mart

[quote name='dwh87' post='1307973' date='Jul 18 2011, 03:33 PM']The rockbasses have maple and rosewood compared to wenge and ovangkol on the std models[/quote] Yes, that's true. I'd forgotten that. So Stds do have better necks than RBs.

Btw, they do a good line in price-matching if you email them. Last time I asked, they ended up not just matching but undercutting the other (incredibly good) quote I had.

[quote name='girya32' post='1307672' date='Jul 18 2011, 12:10 PM']am I being dense or do Beyers not have any warwicks.. ebay.de do though [url="http://shop.ebay.de/i.html?_nkw=streamer+warwick+-rockbass++lx4&_sacat=0&_dmpt=Gitarren&_odkw=streamer+warwick+-rockbass&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313"]http://shop.ebay.de/i.html?_nkw=streamer+w...6.c0.m270.l1313[/url] I had a 90's bolt on streamer which I tried to paint as I didn't like the worn wax finish, I wish I still had that one...[/quote] [s]You're being dense.[/s] Ahem. They seem to have some problem with their database, so if you look for basses, and then refine by brand, "Warwick" is not listed. But if you search the site... [url="http://www.beyers-music.de/beyers/seoc/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=warwick&x=0&y=0"]http://www.beyers-music.de/beyers/seoc/adv...amp;x=0&y=0[/url] ... there are plenty.

The Streamer Standards were the predecessors of the Rockbasses. Same woods, same fittings, but made in Germany instead of China. That inflates the prices slightly, but generally they go for fairly similar prices to Rockbasses. I expect it'll be quite a while before Mansons manage to sell that Std at £400.

[quote name='dmccombe7' post='1307503' date='Jul 18 2011, 10:06 AM']Not so sure about that. I sent them an email asking if they could supply straplocks to fit a 1989 Thumb and got no response at all. Wasn't impressed and I'm still looking. They have an inserted hex bolt fitting rather than a screwnail and are different size from new types. Still i live in hope that someday i will find the said item Cheers Dave[/quote] Have you got some pics of the fittings? I'd have thought someone here could recognize what they are. My guess would be they are Dunlops which are very similar to the current Warwick ones, but slightly different sizes so not 100% compatible.

[quote name='guildbass' post='1307354' date='Jul 18 2011, 12:58 AM']Well, I picked up my new (to me) Streamer today and I love it....I've wanted one since 1990 when I first played one and this one, although confusingly numbered (it's stamped on the headstock end and is that glorious shiny red over the wood finish, MEC's and no fret inlays so all in all I'd say it was a '90 although the serial number looks like it says '01 at the end...Actually... The '0' was rather small... I'm now thinking it's a '91 with half a '9' Anyhoo... The bridge pick-up is a fair bit quieter than the neck jobbies. I've lifted it up but it's still way down volume wise... Is this usual.? It's the same active or passive incidentally... Is there a trim pot inside perchance...? Any help much appreciated... Jon[/quote] If the serial number is stamped on the headstock end then it's definitely quite an early Warwick - so 1991 is possible, but 2001 isn't. There won't be a trim-pot to balance the two pickups (but there probably is a pot to balance the preamp volume against the bypassed volume). But you should be able to balance the two volumes by lowering the neck pickup.

That'll be the bass you need to do that Wooten double thumb technique, right?

[quote name='razze06' post='1302351' date='Jul 13 2011, 02:09 PM']...A quick look on the price tag (£999) immediately stumped the wings of my flight of fancy, and the inevitable quick look online revealed a vast array of models, submodels and configurations. When you bring in used models, it gets even worse. Can anybody help me make sense of the mess, especially at the lower end of the range? ...[/quote] Yep, the range is big, and complicated. Where to start? Well, the first thing to know is that there are currently four main strands to the Warwick range: Rockbasses (Chinese), Pro and Artist series (both Korean) and the (eye-wateringly expensive) German models. These are priced in that order: currently somewhere under £600 for Rockbasses, then something like £800-£1000 for Pros and around £1500 for Artists, and from about £1200 to about £8000 for the German ones. Rockbasses generally have cheaper woods and electrics, and in the case of the Streamers ("Spector copies"), Rockbasses have slab bodies where Pro and German ones have very curvaceous bodies. The Korean and German basses are supposed to be made to the same standard, so you're essentially paying for the differing labour costs of the two countries. The Pro series are versions of standard German models (but sometimes with different woods), whereas the Artist series are Korean versions of the signature models (e.g. the Adam Clayton model or the Robert Trujillo model). Hopefully this will help to get you started at least! Btw, lobematt is absolutely right - the price for new Warwicks is huge compared with the second hand prices. So it's well worth looking through the sale sections here, or on ebay. You'll hardly find any second-hand Korean Warwicks (since they only came out a year or so back), so you only really need to distinguish between the Rockbasses and the German Warwicks. Have a good look and you'll find loads of fantastic bargains.

Inspired by this thread, I bought a copy of this book, and it is indeed a great read. (Including, surprisingly, some laugh-out-loud stuff, such as Status Quo's Andy Bown saying that he was amazed to find that Pink Floyd stuff was just three chords as well, "except that one of the chords is A minor"! ) Anyway, having read the book, I can't see me reading it again in a hurry, so I thought I would donate this to the basschat library since the other copy seems to have done a Syd Barrett. So, if whoever is first on the list (acidcool1986, by the looks of things?) PMs me their address, I'll send my copy off to them and we'll get this thing going again.

[quote name='escholl' post='1292394' date='Jul 4 2011, 04:39 PM']Did you try turning the tweeter off on the cab? ...[/quote] I have now disconnected the tweeter, and the problem has gone completely - the cab now sounds great for all my guitar sounds. And all my bass sounds too! ("big dynamic clean bass tones" aren't me, I guess! ) I started the thread just to try to understand a problem which I didn't expect to be able to solve. But you guys have helped me understand it, AND helped me solve it! Many thanks - I'm really chuffed!

I had a similar problem, so knocked up a stand with a couple of bits of wood, but this is much cooler! I think I'm going to be heading off to Poundland very soon!

[quote name='Bassdude BE' post='1296178' date='Jul 7 2011, 05:19 PM']Ok, thanks for the feedback guys, i too believe that only a strap or lighter tuners can't solve the problem , but i hope a combination of many small changes (lightweight tuners, relocate the straplocks and a very good strap) might help to get the neck in a comfortable position when standing. I've read some reviews of people who had good results combining all these solutions, so i hope it works for me,otherwise this will become a very expensive project ... Btw, The Gotoh tuners are only 35-39grams each, while my current (old Warwick) tuners weigh around 60grams each, so there should be a noticable change in weight there. kind regards, D.[/quote] Yep, if you have older Warwick tuners, then you have more to gain by switching to lighter tuners (actually I suppose I mean you have "more to lose" ). Relocating the strap buttons is more risky. The most effective way would be to move the top-horn straplock towards the headstock, ideally about 3 inches over from where it currently is. Unfortunately the top-horn is 3 inches too short for that! So you have to move the bottom button instead. On the Warwick forum Eberbachl tried this on his Thumb, but reckoned it wasn't worth it. On the other hand, Golem is a big fan of moving buttons around. In any case most people agree that you need to move the bottom button [i]towards[/i] the jack socket (not away from it, like some people think). I think you need to picture the bass in the position you'd like it to stay in, and then move the bottom button to the right, i.e. nearer the neck. You'll probably find that this means moving it towards the socket. Sadly you'll often read of people saying XXX worked perfectly and made a huge difference, but when you look into the physics you'll find their claims are impossible. And you'll often then find them posting 6 months later complaining about the neck-dive, showing that their "perfect" solution wasn't actually any good at all!

Just bought a pedal from Paul. Sent very quickly, and very well packaged. Great guy to deal with!

[quote name='BassBod' post='1296002' date='Jul 7 2011, 02:12 PM']From memory, it was first designed to be headless...and then re-designed with a headstock. I know which version I'd play![/quote] Yes, I believe that is the case. It probably has kept its appeal better as a result of having a head (how many bands do you see these days with a headless bass?), but I think they should have tweaked the body more to sort the balance out. I'd have thought they would only have needed to stretch the top horn a little to make a huge difference.

Clearly that remark has left Bilbo speechless.

[quote name='Bassdude BE' post='1295566' date='Jul 7 2011, 03:57 AM']...i just ordered these Gotoh GB-350 tuners as they are even lighter than the Hipshot 3/8 ultralites and when i searched the forum i've read somewehere that they will fit a Thumb just as good as the hipshots as well... gotoh GB-350 tuners (35-40grams a piece) : [url="http://www.soundland.de/catalog/mechaniken/gotoh-gb-350-bassmechanik-p-257893.html"]Gotoh GB-350 Bassmechanik[/url] ...[/quote] I'd love to know how you get on with those. From my experience, your thumb's tuning pegs probably weigh about 65g each. Hipshot, and every other official source, say the ultralites weigh 50g. But folk on the Warwick forum that have bought them and weighed them claim that they are 40-45g each. If you've found ones that are even lighter, that's great. My thumb has newer Warwick tuners which are more like 55g each, so I figured that changing to ultralites, if they are as light as some people claim, would be equivalent to removing one of the tuning pegs (since it's a 4-string). Removing one tuning peg didn't cost £200 (or whatever ultralites cost these days) so I tried it to see how the balance changed. And, as far as I could tell, the balance was almost exactly the same as before. [quote name='BassBod' post='1295603' date='Jul 7 2011, 07:50 AM']Sorry to be the voice of doom..but I had a lovely 98 Thumb (may even be the same one, if you got it here). There was really no cure for the neck dive/weight issue..its part and parcel of the design. A good wide strap, with a rough suede backing helps a lot, but I could never get comfortable with it. ...[/quote] Unfortunately, I think this is probably true. I don't think a good strap can ever completely compensate for a badly balanced bass - it will always be a little uncomfortable. Personally, I can live with the Thumb balance, but I do sometime think about modding it to be headless! (If I recall, someone has done this - google and you'll find tips. But it seems a scary thing to do to an expensive bass).

[quote name='escholl' post='1292394' date='Jul 4 2011, 04:39 PM']Did you try turning the tweeter off on the cab? If that doesn't help, it might be that guitar cabs tend to be voiced very differently than bass ones, but they rely on this voicing to get a good sound. Could be the 10" cab is too neutral.[/quote] Sadly there isn't a switch for the tweeter. I suppose I could hunt around inside and disconnect it - that would actually suit me for when I play bass through it too (since I don't like a trebly sound). But what you and Dood say about the cab being too neutral does sound right - the distortion sound is a bit like the sound you get from running a distortion pedal straight into a recording device. I guess I had never thought a cab could be so faithful - I assumed guitar cabs sounded the way they do because they had to, not because they were designed to. Thanks for opening up my eyes!

At the moment I'm having to play guitar as much as bass and, as a result, my practice set-ups at home are a mix of bass and guitar kit. For my guitar I've been running my tiny Blackstar HT1 head into a bass cab. Into a 15" cab it sounds great, both for clean sounds and for distorted. But the other day I switched it to run into my 10" Genz-Benz cab, thinking a 10" might be better for a guitar than a 15". The clean sounds are still fine, but the distorted sounds are now crap - they have that fizzy sound that I associate with cheap small tranny combos. This isn't a big problem, because I can easily switch back to the 15. But I'm just curious: why does the GB cab sound so bad for distorted guitar? I always assumed that fizz was due to a lack of bottom, but the GB has plenty of bottom at the sort of volumes I'm working at. (The HT1 is only 1 watt!) So what's going on?

[quote name='bh2' post='1291803' date='Jul 4 2011, 09:09 AM'].... Neck was like butter... ...[/quote] That's gonna play havoc with the intonation on a sunny day. Ok, I'll get my coat.

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1292009' date='Jul 4 2011, 11:53 AM']...However, on a related matter, I was rather surprised to receive a 'Nigerian scam'-type letter [u]though the post[/u] last week. Never had that before. Anyone else?[/quote] I had one, hand-written I think, through the post. But that was back in 1998! Ever since then it's been email only. I've often wondered if I should have kept it as a museum piece.

Btw, here are some useful threads about this on the Warwick forum (it's a common problem!): [url="http://forum.warwick.de/40-customer-support/10238-pre-amp-batteries-die-quickly.html"]http://forum.warwick.de/40-customer-suppor...ie-quickly.html[/url] [url="http://forum.warwick.de/10-warwick-bass/13664-how-do-i-hunt-short-circuit.html"]http://forum.warwick.de/10-warwick-bass/13...rt-circuit.html[/url]

[quote name='chris_b' post='1288656' date='Jul 1 2011, 09:44 AM']...To the OP, check out Doc J's info. That seems like a good fit as a reason for such a short battery life.[/quote] Yep, the battery being wired in wrongly (which often means the stereo jack socket being wired wrongly) is probably the cause of a short battery life in 98%* of cases. One way to check is to put a multimeter inline with your battery, and see what the current draw is when you have no jack lead plugged in. It should be zero, and then should be different when you plug a lead in. If that's not the case, then your wiring needs sorting. * I might just possibly have made that figure up. But it's still probably accurate!

[quote name='whimsy23' post='1287094' date='Jun 29 2011, 10:49 PM']Got a brand new Sansamp BDDI not long ago, ....[/quote] Still under warranty? Sounds like there is a dodgy connection somewhere inside, so just take it back and demand a replacement.

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1285884' date='Jun 28 2011, 11:20 PM']The serial number is not recognised on the [url="http://www.guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx"]serial number checker[/url] website [/quote] Seriously, who gives a monkeys about the serial number when you've got evidence like this: [quote name='Raggy' post='1285200' date='Jun 28 2011, 12:52 PM']Should it say Trade MRRK on the headstock?[/quote]