dannybuoy Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I just received today one of these: And it is THE quietest bass I've ever had. I can boost the gain on the amp, but for it to sound good with other dirt pedals it needs a bit of juicing so I'm resorting to using a Phat Phuk B boost as an always on pedal. I opened it up and spotted something that doesn't look quite right. This is a passive bass with humbuckers and the volume pots are Alpha B25K jobbies. I know Fenders use 250K and I though most humbucker equipped basses like T-Birds used 500K? Any opinions on whether these pots sound totally wrong and if I could expect a volume boost by replacing them for 500K ones? Also considering making it active, there's enough room in there for a pre without having to route a battery box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Check the wiring diagram that Warwick have online. I had one of these (4 stringer) and the output was abysmal. Using the wiring diagram I found and sorted a wiring fault. Output was good after that. If you want a quiet bass try my Gibson SG bass. Great sound just very limp in the output department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 You're probably right about the pot values. You could always just try wiring one of the pickups to the output direct to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I had one of them and your right, theyre not very loud, i dont think it is a problem with your bass only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40hz Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I have the single pickup version of this, 5 string as well. It is the quietest bass I've ever played in terms of output. Although the actual tone is very sweet! Often thought of installing a preamp myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b7l4s Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Me too! I have a passive Streamer Std (not Rockbass, but not full-fat Warwick either) with MEC pickups and although it sounds lovely (really lovely) it is significantly lower output than any other bass I own - judged purely subjectively by A/B'ing through my rig. I used to use a clean boost to avoid faffing with the amp when switching instruments, which works fine, but tbh my general belief in simplifying my setup wherever possible (and laziness) have caused my to effectively retire the bass from live use From my guitar playing days I've always had a soft spot for Gordon Smith instruments and I stumbled across this the other day [url="http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/archive/products/volumax-and-blacklab-booster/"]http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/archive/products/volumax-and-blacklab-booster/[/url] which looks interesting. The fact that they are starting to do basses is promising too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Seems to me the Alpha B25K jobbies would be for use with their active pre & totally the wrong pots for passive humbuckers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 This bass had sat neglected for a while until I tried boosting the output to reasonable levels with a BB Preamp then feeding that into a Darkglass B7K. Sounded so damn good I now intend to keep this and will be sorting out new pots and a preamp for it soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboy1984 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I used to own the older rockbass streamer bass and you are right, they are low output. Funny thing is my westone thunder 1A fretless is lowout as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 I looked up the schematic on the Warwick site and it has 25K pots on too. Before hooking up a preamp I will mess about with some resistors and/or hooking up the pups directly to the output jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yustech Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1429093956' post='2747849'] I looked up the schematic on the Warwick site and it has 25K pots on too. Before hooking up a preamp I will mess about with some resistors and/or hooking up the pups directly to the output jack. [/quote] Hello Dannybuoy, I know this thread is already off the radar but I came to the same discovery as yours too.I won't bore the story here.Below I include a link about my finding.I think the technical info doesn't make any sense at all. http://yustech.blogspot.my/2015/12/which-warwick-rockbass-streamer_11.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 Thanks for posting! I fitted a Darkglass preamp to it, and fed into a B3K for more gain, it does sound great. But I am considering swapping out the pups for some EMG or Delano soapbars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yustech Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1450469292' post='2933220'] Thanks for posting! I fitted a Darkglass preamp to it, and fed into a B3K for more gain, it does sound great. But I am considering swapping out the pups for some EMG or Delano soapbars! [/quote] Do the have/sell pickups with the exact dimension? I have checked/looked online about Bartolini's W4CBC-B(7.2k-Neck) and W4CBC-T(10k-Bridge).They look like it will fit.I will do a check on EMG and Delano too.Thanks for the enlightenment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 I did measure them a while back and the EMGs / Delanos were very slightly smaller but would fit. I'll do that again and post the measurements. There are too many EMG soapbars models to choose from though! The other, potentially cheaper and better looking option is to get them rewound. I wouldn't normally go to these lengths to fix a cheap bass but apart from the pickups it's great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted December 19, 2015 Author Share Posted December 19, 2015 (edited) (Duplicate post) Edited December 19, 2015 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memerro Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 On 19/12/2015 at 02:49, dannybuoy said: I did measure them a while back and the EMGs / Delanos were very slightly smaller but would fit. I'll do that again and post the measurements. Hi there! I have Warwick Rockbass Streamer 5 STD and I have just the same problem as yours - low output and if I try to boost it a little bit, it becomes muddy and distorted. I considered the option of upgrading pick-ups to some EMG soapbars, could you please let me know if it worked properly for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 I used to sell these - the inherent tone is fantastic, but the output was always low. I wonder if some 500k pots would work better - I think they’re humbuckers...think. @KiOgon is your man for this. I wouldn’t mind one of the earlier German ones actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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