect bass?

If you are near Northampton I have a 4 string you are welcome to try

Rog
[/quote]

I have considered the $$ actually but the look of the thing puts me off somewhat. The tone and versatility it offers are good, though it seems to be lacking in comparison to the stingray to my ears.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1468358966' post='3090470'][list]
[*]I would choose neither. For £1,000 I would wait and buy a Thumb NT 5 when one pops up. Different class of instrument to the Bolt-On, and quite exceptional. A thumb has a very baked in tone due to the pickup placement, much as a Stingray has its own backed in tone. Very different, entirely dependent on what you want. For me, the Thumb NT is of a much higher build quality than the Stingray. The Bolt-On is comparable, but IMO still better due to the quality of the woods used. The BO is typically uncomfortable on a strap, plenty of neck dive on a lot of examples. The NT balances much better. I have only tried one Stingray 5 and it balanced perfectly. With Warwicks, I would look at instruments 1992 and older, or 2009 and newer. Best experience I have had with Warwicks (I have owned over a dozen) have been built during these periods.
[*]There is no 'better' B, but I am not sure what your definition is. They are both 34" scale instruments, so a lot will be dependant on the setup.
[*]Tons of basses, little merit in suggesting many, but the first that comes to mind is a Dingwall Combustion.
[/list]
You need to try some basses out. Stingrays and Warwicks are worlds apart, being active is about the only thing they have in common. It is a buyers market out there, I would wait for an NT thumb if you were insistent on buying without trying, unless you find a BO for the £600-£700 mark (come up more often than you would think).
[/quote]

Thanks! I thought the same thing about the comparitive build quaility. The warwicks do seem to offer much more for your money (3d bridge, just-a-nut adjustable nut, invisible frets etc) I read that 2009 onwards thumbs have the much slimmer neck profile but i've not seen NT or the BO offered at those prices anywhere...yet. I'll keep my eyes open.

I considered the Dingwall Combustion actually. The tone is monsterous and the darkglass electronics in the Nolly Getgood version are most desireable....but the NG2's look awful. They put me in mind of badly done [url="https://mindovermotor.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/ricer_civic_2.jpg?w=576&h=432"]"ricer"[/url] cars and i've not seen a standard combustion for sale that appeals to me.

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1468434928' post='3090947']
I've very recently switched from a 1989 Thumb 5 NT to a 2014 Stingray 5 HH.

Both of mine are great quality with good B strings. I liked the Thumb a lot and only sold it due to the body being too small for me. Though I was genuinely gutted to let it go, it just so happens that the Stingray is a way better option all round for my tastes as it's more comfortable to play (both neck and body) and the tone variations are very useful. I get to use 3 out of 5 of the pickup selections regularly and the other 2 every now and again. With the Thumb, I only ever got on with the neck pickup.


Of course, this is all down to taste but as you were asking...
[/quote]

Cheers! I dont think the body size and comparitive neck length on the Thumb would be so much of a problem for me. I have a very similar playing position to [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXBmxCJED_M"]Ryan Martinie[/url] with the bass sitting off to my right hip, so I think a thumb would be a very comfortable bass for me. I could be wrong however but I could just sell it if that's the case. I know the stingray is rather large in comparison...but dat tone. Would you say the Stingray is more versatile? I see people extolling the versatility of the thumb all over the place.


Thanks to everyone else who has replied too. All of this information is really a great help to me

[2elliot]

[quote name='FarFromTheTrees' timestamp='1468448431' post='3091071']

Cheers! I dont think the body size and comparitive neck length on the Thumb would be so much of a problem for me. I have a very similar playing position to [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXBmxCJED_M"]Ryan Martinie[/url] with the bass sitting off to my right hip, so I think a thumb would be a very comfortable bass for me. I could be wrong however but I could just sell it if that's the case. I know the stingray is rather large in comparison...but dat tone. Would you say the Stingray is more versatile? I see people extolling the versatility of the thumb all over the place.


Thanks to everyone else who has replied too. All of this information is really a great help to me
[/quote]

I used a thru neck thumb for several years playing similar material to that. It was excellent. I sold it last month due to shoulder and neck problems, it was a hard move for me as I'd owned it for around 15 years. I ended up buying a Streamer SS1, it feels very similar and I can't really notice a lot of change to the sound, it's also excellent.

And it doesn't matter how you hang a thumb it will still neck dive and the 1st fret will always be on the other side of the stage.

Second hand Warwicks... total bargains.

[Chiliwailer]

[quote name='FarFromTheTrees' timestamp='1468448431' post='3091071']


Would you say the Stingray is more versatile?
[/quote]

From my POV the Stingrsy HH is far more versatile. But like I said, I only clicked with the neck pickup on the Thumb, even though the bridge pickup and combined pickups have a great tone of their own

[Chaos Daveo]

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1468470935' post='3091109']


From my POV the Stingrsy HH is far more versatile. But like I said, I only clicked with the neck pickup on the Thumb, even though the bridge pickup and combined pickups have a great tone of their own
[/quote]

Don't rule out Sandberg basic models imo they are just as good as stingrays and have quite a growl

[FuNkShUi]

I've had a 4 string thumb. Really loved the sound. I would guess it would be perfect for the genre you're going for.
I found it uncomfortable to play though. Not sure why, but it gave me problems in my shoulder on my fretting hand.
I actually play with a Streamer now, and that is absolutely fine, no pains at all. So might just have been a one off.
The $$ is a brilliant bass too. Super punchy. Biggest output on a bass i've ever played. The one i bought was advertised as " a bit beat up" . It was battered. Drive a lorry under the strings the action was so high. But it was my first Warwick, and converted me.
I cant speak for the Stingrays, but definitely check out a few Warwicks