Streamer scam

blikeng

blikeng

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Streamer scam?

So, this lad at talkbass said he won a streamer at ebay.

I go and check it out, and woah there's something wrong about that body. I check the serialnr (E-075088-00) that's in the ad, probably taken from the neck, and what I get is this:

Thumb BO, 5-string
Natural Oil finish
Ovangkol body
Ovangkol neck
Black hardware

Which makes perfectly sense! The seller has obviously simply swapped the neck from this thumb! The ad also says (and it looks like in the pics) that the body is made of carolena, and the electronics and the bridge etc doesn't disguise the Rockbass-character that well.

Sadly the guy he ain't getting a complete Warwick. Not saying that Rockbass isn't good enough for anybody, but I think all of you will agree that getting half a 'wick isn't the same as getting the whole 'wick when expected ;-)

BUT, my point is this: Is this really a scam? Because the way I see it he gets a superior Rockbass! Or is he getting a weaker 'wick? ;)
 
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blikeng said:
So, this lad at talkbass said he won a streamer at ebay.

I go and check it out, and woah there's something wrong about that body. I check the serialnr (E-075088-00) that's in the ad, probably taken from the neck, and what I get is this:

Thumb BO, 5-string
Natural Oil finish
Ovangkol body
Ovangkol neck
Black hardware

Which makes perfectly sense! The seller has obviously simply swapped the neck from this thumb! The ad also says (and it looks like in the pics) that the body is made of carolena, and the electronics and the bridge etc doesn't disguise the Rockbass-character that well.

Sadly the guy he ain't getting a complete Warwick. Not saying that Rockbass isn't good enough for anybody, but I think all of you will agree that getting half a 'wick isn't the same as getting the whole 'wick when expected ;-)

BUT, my point is this: Is this really a scam? Because the way I see it he gets a superior Rockbass! Or is he getting a weaker 'wick? ;)
Click to expand...

That is one explanation... the other is that the info retained/given by Warwick is WRONG!

No disrespect to the Warwick Company and I have no wish to be flamed for this but to be honest I have heard too many folks quote Warwick sources as being the truth/gospel and it 'can' be WRONG!

Now this could be a seller spinning a yarn but I have heard just tonight of an eBay seller who responded to my question re. his Streamer Stage I (I pointed out that it wasn't a SSI but was in fact a BO LX bass) and he said that he had an email from Warwick which said that the bass he had WAS a SSI. Here is a direct quote from the sellers reply...

"Hi there, Thanks for the heads-up. When I bought the bass i wasnt exactly sure about the model and especially the colour so i sent a question to the Warwick Forum and the moderator, HP Wilfer sent me an email with the folowwing info:
thanks for your mail and thanks for buying a used Streamer Stage I Bass.

- your Bass
Serial Number F-000698-94
- Year 1994
- Month June
- Number 000698

- Neck Maple Neck (I guess) but if it is dark brown wood, it is wenge wood
- Fingerboard Wenge wood
- Body Solid Maple wood
- Pickups 2 PJ Active PU
- Electronic 2 Band MEC Electronic
- Hardware Gold

the surface was as special "Dark Blue Marmor" surface we produced in this time, we
do not offer such a surface anymore... but it was really cool and the Bass is still
looking great...
So thats whit I have based my description on.
Thanks again Paul


- hawkwind666"

Don't believe all that you read/hear. ;) :lol:
 
Blikeng,
Like I posted in talkbass,it's a Streamer standard.The serial number the seller posted is wrong.The right serial number gives this info.
Serial No.: E-075083-00
Article Code: 1335120500CPCARO1W
produced: 11/05/2000Info:
Streamer Standard, 5-string
Honey Violin Oil finish
Carolena body
Ovangkol neck
Chrome hardware

RB streamer stds have the Strat style front mounted input jack,& the easy access cavity cover on the back.That's one way to tell that this aint a RB body.
 
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The serial number thing on the Wick site isn't always right. Remember what the Streamette serial numbers say.....?

Warwick made a Streamer STD model long before the Rockbass line was introduced. That's what this looks like to me. Not all Streamer STD's are Rockbasses.
 
yeah the serial # on the bass are difficult to read at times

3 and 8
4 and 6 got mix up sometimes
 
This looks to be a genuine german Warwick, not a Rockbass.
Warwickhunt is right, sometimes our SN database is wrong, but most of the time it is OK.

Don't forget that infinettes are some Fankensteins.

 
blikeng said:
Oh, my... Sorry for the trouble!
Click to expand...

No need to apologise you were just checking... there's an old saying; the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask! ;)

<edit>

A quick update re. the ebay seller that I quoted; He got back to me today and sent this message.

"HI there, Just wanted to thank you again for your message about my warwick bass yesterday. I got back in touch with the guy at Warwick as I was confused, on their website they said the LX series were released in '96 and as mine is a '94!!! turns out the guy made a mistake & it was called a Streamer Bolt-On from '93 til they renamed them LX in 96! I have pulled the ad and redone it so as not to mislead anyone. Once again thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Cheers Paul"

So he appears to be a genuine seller not someone trying to pull a quick one!
 
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some ppl on ebay genuinely don't have a clue about what they are selling, often just lifting huge chunks from the warwick website and whacking them in to their ads without really checking. I saw a bubinga bass that the guy had listed as 'maple'....surely for even a simpleton that's a fairly difficult mistake to make.

But it can work to the buyers advantage, a mint german fortress one with a blue cab 30 watt went for about £300 a couple of months ago because the seller thought it was a rockbass...i did tell her (after deciding i wasn't gonna buy it myself!) but she had already sold it before realising.
 
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