Warwick Thumb SC (Single Cut-Away) Bass

Every once in a while, a new bass catches my attention which I just have to feature here on The Guitar Column.  Okay, this is actually the first bass I'm featuring on TGC, but who's keeping track, right?  Let it be the first of many firsts..

For your perusal, this is Warwick's new Thumb SC Single Cut-Away bass.

The original groundbreaking small-bodied Thumb bass design has been around since the mid-80's and has won its share of players and fans.  Its clear, hi-fidelity tone, active electronics and use of exotic woods like African wenge and bubinga really turned the bass world on its ear.  These basses were also precisely set-up out of the factory with low action, allowing even a guitar player like me to fake some pseudo-Stanley Clarke style runs with minimal effort.

But one common gripe was that the size of the small body and close positioning of the strap buttons made reaching for that low F on the 1st fret (or low C on a 5-string) something of a stretch.  Great for players 5'10" or taller with long arms, but not so good if you were a little guy.  

On the new Thumb Single-Cutaway, the front strap-button is moved further up to around the location of the 13th fret, which helps with the instrument's overall balance and solves the stretching dilemma mentioned earlier. 

Oh yeah, and no surprise that all that extra wood attached to so much neck area is a great tone and sustain enhancer as well.  If you ask me, the Thumb SC actually bears a striking resemblance to Fodera's design.  Hope we won't be looking at another Gibson guitars vs PRS Single-Cut debacle.

The neck-through Thumb SC comes with Warwick's proprietary height-adjustable nut, 2-piece bridge, passive MEC pickups and active electronics, flame-maple neck, tiger-stripe ebony fingerboard, US swamp ash body and a Bubinga Pommelé top.  Also available in fretless and 6-string versions. 


See http://www.warwick.de/ for more details.