=The Warwick Streamer Club=

[Dazed]

As nacho posted, ‘89 limited edition Streamer.

They do pop up for sale from time to time.
Prices vary I guess due to rarity. £1250-£2000

 

[Eduardo_maynez]

Wow! Well at least i know the name of the model ; I have always liked basses with one pickup! If you see one please let me know

[email protected]

Thanks to all

Lalo Garcia

 

[Woody72]

Hello Streamer fans, I've just now joined the forum, and this fine club, as I've recently started to restore this beautiful 2006 Streamer Stage 1.
It's barely been played but was in a truly shocking state when I received it, due to it being left in substandard storage for a long time.
I was made aware of the damage before purchase, but I was in so much shock when I opened the case that I totally failed to take any pictures.
Strings were rusted to f8ck, all frets were covered in cm's of moldy crud, never mind tarnished.
As pictured all the gold hardware is looking pretty terminal, so I've ordered new replacement parts from Thomann.
I'm very glad to be bringing this beauty back to life, and am looking forward to many years of use.

 

[Hoggles]

Wow! That must have been in a really humid environment. Electronics ok? Neck straight?

Lovely grain. Congrats.

And welcome to the forum

 

[Woody72]

Many thanks for the welcome Hoggles.
My photography skills do it no justice at all. It's stunning but very 3d in that it shows different patterns of the grain in different angles.
The Bass itself is close to being immaculate, neck is bang on. All the electronics check out fine.
I've got a Brass JANIII and Black Hardware inbound, some might think that's sacrilegious, but I've never really been much of a fan of Gold Hardware, and as per the attached picture above, seems like the Gold Hardware is more high maintenance ?
I'm going to leave it stock MEC for now, but I am considering swapping out the Pick Ups and Pre Amp for something different.
I'm just stocked that it's cleaned up so well. So far I've spend about 6 hours on it with masked off fretboard and some hardcore Brasso based elbow grease, followed by 3 applications of lemon oil on the fretboard and a few takes of Beeswax on the body.
It really was heartbreaking to see the condition on arrival, but now I'm very very happy with how it's all turning out so far.

 

[Hoggles]

That's great! What a fun project. Total score.

I've got a Brass JANIII and Black Hardware inbound, some might think that's sacrilegious, but I've never been much of a fan of Gold Hardware.

Haha, no worries...and you're already essentially best buds with @Nachobassman It'll look fantastic with black hardware.

Take a look at his signature a few posts up, and you'll know what I'm talking about

 

[Woody72]

My photo of 'old gold' hardware above is only likely to reinforce the committee's standpoint.
I'm now on the hunt locally for some replacement Truss Rod cover screws and Pick Up mounting screws.
I see them in the spares section here, but can't justify the cost of ordering online from Warwick.
Hopefully they are pretty standard things to locate.

 

[Hardy]

Nice project!

...check my signature also. The everlasting battle of light against darkness!!!

 

[DiMarco]

I want peacock hardware that changes colour under different angles tbh. But the gold on my Dolphin also looks great with the dark wood.

That Streamer looks awesome with any hadware, the woodgrain is the eyecatcher.

 

[kimgee]

I must say, I love the look of gold hardware on some basses, but the problems I have had with corrosion on gold hardware, here in very humid central Florida, has caused me to seriously consider joining the "Say No to Gold Hardware Committee". I think black, chrome, and satin are much more durable. I have a few Warwick's with satin hardware, and I really like the way it looks and holds up. I don't know why the factories don't use it more.

The satin hardware on this '89 Dolphin still looks great!
(I don't have a Streamer with satin, so just pretend it's a Streamer )

 

[Nachobassman]

That's great! What a fun project. Total score.

Haha, no worries...and you're already essentially best buds with @Nachobassman It'll look fantastic with black hardware.

Take a look at his signature a few posts up, and you'll know what I'm talking about

Haha

My photo of 'old gold' hardware above is only likely to reinforce the committee's standpoint.
I'm now on the hunt locally for some replacement Truss Rod cover screws and Pick Up mounting screws.
I see them in the spares section here, but can't justify the cost of ordering online from Warwick.
Hopefully they are pretty standard things to locate.

Welcome the the committee.

 

[Steel]

I have just got hold of a SS1 NT5 from 1990 with Bartolini pickups. It’s a wide neck. I’m considering swapping the pickups with something else, may also change the internal amp in same run. Any one done the same?

 

[Hoggles]

Congrats on the Streamer @Steel , Beauty!

Lots of people have switched out electronics. Just depends on what sound you're going for. Only thing to keep in mind is if you have to/want to switch out the posts, many times they won't fit the default Warwick knobs. Just something to think about.

And welcome to forum

 

[Steel]

Congrats on the Streamer @Steel , Beauty!

Lots of people have switched out electronics. Just depends on what sound you're going for. Only thing to keep in mind is if you have to/want to switch out the posts, many times they won't fit the default Warwick knobs. Just something to think about.

And welcome to forum

Tanks for info, yes it’s a beauty and a solid, very well made bass. Love playing it.
Sound, not sure, just feels there’s something missing. I have a NT5 Thumb with its characteristic sound, a Nobby, love the sound of it, but maybe my Sandberg with a Jazz and a humb Delano pickups is closest to what I want. But, it has to fit into the existing pickup locations....!

 

[Mr.bassie720]

Hello my Warwick playing brethren.

Need help/advise. I just bought a 1992 Streamer. I don’t know it’s history, but this is what’s going on.
The playability and unplugged tone are absolutely wonderful.
Plugged in, the sound is brittle.
EMG P/Js With MEC 2 band preamp.
I believe I’ve figured out why it sounds brittle and harsh and thin. There is a 500k pot on the volume.

Shouldn’t it be a 25k pot on the volume?

I found a diagram that does indeed show the MEC pot as being 500k

Anyone have any thoughts as to why this should be?

All help and insight is truly appreciated

 

[bassment73]

Hello my Warwick playing brethren.

Need help/advise. I just bought a 1992 Streamer. I don’t know it’s history, but this is what’s going on.
The playability and unplugged tone are absolutely wonderful.
Plugged in, the sound is brittle.
EMG P/Js With MEC 2 band preamp.
I believe I’ve figured out why it sounds brittle and harsh and thin. There is a 500k pot on the volume.

Shouldn’t it be a 25k pot on the volume?

I found a diagram that does indeed show the MEC pot as being 500k

Anyone have any thoughts as to why this should be?

All help and insight is truly appreciated

Hi Mr bassie

That all sounds like it's wired as it should be. Definitely a 500k volume pot. None of my streamers have ever sounded brittle and thin though. First thing I'd do is make sure there's a fresh battery. Old batteries can make active circuits sound weak and distorted. Secondly active pickups like EMGs and gold MECs need to have the pickup heights quite high (close to strings) as active pickups have weak magnets compared to passive pickups. Most of the gain comes from built-in preamps in the pickups. FYI I have my Streamer pickups set as: with all strings fretted at last fret, distance from top of pickup to bottom of string. Split P pickup: E string 5/32", A string 5/32", D string 4/32", G string 4/32". J pickup bass side 3/32", treble side 2/32". Action wise my string heights measured at 17th fret are E string 3/32", G string 2.5/32" (2mm) with all other strings generally following the fretboard radius in between.

Not sure if this will help you, but maybe worth a try. In my experience Streamers are far from weak sounding - very punchy and powerful.

Let us know how you get on.

Keith

 

[Mr.bassie720]

Thanks so much Keith. Truly appreciated. I will make the adjustments and let you guys know.

 

[Mr.bassie720]

Hi Mr bassie

That all sounds like it's wired as it should be. Definitely a 500k volume pot. None of my streamers have ever sounded brittle and thin though. First thing I'd do is make sure there's a fresh battery. Old batteries can make active circuits sound weak and distorted. Secondly active pickups like EMGs and gold MECs need to have the pickup heights quite high (close to strings) as active pickups have weak magnets compared to passive pickups. Most of the gain comes from built-in preamps in the pickups. FYI I have my Streamer pickups set as: with all strings fretted at last fret, distance from top of pickup to bottom of string. Split P pickup: E string 5/32", A string 5/32", D string 4/32", G string 4/32". J pickup bass side 3/32", treble side 2/32". Action wise my string heights measured at 17th fret are E string 3/32", G string 2.5/32" (2mm) with all other strings generally following the fretboard radius in between.

Not sure if this will help you, but maybe worth a try. In my experience Streamers are far from weak sounding - very punchy and powerful.

Let us know how you get on.

Keith

Keith, I adjusted the pickup height per your recommendations. It made a gigantic difference. It’s very usable now. Still a little too much treble for my liking, but it’s worlds away from where it was. I might experiment with a 100k pot. 500k is just a little extreme.
Thanks, your advise saved the day!

 

[bassment73]

Keith, I adjusted the pickup height per your recommendations. It made a gigantic difference. It’s very usable now. Still a little too much treble for my liking, but it’s worlds away from where it was. I might experiment with a 100k pot. 500k is just a little extreme.
Thanks, your advise saved the day!

Great, glad it's helped. Yes those pickups can be a little hi-fi sounding if you're more used to passive pickups, but the active treble EQ should help there with a bit of cut.

 

[Eduardo_maynez]

I recently bought this 1987 streamer 2; I think it’s one of the earliest ones; great bass ! Just killer tone although it’s a bit heavy . It’s my 6th streamer ; they all are amazing basses .