This bass is incredible! It must have only been used for a few hours, because it arrived in immaculate condition. Intonation, neck relief, and action were exceptional right out of the box, no adjustment required. Try as I might, I can't find a single unuseable sound on this bass, active or passive; it has it all, from pumping lows to the famous Warwick cutting mids to sizzling (but not abrasive) highs. When I first got the bass I expected to see the "Just-a-nut," but instead this bass had a nut I'd never seen before... turns out it's a graphite nut Warwick is using (to a degree unknown) as a replacement to the aforementioned brass nut. I've never had to touch it, even after replacing strings. The bridge is a work of art, with adjustments for height, intonation, and spacing... and all solidly lockable. Pickup mounting is rock-solid, yet is simply adjusted. The control cavity is a work of art, with a separate pocket for the 2 9V batteries... soldering is almost aerospace in quality, and it's all accessed by a clever cover plate which requires no screwdriver for access. Although there is a small amount of middly hiss in the active mode, there is no grounding buzz or RFI susceptibility. The B string is unbelieveable for a 34" scale bass... super-tight and punchy, with no loss of brightness down low. The stock Warwick Black Label strings feel and sound great. The supplied gig-bag seems more than adequate for most schlepping; I purchased the optional hardshell case, into which the bass fits like a glove.

Having owned (and been unhappy with) a Gibson-era Tobias Killer-B 5 and '91 Ernie Ball Stingray 5, I'm happy to say my search for the right bass is over. Tone and feel are unbeatable for the price, and the workmanship is unquestionably the best I've ever seen.

No instrument is without its tradeoffs, however, and the Thumb 5 is no exception. Bubinga and wenge are dense woods, which makes this a very heavy bass. The seductive small body, with its short upper horn, is somewhat poorly balanced... it tends to neck dive, and the short horn leaves the nut-end of the neck almost out of reach. For this alone, I would recommend try-before-you-buy. Also, the body and neck require a minimum of monthly waxing (and boiled linseed oil for the fingerboard, so if that sounds like a chore you may want to investigate a custom lacquer color.

All in all, this instrument is bass Nirvana.

Construction	100%
Playability	100%
Appearance	100%
Sound	100%
Value	100%
Cust. Service	100%
(Bass Northwest)
Overall	100%