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I have owned three other Warwick basses in the past, a German made Fortress 5, a Corvette RB5 $$ and a German 4 string Thumb N/T. Even though these basses are made from some of the finest materials available they each had something about them that eventually caused me to sell them. The Fortress had a weak B string. This bass balanced well and had a super neck. It was too bad the Low B felt and sounded wimpy. I could not get used to the feel of the body and pickup arrangement on the Corvette $$. I strap my basses on fairly high up. The exaggerated upper horn angle on the Corvette meant I was constantly banging my chin into it every time I looked down. Plus the Thumb N/T, which sounded great, had so much neck dive that even with a top of the line Levys strap it was just too uncomfortable for me to play for any length of time. Also having 26 frets, the spacing felt awkward and unnatural. Close to giving up on Warwicks for good, loving that famous Growl made me give the Streamer LX5 Bolt On a try. I am glad that I did. First off the Streamer has no vices. Although on the small side the body is fairly conventional in design being similar in shape to the Spector NS-2. Along with the 34 inch scale 24 fret bolt-on neck the Streamer LX 5 is slightly over 9 pounds, well balanced and feels good strapped on. This particular bass came with the optional low profile Flat Neck. That along with being only 45mm wide at the nut make for a very comfortable and fast playing 5 string bass. I was lucky for this used bass to have come equipped with active MEC JJ pickups and the optional 18 volt Bartolini 3 band preamp. This combination gives the bass a very wide range of tonal possibilities. The Bartolini preamp system is still available as an option from Warwick so if you are ordering your Streamer new you should definitely consider one. In my honest opinion it is a real improvement over the stock 2 band, 9 volt preamp that came on my other two German made Warwick basses. My Streamer LX5, being an early model, also came with the original brass Just A Nut. This older style nut, together with the Warwick two piece bridge system, helps to make the Streamer a breeze to set up. Also, to my ears, the brass nut helps to give that piano wire like tone and sustain that Warwicks are known for. The newer synthetic Just A Nut 3 is fine as well but if you prefer the original brass nut it is still available through Warwick. After getting it set up the most pleasing thing was finding that the B string is clean and tight. It really rings true and does not feel like a limp rubber band which can be a problem with many 34 in. scale 5 string basses. This is a real plus for players like me who do not feel 100% comfortable with a 35 in. scale bass. Overall I give the Streamer LX5 a 4 out of 5 rating. It is not a perfect bass but it does have many truly fine features. Made from exotic tone woods, having versatile electronics along with a comfortable and pleasing to the eye design it is a keeper. Although not cheap the Streamer LX5 is a bargain compared with its Stage I and II Neck-Through cousins. It is a terrific guitar that can more than hold its own with any other bass in the Warwick lineup. Of the 4 Warwick basses I have tried to date, the Streamer LX5 Bolt On has been my favorite.Read full review
This is about a 2014 (I just bought it in 2016) 5 string Warwick Thumb bass that originated from the custom shop in Germany. As much as I love German products when they work, my experience from their cars (Porsche) to their cameras (Leica) has been this: Wonderful performance and feel, however, if there are 9 solutions in a pool of solutions to chose from, a German engineer will always chose the most complex and expensive one! However, this bass is an exception. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is designed with extreme precision and absolute minimalism, leaving a stunning looking product with equally stunning performance. Warwick uses CNC and the best woods and electronics to guarantee absolute perfection and consistency in production. I'll take a bass made by a robot anyday over anything handmade! Everything, from the bell brass adjustable nut, the bell brass frets and the custom Nordstrand J pickups with MEC preamp contribute to an extraordinarily clean and articulate sound. When I say "clean", that is understating the performance. When I first plugged in the bass using my Avalon V5 preamp and Phil Jones signal cable, I thought that perhaps the volume was all the way down. ZERO noise, crackles, hum, just dead quiet. From the first time I struck the low B string, I knew I had made the right choice to sell my Warwick Corvette $$ and get this. The intonation and purity of tone on the low string was like nothing else I'd owned, and I've had my share of high end Fenders, Steinbergers etc. It growls in a manner that simply melts my heart. The neck feels smooth and practically plays itself. I have small hands and can't reach the highest notes, but it becomes very obvious as you go up the neck that the notes take on a almost piano, pure tone/electric guitar screaming type of sound, very, very attractive indeed. The Nordstrand pickup/MEC preamp is surprisingly transparent. The Nordstrands don't roll off the high frequencies like the stand MEC pickups do, nor do they emphasize any portion of the frequency range. Adding extra highs simply adds more snap, and this Bolt-on Thumb has snap in spades. My Avalon is a studio piece with a 10 megohm instrument input. This means that when I click the bass to "passive mode", I get exactly the same sound as I do with the preamp, with all controls set on flat. This shows just how good the pickup/preamp combination really is. I prefer to play passive regardless and use other, higher quality gear to color the dynamics and sound as I see fit. But really, hearing the Thumb in this configuration is a treat all in itself. It needs no help to sound fantastic. The Warwick quick attach pins for the strap are in my opinion the best on the market, by far. One push and you're free. I've tried many other systems and they are all, frankly, a real pain in the ass to use. Why noone has copied Warwick is a big mystery to me. So in summation, there is no doubt in my mind the Thumb deserves it's enviable reputation and in this refined configuration, is simply one of the few top basses out there. Money was never an issue when I made my choice but the fact this kind of quality can be had for less than $5K is a testament to the benefits of using the latest technology. You vintage guys with the buzzing electronics and warped bodies/necks that constantly require maintenance should come out of your caves and see where the real action's at!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Exotic woods don't in themselves make a guitar outstanding, but Warwick has managed to combine outstanding punch, pure, unadulterated tone and unfettered pickup response to produce a bass that feels and plays as unique as it looks. Chose it over a neck-through as it produces a more serious, quicker punch. I own three Warwkicks (in addition to the Thumb: an FNA Jazzman and a Corvette $$) and all are unique in tonal output. The Thumb happened to be with me in a studio last week when the engineer asked me to punch in a slap solo to a song I'd already recorded with the $$. As I'd yet to record with the recently-purchased Thumb, I was reticent to have its "maiden voyage" be a recorded slap solo - much less change basses mid-song - but ... ONE TAKE. Unbelievable. The feel, the purity of tone, every nuance (included trills) captured better than I could have hoped. I actually felt as if it bettered my playing. The Thumb is an incredible bass, and now my Number One over the other Warwicks, as well as my Fenders and Ibanez's.Read full review
I bought this bass for my son. It turned out to be his dream bass, so dreams do come true. My son has been playing bass for 15 years and he loves it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This precision instrument Has" BIG" sound, style, and, appearance. I PUT another plug in jack, lowered the action on aset-up,and I put DR Blackbeauty mediums on it ,waxed it and it out does all 7 of my other instruments. A truly unique and "WARM " sounding Art-work, from Germany,Where engineering of basses are Boss, with character, class, and CLEAN SOUND, I LOVE MY WARWICK!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned