Warwick RockBass Streamer 5 FL NBT

Being a bassist over the last 25 years I have had only good experiences with my 4 Warwick Streamers - passive and active LX-versions, and lately (3 weeks ago) I chose to buy an active Streamer fretless 5 in the Rock Bass line. I must admit I was used to receive a bass with only minor settings needed before playing it. But this experience also occurred in this purchase. Fast delivery from Thomann and no damage during transportation.

The Streamer design is my favourite over the other electric bass series of Warwick. This fretless is not neck-heavy but is balanced around the center, where the neck joins the Carolena body. The Carolena body is a great choice for reducing weight and back problems and this Streamer was no exception. Tech-wise alle features were flawless and working from the very start. The electronics and the pickups are great - no hum, hiss or yawk gets through to the amp. As always these Streamers in the RB-line are noiseless and the MEC humbuckers delivers great sound options from warm acoustic sound to the nasal treble, Jaco-sound. The knobs and tuners works well too.

The only disappointment to this Streamer was that inside the electronics cavity you only have very little space to fix the swith of a 9V battery. In this situation you have to be extremeley careful so you do not break the welding on the pots just around the battery clip holder. I think this could have been done better. But the battery switch is normally rare to execute. This detail costs 1 star in my evaluation.

Apart from that the bass is awesome: feels great, plays great and have a good sound and active, silent circuitry.

I would consider buying it again if I needed a replacement of a fretless bass in the budget segment without missing the Warwick qualities.

I honestly didn't expect much out of this bass. I just wanted to buy my first unlined fretless bass, and I wanted a Warwick. Upon unboxing, my reaction was, "WOW." I didn't expect such a quality from Rock Bass line.

It is light; lighter than my Pro Series Corvette. Sustain goes on forever, it has a beautiful singing mwah, and ofcourse, the Warwick bridge is delightful to work with. Tigerstripe ebony fingerboard is something of a dream. I just wish it was a bit more polished.

The onboard EQ leaves a bit more to be desired. Compared to my Pro Series, the tone that the onboard EQ gives is significantly weaker. I also wish that a mid knob would have been added, as I fiddle around the most with mid when it comes to fretless. I had to make SIGNIFICANT action and intonation adjustments upon arrival.

Security locks seem to work fine, although different from my Pro Series. I'm not sure which is better or more expensive, but as long as it works... All the tools are included, and it also came with a spare battery.

The poor baby was SOAKED in condensation. Cold weather, I guess. AND RIDICULOUS SUSTAIN