Warwick Streamer Pro M (made in Germany) - do I want it?

[CakeAT92]

Hi TBers,

I have an in on a 2000 Streamer Pro M. Never played a Warwick before, never played anything other than my G&L SB2, but the color is amazing, love the shape, so it got me thinking. Asking price is $900. I'll have a chance to play it if I want to pursue. I verified the serial number on the Warwick site.

Warwick lovers - tell me why I should buy this!

Warwick haters - tell me why I should run away fast!

Lovers of bass guitars - how different is this from the SB2?

Thanks for your input!

Link Removed

 

[songwriter21]

Hi TBers,

I have an in on a 2000 Streamer Pro M. Never played a Warwick before, never played anything other than my G&L SB2, but the color is amazing, love the shape, so it got me thinking. Asking price is $900. I'll have a chance to play it if I want to pursue. I verified the serial number on the Warwick site.

Warwick lovers - tell me why I should buy this!

Warwick haters - tell me why I should run away fast!

Lovers of bass guitars - how different is this from the SB2?

Thanks for your input!

Link Removed

Never played one, but it is very unique in it's design. The pickup is a double J design (two pickups under one shell). The preamp has a stacked volume for each pickup, and two, count 'em two, stacked knobs for each pickup. Basically a separate 2-band preamp for each pickup under that one cover.

I have no experience with your G&L, but those Streamer Pro Ms aren't the most common bass out there, either. The price is decent, too, and I love that green!

 

[CakeAT92]

Thanks, @songwriter21. The green caught my eye immediately! And now I'm learning about the split pickup, sounds intriguing. I have an opportunity to play it this week, we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Lammchop93]

These are great basses. You gotta like that pickup location sound though. Slightly more honky than a P bass. Kinda like a stingray.

My old bass teacher had one of these and the neck was to die for. Great playing bass.

 

[beatdatthang]

German Warwicks are fantastic. I’ve owned (and currently own) a Streamer but I’ve never tried the Pro M. They sell Chinese made Warwick Rockbasses for more than $900 these days. Even if you hate it, you could easily sell it in the classifieds here for more than that.

 

[thebandcircle]

Nice looking bass! Good price as well. I've owned many Warwicks over the years and only complained about the weight occasionally. Some of the Streamers have a really nice body carve. Ryan

 

[HowieD72]

I had a Warwick Fortress Masterman (below) which had the same twin J pup & preamp. (I regret selling it!) If I was you, I'd buy it. The Streamer Pro-M and Fortress Masterman are on my GAS list. Soooooo, if you don't buy it, please let me know who's selling it If you have already bought it, ENJOY! They're a great bass!

 

[HowieD72]

Updates? @CakeAT92

 

[David McIntire]

Yes, you want it. That pickup/preamp combo is unique, and pretty darn bada$$. I've a buddy who uses a Fortress Masterman like the mention above, and it is very versatile for that pickup configuration, very strong with a great, detailed Woody tone. Lots of growl when you want it, but a P Bass like response when you need it. They aren't always light, but that Streamer/Spector NS shape is great for balance. Their necks are a bit thick, but designed that way for ergonomics. They are the same depth all the way up the neck, for consistent thumb placement, thus consistent feel.

I've played a lot of Warwicks over my time. From early Rockbasses to really old, high end models. All of em are great. I think you'll be quite pleased.

G&L basses are seriously great, and usually pretty aggressive sounding. The Warwick may seem a bit tame in comparison. But I'd think they'd compliment each other quite well. A bit of overlap in their tonal qualities, but lots of differences you could take advantage of.

 

[Sharko]

You had me at green. Buy it before I do.

 

[Bob Growler]

I bought a 1997 Streamer Pro M in October for a little under $1500. (GC had a 10% off used sale, and this had been hanging for a while)

The early Pro M’s came with Wenge necks and a brass JAN 1 nut, which is a big selling point. I put a broken in set of LaBella Deep Talking Gold Flat’s on the bass and found its sweet spot. The two seperate pre-amps are the unique feature that allows you to get an array of tones. A Warwick you can take to the pub! Buy it!

 

[poochiecheeks]

I have one, it's one of the most warwick-y basses I've tried. Lots of different sounds in the preamp if you can figure out how to use it right. Kind of neck heavy with the wenge neck.
No pics as it's been in the shop for a while but mine is a 98 5 string fretless. Definitely go for it if you like that sound

 

[songwriter21]

Hi TBers,

I have an in on a 2000 Streamer Pro M. Never played a Warwick before, never played anything other than my G&L SB2, but the color is amazing, love the shape, so it got me thinking. Asking price is $900. I'll have a chance to play it if I want to pursue. I verified the serial number on the Warwick site.

Warwick lovers - tell me why I should buy this!

Warwick haters - tell me why I should run away fast!

Lovers of bass guitars - how different is this from the SB2?

Thanks for your input!

Link Removed

If you buy it, know that the neck won't be wenge for that model year, but ovangkol. It's what Warwick used/uses as a more available wood that is close to wenge in strength and tone. Some insist on wenge...I don't care. I tried a $$ 5 years ago, with an ovangkol neck, and it roared.

 

[CakeAT92]

Finally, an update, and sorry for the delay!
First - thanks everyone for you comments and information, it was all influential in making my decision.

So - back in early January, I did go and try the Streamer Pro. It felt - weird. Yes, I've played other basses, but for 30+ years I have only owned, practiced, and gigged with my G&L SB2. It's like a glove or a favorite pair of boots. So much so, that playing a different bass with the intention of owning it, made it very hard to be objective, because it just wasn't "my bass." That said, the TONE on this thing was amazing - having never had an active bass, the range of sound that came out of that split-J was a revelation.

I asked the seller if he had other buyers, and I thought he said that he did (English is his second language). So I sat on it for a day, it didn't feel quite right, so I figured I'd let some other lucky buyer have it.

And then more of your comments started coming in .
And then I've come across an opportunity to form a jazz trio, and I instantly thought the Warwick would be perfect. And immediately had non-buyer's remorse.

On a whim I messaged the seller to see if it was still available - and, yep, it was, and he'd knock another $100 off the price if I bought it right away. I did. $812 sold. Hopped on my motorbike and went and picked it up.

 

[CakeAT92]

Entering the serial number at Warwick's site:

Serial number:
B072402 00
Article number:
1214090400GMF3WW
produced:
14.02.2000
Description:
Streamer, 4-string
Emeraude Green Oil finish
flamed maple body with wenge neck body

Made in Germany

I am third owner. Seller bought it from his instructor, who bought it new in Germany.

I'm a little concerned about the seam in body where the neck bolts are. But it appears that that is not uncommon from many pics on the web.

Action is great, weight almost identical to my SB2. No longer feels "weird," now it's just my "other bass." I wear it a little higher than the SB2. Spending hours twiddling with the tone controls!

 

[CakeAT92]

So now a question.
3 stacked controls - 2 are obviously the bass and treble controls for the split-J.

Third is Volume and... ???
The volume knob is "clickable" but doesn't appear to do anything. Doesn't make it "passive" for example.
The secondary control - the web seems to think this is a balance or blend (of the split-J I presume). But it sure doesn't seem to act that way. It appears to be a gain knob - when I max it out I can get a really nice overdrive growl depending on the tone settings, and when "all the way to the left" it's a clean sound.

Can anyone fill me in on the exact nature of the stacked volume control?

 

[CakeAT92]

G&L basses are seriously great, and usually pretty aggressive sounding. The Warwick may seem a bit tame in comparison. But I'd think they'd compliment each other quite well. A bit of overlap in their tonal qualities, but lots of differences you could take advantage of.

Spot on. Now that I am used to the feel of it, they are a perfect compliment for each other. Similar enough in playability, but tonally vastly different. Probably go another 30+ years with just these two basses!

 

[thebandcircle]

Hmm? The pull feature on volume knob has always been passive activation on my Warwicks. Maybe the electronics have been swapped. Nice score! Ryan

 

[HowieD72]

So now a question.
3 stacked controls - 2 are obviously the bass and treble controls for the split-J.

Third is Volume and... ???
The volume knob is "clickable" but doesn't appear to do anything. Doesn't make it "passive" for example.
The secondary control - the web seems to think this is a balance or blend (of the split-J I presume). But it sure doesn't seem to act that way. It appears to be a gain knob - when I max it out I can get a really nice overdrive growl depending on the tone settings, and when "all the way to the left" it's a clean sound.

Can anyone fill me in on the exact nature of the stacked volume control?

Stacked Pick-up Pan/Volume Control:
The top knob controls the volume of the bass. The bottom knob allows you to pan between your neck and bridge pickup.

Stacked Tone Controls:
There is one stacked tone control for each of the 2 individual pickups. There is a neck pickup and bridge pickup under the single cover. These 2 stacked knobs control treble and bass for each pickup. The top knob boosts or cuts the treble and the bottom knob boosts or cuts the bass

 

[HowieD72]

Hmm? The pull feature on volume knob has always been passive activation on my Warwicks. Maybe the electronics have been swapped. Nice score! Ryan

The standard electronics on these basses (Streamer Pro-M and Fortress Masterman are identical). Both having no push/pull pot on the volume. If it does, it will be an aftermarket preamp installed.

The push/pull pot option appears on other Warwick models like the Corvette and Thumb