Warwick Streamer Std 5-string 2-pickup [German version] Reviews 
4 / 5 based on 1 reviews$500 used, very clean, no fretwear
from Bass Northwest online. I had
tried a number of Warwicks in shops
and was impressed but the only bolt
-on neck seemed to be the Corvette.
I prefer bolt-on for a number of
reasons, but did not want another
JJ setup and Corvettes are JJ. I
found the Streamer while browsing
"the usual suspects".
As mentioned above, the winning
combination for me was Warwick
sound, bolt-on neck, soapbar PUPs,
and in this case I was looking at
only 5-string basses. It was
shipped with stainless roundwounds
so I can tell you that these can
sound very spanky. 1/2 hour later
it had [and still has] ugly gray
flatwounds [high nickel content]
and now speaks Bass Talk.
It's passive with one tone knob,
with a good range available on the
one knob. The soapbars look alike
and are at sweet spot and bridge
but none really *at* the neck. The
PUPs have enough seperation that I
get a variety of tones from setting
the gain knob on each differently,
and I don't miss the overly heavy
bass effect that a real neck PUP
can offer.
Has two gain knobs but I'd rather
have a fader. Would also prefer
a 35" neck for 5-string but this
does have a good B-string down to
about C#. The bridge is trash
[not the classic Warwick]and I've
ordered a Schaller [I've only had
the bass for a week].
String spacing is narrower than
most 5-strings [only 57mm at the
bridge saddles] and this takes me
quite a lot of practice to adapt
my right hand. OTOH I'd point out
that left-handed muting is easier
than on my BTB wide-5.
With two soapbars, I think it's a
loss to not feature a series-to-
parallel switch.
As mentioned, the bridge is junk.
Tuners appear to be Schaller, and
those work well. Has 2 soapbar
pickups arranged similar to G&L
dual PUP models.
This is the German Streamer Std
of approx 1999 and not the newer
RockBass model so the neck is a
very dark ovangkol with a wenge
fretboard and brass frets. Nut is
the newer style with two adjuster
screws rather than one for each
string. Body is Carolena, "soft"
hardwood, but minor dents don't
take any chunks out of the finish
because [like most Warwicks ] it
has no finish.
This seems to be well made and of
top grade materials except for the
bridge. Control knobs act very
progressively with no sudden jumps
in their effect. PUPs are passive
[and definitely have that passive
"realism" to their tone].
These were not high ticket when
new and some shops may have NOS
or clean used ones. At the price
you get great tone, fine wood and
a crappy bridge, but it's a very
worthwhile candidate for bridge
replacement [adjustable spacing
required due to narrow gauge]. I
have become accustomed to the need
to upgrade some components on many
excellent basses. It's still less
than 1/2 the cost of truly custom
built instruments, yet the result
can be something really special.
Worth repeating: The string spacing
may take some players some effort
to become comfortably adept. OTOH
to those switching over from guitar
maybe the narrow-5 is better. The
bass has nice balance on the strap
without the larger neck of the wider
spaced 5-strings.
Golem rated this unit
on
2003-01-23.
