bassmasta Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Hi! Im new to all this forum chat stuff on here, so excuse me if make a few mistakes/errors etc. I have recently bought a Warwick Rockbass Streamer Standard 5 string, with duel pick-ups. Thing is, the pick ups are terrible, which is to expected on a £200 5 string! The pick ups are MEC Vintage style HB, and i am looking to replace them with something with more power and tone. I'm really looking to upgrade the system to active, as thats what im used to. Any ideas of pick ups i can use?? Preferably want a direct swap of all the pick-up system, as i dont reeeally want to cut sections out of my bass! Thanks guys, any help will be much appriciated!! [url="http://www.mec-pickups.de/modules/products/product.php?katID=15040&cl=EN"]http://www.mec-pickups.de/modules/products...15040&cl=EN[/url] Link to site with current pups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 I had a 4 string single pickup version and installed an EMG BTC preamp in it. The instrument still lacked warmth, I only got a satisfactory sound when the bass boost was turned all the way up. Your options on such a budget conscious instrument are probably fairly limited, the best change you could make is probably to install a warm sounding preamp like the Aguilar OBP1 but you might have to drill an extra hole in the bass. You could look at replacing the pickups as well but you might end up spending close to a hundred quid easily and, if you're going to do that, you might as well get a new bass. Give Andy at Wizard Pickups and talk to him about your options. He might be able to do something on a budget and you get a very fast turn around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Dont take this the wrong way - but I can be blunt. You paid for a cheap bass - you got a cheap bass. If you spend loads of money on pups and active you have still got a cheap bass. Sell it and buy something better - then you will have a better bass that will be worth spending money on to make even more better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmasta Posted April 26, 2008 Author Share Posted April 26, 2008 yeah ok, thanks very much for all your help. i think i will just leave it as it is for now, because, as said, its not really worth it on such a cheap bass. i was wanting to explore the options available, but they are too expensive for such a bass. i will just invest in some nicer strings for now. thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 [quote name='bassmasta' post='186216' date='Apr 26 2008, 11:06 PM']i think i will just leave it as it is for now, because, as said, its not really worth it on such a cheap bass. i was wanting to explore the options available, but they are too expensive for such a bass. i will just invest in some nicer strings for now.[/quote] What you could do for notalot (£15 to £25) is put an Artec preamp in it, which would at least make it active and give you a bit more on-board possibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hit&Run Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 (edited) [quote name='bassmasta' post='185607' date='Apr 25 2008, 09:53 PM']Hi! I have recently bought a Warwick Rockbass Streamer Standard 5 string, Thing is, the pick ups are terrible, and i am looking to replace them with something with more power and tone.[/quote] What does the Warwick play like, and what does it sound like unamplified? If it only turns pear shaped when you plug it in then the electronics sound like they need changing (assuming that they're not faulty). Bartolini may make a pickup the same size as yours [url="http://www.bartolini.net/information/bass/new_bass_pu_s4.htm"]W4CBC[/url] (scroll down). John East (BTB 01) and Status (TB5 Stack) both make active bass & treble preamp stacks on one pot, which should fit into your bass without modification. The East one even has a slap/bright switch built in! [quote name='bass_ferret' post='185648' date='Apr 25 2008, 11:52 PM']Dont take this the wrong way You paid for a cheap bass - you got a cheap bass. If you spend loads of money on pups and active you have still got a cheap bass. Sell it and buy something better - then you will have a better bass that will be worth spending money on to make even more better.[/quote] This is true, but sometimes you just can't wait for the bass from the gods. I've got a few hot-rodded Korean & Japanese basses and I love them! I think that if an instrument plays nicely, sounds good unplugged, and looks alright; it's worthy of some minor modifications to bring the sound up to scratch. I'd think about dropping a preamp in your Warwick as this will make the bass active, and may mean that you don't need to change the pickups after all. Depending on your budget there's lots of preamp choices out there. As an alternative to active electronics, the villex Passive Rotary Tone Booster [url="http://www.villex.com/prtb.html"]PRTB[/url] has had good reviews, and it eliminates the 'battery going mid song' stigma that afflicts battery replacement slackers like me. Bassmasta, if you can tell us the kind of sound you want from the bass, forum members might be able to help you out with what electronics will deliver 'your sound'. Edited April 28, 2008 by Hit&Run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 if youv got a cheap bass to mod it up, go for it! i bought a westfield jazz off the forum couple of weeks back for £50, iv spent another £35 on it and its sounding and looking pretty great now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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