LeftyJ

I agree the build quality is top notch and so is their customer support. But still, at 3000 euros, you can get a lot more than a basic bolt-on Streamer from many other companies. I'm aware Warwick can build you anything you ask for, but the pricing level is mindboggling. If I were to buy a brand new bass, as much as I like Warwick, they would not be on my list of options because what I would look for in a bass would simply get too expensive there whereas many amazing luthiers could build me the same at a price I can afford. I paid 500 for my Streamer, which I think is an absolute steal. But anything over say 1750 for a fairly basic instrument like this would seem overly expensive to me.

Nice score! Can't go wrong with Ibanez. Is it one of the more recent ones with 4 knobs and active bass boost? They're great value, the electronics are simple but effective. The older passive ones are good too. And either way, at 40 Pounds you got one heck of a deal.

Wow, tough one! It looks like an Aria SB, but I wouldn't know which one and there's not much info on these on the WWW. It looks a bit like an old SB-025, but the body wood and the fingerboard inlays don't match. Also, yours looks younger because of the type of bridge used and the black hardware.

I had been looking for a modern and agressive sounding 5-string for some time and I've always had a thing for that Spector / Warwick Streamer look and for Warwick in general. I had been watching this Streamer LX5 on a Dutch escrow site already over a year ago but the asking price was about 800-900 euros back then and I couldn't really afford it, and didn't want it badly enough. One month ago, that same seller relisted the bass at a mere 500 euros! I immediately gave him a call and I happened to be the first! I asked him to ship it to me because I was unable to go pick it up myself, and it arrived about three weeks ago. It was unplayable, the action at the 12th fret was almost half an inch! Overall it was in good condition though, and after a quick setup (a few twists of the truss rod and lowering the bridge a little) it was perfect. It's a 2003 ovangkol baseball bat era model, but being 6' 6" tall and having pretty big hands I'm having no trouble wielding it and getting my hands around the neck. I love it, and have already gigged with it. It suits me and the style of music my band plays perfectly. It's supertight, has really agressive high mids and treble, and the B string is the tightest (and loudest!) of all 4 fivestrings I own. It even surpasses my Stingray 5 with ease! Because of the tightness and the high mid emphasis, it takes a bit of overdrive really well without getting muddy. I play it through an Ampeg SVP PRO with some added dirt and the Warwick almost appears like it was made for that tone! My Ellio Martina Forza has too much subharmonics and notes on the B-string come out muddy and almost undefinable when you don't play absolutely clean. I love the looks of the Streamer too, and I even don't mind the gold hardware (which I generally don't like). Somehow it's fitting, it looks really good with the transparent Nirvana Black lacquer finish. The only thing I don't understand is why these basses have to be so expensive new. A new German made Streamer LX5 will cost you 3000 euros here! Don't get me wrong, this is a terrific bass, but for 3000 euros you can get a whole lot more from many great luthiers. Exotic wood tops, neck through body, you name it. But at the price I paid, this is an amazing instrument and I couldn't be happier!

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1348568133' post='1815206'] Fender MiM basses seem to have a good rep here so it just shows that it doesn't really matter that much... [size=2]<ducks and runs>[/size] [/quote] Very true. It's just not very pretty to look at, and could be a very unpleasant surprise if part of the OP's project involves sanding down the body to apply a transparent finish of some sort. So always be careful with what looks to be a 1-piece body on a sunburst instrument

I don't think any major manufacturer uses plywood these days. However, with cheaper guitars, it's common practice to build bodies from more narrow pieces of wood rather than just 2 or 3 like most guitars. Especially when they have an opaque finish you need to be weary of this. And if you decide to go with a sunburst instrument as your starting point, don't get one that looks like it's a 1-piece body because it will just be a veneer over (often poorly matching) multiple pieces of wood. And the bass doesn't even need to be that cheap for these practices. Even Fender Mexico does this, using up to 7 pieces! That's why the tummycut and the forearm carve are often black on sunburst bodies: to conceal they're veneered. For example, here's a Fender Mexico stock of raw blanks of alder with the veneer already in place:

The 4001 is the old version, the 4003 is a slightly more modern version of the same bass with a dual trussrod to accommodate the higher string tension of roundwound strings. It completely replaced the 4001, except for some vintage reissues. There's also a 4000, which is basically a plainer version of the 4001 but with just a bridge pickup. It's not in production anymore. The simpler version you're referring to, without bindings and with dots, is the 4003s or 4001s. Some 4001s' will also have a set neck instead of a through-body neck

I agree! Just got a 2002 Streamer LX5 and it's one of them baseball bat affairs, but very manageable indeed. Funny you should mention the TRB, I have owned two TRB5II's and the profile of the rear is indeed somewhat similar. The Warwick is thicker though, somewhat more 'square' if you know what I mean. The TRB has more radiused sides of the neck.

Same here. Just got a used lefty Streamer LX5 in a beautiful transparent black lacquer finish instead of the regular oil/wax finish and with gold hardware. Brilliant bass, absolutely incredible. The build quality, the hardware, the electronics, the woods, everything is top notch. A brand new righthanded Streamer LX5 will cost you a whopping [url="http://www.thomann.de/nl/warwick_streamer_lx5na.htm"]2600[/url] to [url="http://www.thomann.de/nl/warwick_streamer_lx5br.htm"]2900[/url] euros depending on the finish (and that's just the difference between natural oil or coloured oil!). And that's just a pretty basic model with a bolt-on neck! I got mine for a mere 500 euros which I think is tremendous value. I would certainly not pay any more than say 1000 euros for what this is.

Sure you can. Ibanez will build anything for their endorsees. For example, some of their current signature artists (Mike d'Antonio of Killswitch Engage and Peter Iwers of In Flames) specified twin-pickup active basses based on the SRX, but with only a volume knob. If you never use anything other than the volume and set everything else neutral all the time, why would you place 5 knobs on the front? Looks very nice and clean too. I suspect this TR was a custom job too. I know Jason Thirsk played TR's when he was still in Pennywise, and his successor Randy Bradbury did too. Jason Thirsk with an Ibanez TR: Randy Bradbury with a similar TR:

That. I was thinking TR too, looks like a custom job.

http://www.ibanez.com/BassGuitars/model-GSRM20

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1337845520' post='1666180'] Just noticed this thread and hoping I can contribute... Here's my Sonus Special. I got it from Deezbar of this forum as a trade for a vintage Jazz bass. I'm not completely sure of it's age, but Dave told me he thinks it's mid-90's (i.e. a very early one). If anybody knows more or can offer advice about it then I'm all ears, as I don't really know much about them (other than the quality of course, which is superb!). [/quote] That's stunning! That one and your SEI. If you ever decide to part with them...

I don't have experience with the Hagstrom either (never saw a lefty in real life) but I have owned an Italia Torino for a while that I really liked [IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/de_slager/Italia%20Torino%20Bass/DSC02808small.jpg[/IMG] All hardware and pickups are Wilkinson, the design is by Trevor Wilkinson too (he's the man behind Italia) but they're made in Korea. Very well-made, looks very appealing (fully bound, although it's hard to see in this cream finish), plays great and sounds great, and because of the long distance between the bridge and the tailpiece you can use any longscale string. I did need to place a piece of foam beneath the tailpiece to stop the string ends from resonating.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1345730018' post='1780995'] Ah, like this? This looks much nicer: ATK800, not on the Ibanez website. (unless I'm looking at the wrong region) [/quote] Is that a wooden pickguard? A little too posh for a basic workhorse like the ATK imho I love ATK's, I own two and used to have two more, but I prefer the old ones with the triplecoil humbucker. They now have quadcoil humbuckers with different switching, and they slightly slimmed down the bodyshape. I do like the addition of a J singlecoil, but they should have moved the humbucker closer to the bridge on the twin-pickup models, like they did on the old 400 and 1300.

There hasn't been a passive SR400 since 1995, all 400s were opaque finishes with a maple body, and no pre-1996 SR400 was available in a transparent finish. But the 400 does seem to be the closest match! Strange.

I'm guessing Sage Green Metallic? Here's mine: Fender MIJ '75 Jazz reissue, upgraded with Hipshot tuners and X-tender, Leo Quan BadAss II bridge, MEC pots and a switchable active 6 dB bass boost (not installed yet when I took the pictures, it now has a 4th knob controlling a rotary 2-way switch and the jack was moved to the side of the body). [IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/de_slager/Fender%20MIJ%2075%20Jazz/DSC02791.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/de_slager/Fender%20MIJ%2075%20Jazz/DSC02786.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/de_slager/Fender%20MIJ%2075%20Jazz/DSC02785.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='oli@bass' timestamp='1344011826' post='1758761'] DD I is simply the best finish they ever did. There are quite a few other brilliant and great looking rare EBMM finishes, but this one tops all of them. Love those inlays! [/quote] I agree! I also particularly love some of the amazing sparkle finishes EBMM have had over the years. Think Copperhead, Autumn Redburst Sparkle, Autumn Redrise, Medallion Gold... Here's mine.

Had a USA-made SB-2 for a while, loved it. Jazz Bass-like feel, Precision-like tone on steroids. The splitcoil in these basses is so incredibly loud! It's already at Fender Precision level with the volume knob at just 80%, and then there's still some left! At first I was missing a tone pot, but when I got to know the bass better I started to appreciate the simple VV control layout. I didn't like the bridge pickup stand-alone, but if you take the splitcoil as your base tone, you can use the two volume controls to dial in many great in-between tones. Turn the splitcoil down a little to lift off some highs. Turn the bridge pickup up a little and it will add some top end and scoop the mids a little. Turn both pickups on all the way for great modern rock tones but also a great slap! The Tributes are fantastic basses for the money. Tried several Tribute L2000's, all of them were excellent! Great necks, great playability, great tone, great finish.