Warwick Streamer upgraded - anyone done it?

[warwickhunt]

I've snagged me a Demeter on-board preamp to juice up one of my Streamers and I'm at a loss as to which will benefit the most. I've come to this point due to the revelation that if a quality preamp (J-retro) can do wonders for a stock USA Jazz (that was by no means shabby pre J-retro), what would my Streamer be like with an upgrade!

I basically can't decide whether to pair the Demeter with pickups mounted in;

Bartolini - Stage I,
MEC - Stage II,
EMG - Stage II...

I don't know which Streamer will benefit the most. Gut feeling is that the MECs 'may' be the weakest link in these basses, so may get the most benefit. However, the EMGs and Barts are good in their own right and could just get a lot better!

Has anyone out there upgraded a Streamer with a quality preamp?

[acidbass]

I'm also very interested to hear people's opinions on this - I was thinking of upgrading the preamp and pickups on my '97 Stage II to get a bit more oomph out of what is already a great bass.

Did the EMG's make much of a difference on your Stage II, warwickhunt? They'd be my preferred pickup if I ever did upgrade I think.

Cheers!

[warwickhunt]

My SS II came with the EMGs and an MEC circuit, my other SS II with MECs has a paint/gloss finish so it wouldn't be fair to comment on the difference! Sorry.

[guyl]

Mentioned it in loads of other posts - sorry if I'm getting dull .....

Recent upgrade of the stock electronics on my Streamer6 to Aguilar 2-eq has totally brought the Bartolini soapbars to life.

Can't comment on the EMGs or MECs - but definately worth doing with the Barts!

Guy

[ped]

You know what woud be REALLY interesting? If we could hear sound clips of each bass befor and sfter the mod! You might go boggle eyed with all the soldering and re-soldering, but it would be an eye opener.

[Toasted]

Here's a summary of some of the PMs Warwickhunt and I have been exchanging:

I really resented my Stage one V until I did the preamp upgrade. I had this bass that was a fantastic spec, that cost a load of money and that sounded great in so many people’s hands (Stuart Zender etc.) but in mine sounded weak, thin and rattly. The first thing I did was try strings. I’m now using GHS Contact Core Super Steels which are excellent, and seem to work really well with the bass.

I actually did the electronics in two stages because I got the OBP-3 about 2 months before the Nordy Big Splits arrived. Changing the old MEC preamp for the OBP-3 was brilliant, but changing the factory fit Bartolini’s for the Nordstrands was the icing on the cake.

The OPB-3 is so flexible. The range of sounds is massive it’s a much better product than the MEC. Likewise with the Nordstrands. I always found the Barts to be like a “blanket” over my sound. I feel that now I’ve got a lot more sonic information in my bass sound.
The Demeter pre is very transparent. I think it would be best paired with the EMGs... but that's jsut the way I see it. I dont think it would be good for the Barts, as it would be fighting the top end rolloff you get with Bart pickups. I'd pair a bright preamp with the Barts, not a neutral one like the Demeter.

In my opinion the MEC pickups and preamp are DEFINITELY the weakest link in all warwick basses.
By top end roll off, I mean that Barts are dark sounding pickups. In my opinion they mute the treble response of your sound. When I swapped out Barts for Nordstrands (marketed for being full range, no cut) it felt like a damping blanket had been taken off my sound and now I could really get that grunt and grind that I was looking for.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='ped' post='45887' date='Aug 15 2007, 03:43 PM']You know what woud be REALLY interesting? If we could hear sound clips of each bass befor and sfter the mod! You might go boggle eyed with all the soldering and re-soldering, but it would be an eye opener.[/quote]

If only I could figure out a quick and easy form of recording. I must give myself some time this weekend to research how!

I assume all of you guys that have sound-clips up have some form of system set-up at home?

That isn't to say that I'm going to A / B all combinations! However, a before and after in one bass or an example of a MEC equipped Stage I v Bart equipped Stage I or similar might be interesting. Of course it'd cost me a fortune in strings as they'd need to be identical and fresh... saying that I've just bought 3 sets of Hartke off eBay!

Edited August 15, 2007 by warwickhunt

[alexclaber]

The OBP-3 in my Streamer is in a different league to the original MEC preamp, a huge improvement in every way. Despite that I almost always bypass the preamp nowadays and just use a pickup switch to change my tone, so I hear pure unsullied EMGs on 18V, which is a great sound!

For the basses with passive pickups I'd go for an Audere over the OBP-3 - slightly more useful EQ voicing and that brilliant impedance switch.

I agree about Barts tending to be a little darker, or maybe softer sounding. A lone Bart J pickup at the bridge is a great sound but on the neck or in the P position I rather have the openness of an EMG.

Alex

[warwickhunt]

My Ltd Ed 'F' hole bass (see my avatar) is soon to have Wizard pups installed, whilst retaining the original MEC pre; mainly due to difficulty of sourcing a pre that would work with the dual concentric push/pull switching on the present system (same as Dolphin Pro I & Infinity). Whilst my EMG equipped Stage II will now be having the Demeter pre fitted. The Stage I bass being worked on in the build thread will (at present) be retaining the MEC pup and pre running at 18v.

If and when I can sort out recording and uploading I'm going to have to do some A/B comparisons.