NBD Washburn series 1000 headless - needs HELP!!

[Greginperth]

Hi folks.
Scouring through the local Gumtree (Craigs list(ish) today and GAS kicked in.
I have a soft spot for headless basses (have a traveler headless) and always admired the Washburn S1000 but they are never to be seen around my neck of the woods. UNTIL TODAY..
I grabbed this for $250 ozzy dollars including a top quality hard case - Stoked..
General condition is quite good - Functioning truss rod, nice straight neck, good pups, not too many dings or nicks, etc.
BUT. The blend pot shaft had broken/fallen out and needs replacement. The blend still functions if turned by a screw driver through the back control cover, but thats pretty lame.
I live in hope that someone in the brains trust here can help, advise, or generally steer me in the right direction for a replacement blend pot.

Thanks in advance folks.

 

[Greginperth]

No response with information yet so I may as well show some pics of the rebuild process so far.
I go on to cleaning and polishing the brass string head stock as well as tuning machines and bridge components.
Will strip it all back off agin soon and cut/polish the body. No real bad rash or marks in the body or neck, just a lot (30yrs worth) of light swirl scratches.

P.S - Is there anywhere more appropriate I should be posting this thread? Washburn headless forum??
Greg.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

That’s the pickup blend? Both sides should be the same so look for a 220K MN taper dual gang pot. That could be an odd value these days so you might have to get 250K. Should be close enough to not notice a difference.

Not sure if the Allparts one is MN taper but I’m pretty sure they ship internationally. Antique Electronic Supply might ship internationally. Or, go to your favorite electronic supplier there.

250K Balance Blend Linear Pot | Allparts.com

Invalid Link Removed

Cool bass, by the way. I like headlesses myself.

 

[Greginperth]

That’s the pickup blend? Both sides should be the same so look for a 220K MN taper dual gang pot. That could be an odd value these days so you might have to get 250K. Should be close enough to not notice a difference.

Not sure if the Allparts one is MN taper but I’m pretty sure they ship internationally. Antique Electronic Supply might ship internationally. Or, go to your favorite electronic supplier there.

250K Balance Blend Linear Pot | Allparts.com

Invalid Link Removed

Cool bass, by the way. I like headlesses myself.

Matt, you're a legend. Thanks for the info man. I will look them up and keep you posted here what comes of it... Worst case I may end up just rewiring V/V/T but it would be nice to take it back to original.

Greg.

 

[JRA]

nice find! hope you get things worked out. congratulations on your new instrument!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Matt, you're a legend. Thanks for the info man. I will look them up and keep you posted here what comes of it... Worst case I may end up just rewiring V/V/T but it would be nice to take it back to original.

Greg.

I’m sure there’s someplace locally that will have something. Just remember 220 or 250K MN taper dual gang pot and make sure the threaded section is the same diameter as what you have and long enough to fit through the body. Which I was going to tell you to double check on the links I gave you so double check that before you order.

 

[Maxdusty]

Matt, you're a legend. Thanks for the info man. I will look them up and keep you posted here what comes of it... Worst case I may end up just rewiring V/V/T but it would be nice to take it back to original.

Greg.

I was about to mention it might be a good opportunity to improve the electronics with better pots.
Nice bass though, congrats!

 

[Greginperth]

I’m sure there’s someplace locally that will have something. Just remember 220 or 250K MN taper dual gang pot and make sure the threaded section is the same diameter as what you have and long enough to fit through the body. Which I was going to tell you to double check on the links I gave you so double check that before you order.

Yep, on to that Matt.
I checked the Bourn unit and it looks closest in dimension.
It appears to also be available with 6mm straight shaft which would then match the shafts on the vol and tone pots:

I sent this around via email to a couple of places Sunday eve which states what the dimensions/make are:
Markings on the pot indicate that it is:
OMEG made in UK. R.LGC 220K
The threaded attachment is about 9.3mm diameter and around 9mm long.
The knob shaft was protruding about 15mm and is 6.1mm(ish) diameter with around 18 splines.

You guys are AWESOME.. Thanks heaps for the info and help.
I know very little about electronics so im hoping I can pick some brains as I move forward with this.

I will send an email to Antique electronic supply and see if they can verify a part number or order code for the straight shaft units and order a couple - No harm in having a spare I guess.

Greg.

 

[Fumble Fingers]

Really nice find....I have a soft spot for headless basses too. I would have grabbed that in a NY second if I had found it.

 

[herndonbassist]

Wow, great find for a great price!!! I so want one of these, and kick myself as they were selling for super cheap about 15 years ago (when I had very little disposable income).

 

[Greginperth]

I moved a little bit further forward today with completely stripping the electronics out in readiness for full cut and polish.
Im sort of thinking now of fully upgrading the pups and pre-amp with SD qtr-pounders or Nordstrand 'big-blades' and maybe even a 3band pre amp...?
Greg.

 

[Greginperth]

I found time to get onto the polish today.
It turns out the buckle rash on the back was pretty deep but managed to get it all out with 2 stage sanding of the clear-coat followed by a deep cut and polish.
It ended up with an awesome deep gloss front and back but is super hard to photograph in a low lite room.
Greg.

 

[Greginperth]

Just waiting on a response from Nordstrand and Seymor Duncan to work out what pups and pre-amp is going in.
I am really dig'n this project bass.
Will keep all posted.
Greg.

 

[Greginperth]

Well I did end up deciding on what pickups and pre-amp to rejuvenate the 30+ year old bass with.
Ended up selecting Bartolini pups and an Audere ProZ 4-band pre-amp.
The Bart's have arrived but I am still waiting on the pre-amp to rock up - so while I wait I thought it best to shield the cavities as best I could.
What started as a $AU250 bass will end around the $AU1000 mark and while some will be shaking their heads muttering something under their breath about over capitalizing, I think the value will be in the sound and feel of this unusual, and (to me) very desirable bass that I have no plans of selling anyway.
More to come as the build progresses.
Greg.

 

[scuzzy]

F(orget) the naysayers. That thing is awesome and will be better than awesome with the parts you have opted to use. Great work!

 

[A9X]

^^ I agree with Scuzzy. It's a good bass (I know, I had one and still have a Status S2000), and even with all the mods you're going to be hard pressed to better it for < $1k in Australia.

 

[Watchootognbout]

The Official Washburn Club (Part 3)
@MEKer
@SP_EB4L

 

[Greginperth]

Good progress on the rebuild today.

Step back 4 weeks ago when I removed the strings to start this project and found the truss rod nut was completely rounded in the allen key hex... I knew it unwise to leave the unstrung bass with full tension on the truss rod, so I ground a taper to a 7/32" key to wedge into the flogged circular remains of what should have been a 3/16" hex. I got lucky and, with enough force, the key grabbed enabling me to at least remove the nut and fight another day.

Well, the 'another day' came today as i'll be fitting the electronics and restringing sometime this coming week and knew that if I didnt repair/replace the butchered nut I would be tempted to re-install it and run the gauntlet with the taper ground allen key.

I made a number of telephone calls and google searches during the week to try locate a new truss rod nut but lack of availability in Australia and uncertainty over the correct size had me in a bit of a spin. General con-census and common sense (+ physically measurement) indicated it should have been 10-32 thread or maybe 4mm metric (unlikely) but when I tried both these size bolts in the thread they stuck.. Maybe just a slight strip of the first couple threads perhaps but it really had me confused.

It appeared the most logical and immediately rewarding step for me was to rebuild the nut that I had - the nut that actually came off the still unidentified thread.
I started by cutting the mangled hex section off the nut and then cut the shank off both an M5 and an M6 cap screw as I intended to weld one of these onto the (barrel) nut.
I selected the M6 cap screw head as it has a 5mm hex as opposed to the M5 having a 4mm hex.
The M6 head was slightly larger in diameter than the barrel nut it was getting welded to but a quick sand down on the bench grinder would take care of that.

All that was left now was to grind beveled preps to both parts and to TIG weld the M6 cap screw head onto the threaded barrel nut.

The weld and clean-up was easier than I expected and my fears of 'slightly stripped threads' were quickly laid to rest as the repaired nut threaded smoothly back onto the truss rod, albeit this time with a smattering of anti-seize and the assistance of a slip washer to allow easier adjustment in future.

One of those 'breath a sigh of relief' jobs now that its completed successfully.

Greg.

The life saver.

The mangled barrel nut in question - Lucky to get this bloody thing out.

The barrel nut with mangled hex removed and prepped for weld. I decided to go with the larger M6 head for the bigger hex area.

The truss rod nut back in position including a slip washer and a little anti-seize)
Sorry but I failed to get a pic of the welded repair - Suffice to say it looked the same as a standard barrel nut after the weld (and larger diameter) was ground down.

While I was at it I cut and drilled a new plastic truss rod cover to replicate the piece that was MIA when I acquired the bass.

 

[Greginperth]

SUCCESS... Finished at last - Well, temporarily..
I'm still waiting on a set of La Bella 750G gold/white nylon tape wound strings. La Bella black tapes are my favorite strings so i'm hoping these will feel the same to me.
I installed a set of Bartolini pick ups and the Audere Pro-Z 4-band pre-amp and man i'm super happy I did my research on the Audere. TON's of sounds and incredibly fine control - Even the slightest knob movement offers an audible outcome rather than having to twist around the clock for minor changes (if any on some pre-amps).
Despite reviews of the Washburn S1000 being difficult to find intonation and tune, I found the opposite with an easy and intuitive set up.
Even the mini LED battery indicator is handy and functional and can just be seen between the output jack and the middle stack knobs.
Lov'n the fact that this feels so'ooo different from my other guitars.
Perhaps more of a review later when I get the nylons installed and get a few more miles under my belt.
Greg.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Very cool. Nice save on the truss rod.