Washburn B-50RS Rudy Sarzo

[Ulises Serrano]

I recently purchased this bass at a reasonable price and it's great! Just a couple of questions about it though.

1. I get a lot of hum out of it. Before it used to hum and it made a loud noise so when I took it to a Guitar Center tech he discovered a wire was not connected & it ended up being the one that goes underneath the bridge. Once that was put back the noise went away so the bass was grounded now. But it still hums when my hands aren't near the strings but it does go away when I lay my fingers on the strings. What's the reason behind that?

2. The nut seems to be odd. Especially for the G string. Are all B-50RS same? I had to raise the action because I was getting horrible buzz. I took it to another tech who was able to get the action as low as possible without buzzing but it's still a bit high. Could it be the neck is warped? Or in need of a new nut?

3. Would I have trouble finding the right size replacement for a pickup?

 

[JGREEN105]

I have one of these since the early 90s. It is actually my first bass. I have had constant humming from it. Even replacing some of the wires and resoldering the joints it still hums. Sorry I don't have any answers.
As far as the nut, I have tried a couple of different ones over the years and after filing it down a little at a time I finally got decent action out of it. Just keep working with it.
Also, I had a problem with the E string popping out of the nut and eventually had to put a string retainer on the head. Turned out to be a horrible idea. But, at the very least you got a super cool, super hard to find bass. I say learn to love the rattle and hum!

 

[JGREEN105]

View attachment 3506880 View attachment 3506880 View attachment 3506882 View attachment 3506883 View attachment 3506884 View attachment 3506885 View attachment 3506886 View attachment 3506887 I recently purchased this bass at a reasonable price and it's great! Just a couple of questions about it though.

1. I get a lot of hum out of it. Before it used to hum and it made a loud noise so when I took it to a Guitar Center tech he discovered a wire was not connected & it ended up being the one that goes underneath the bridge. Once that was put back the noise went away so the bass was grounded now. But it still hums when my hands aren't near the strings but it does go away when I lay my fingers on the strings. What's the reason behind that?

2. The nut seems to be odd. Especially for the G string. Are all B-50RS same? I had to raise the action because I was getting horrible buzz. I took it to another tech who was able to get the action as low as possible without buzzing but it's still a bit high. Could it be the neck is warped? Or in need of a new nut?

3. Would I have trouble finding the right size replacement for a pickup?

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for it?

 

[Maxdusty]

Just looking at your pic near the headstock, the strings are literally touching the fret wires, that would cause the buzzing. Maybe the nut is cut too deep (at least that's the way it looks to me in the pic). Also where is the action high because the strings near the headstock look pretty low. If the high string action occurs further up the neck, the neck is likely bowed and needs the truss rod adjusted to get it more straightened out. You can "sight" down the neck to see if it's straight or bowed. If the high string action is above the body yet the neck looks straight and not bowed, is the neck at an angle to the body? If so, putting a shim in the front of the neck cavity may be needed to bring the neck backward and straight in relation to the body.
The humming when it goes away when you touch the string is caused by a shielding issue. You can read here how to stop it. The Buzz Killer: How To Shield Your Bass

The headstock, yes that looks right. The E string breaks left due to the E-tuner placement on the Sarzo bass, the G string on these do look like it's over the edge of the headstock. I have a Washburn bass with a similar headstock to yours although the E tuner on this headstock of this model is more directly in line with the E string groove on the nut - the previous owner did put a string tree for the D and G string. Seems to work pretty well for my bass even though I don't think it really needed it.

 

[Bassist59]

1. I get a lot of hum out of it. Before it used to hum and it made a loud noise so when I took it to a Guitar Center tech he discovered a wire was not connected & it ended up being the one that goes underneath the bridge. Once that was put back the noise went away so the bass was grounded now. But it still hums when my hands aren't near the strings but it does go away when I lay my fingers on the strings. What's the reason behind that?

2. The nut seems to be odd. Especially for the G string. Are all B-50RS same? I had to raise the action because I was getting horrible buzz. I took it to another tech who was able to get the action as low as possible without buzzing but it's still a bit high. Could it be the neck is warped? Or in need of a new nut?

3. Would I have trouble finding the right size replacement for a pickup?

Another Washburn Rudy Sarzo player!!!!

I bought one of these from eBay 9 years ago. The one I have is a prototype - I am certain of it. The edges on the top are not beveled and it’s a 2 pickup bolt on neck without any Rudy Sarzo or model markings. There are many, many variations of this bass. On mine, I intend to do as little to it as possible as it’s now a collectible piece of ‘80s metal!

To keep the E string from popping out, I use a zip tie behind the nut which works great. The nut on mine needs replacing but ok for now.

I wouldn’t change the pickup, I’d just work on it or take it to somebody who can make it sound as good as possible with all the original parts. Mine has active pickups that require a 9 v battery and has no hum. If you have passive pickups, you might want to consider shielding the cavities with copper tape. Hum without your hands touching strings is normal, though.

 

[John Heller]

Hello. I have been looking for this model. Means a lot to me. Wonder if you are interested in selling?
You can contact me at [email protected]
Thank you.
John

 

[John Heller]

View attachment 3506880 View attachment 3506880 View attachment 3506882 View attachment 3506883 View attachment 3506884 View attachment 3506885 View attachment 3506886 View attachment 3506887 I recently purchased this bass at a reasonable price and it's great! Just a couple of questions about it though.

1. I get a lot of hum out of it. Before it used to hum and it made a loud noise so when I took it to a Guitar Center tech he discovered a wire was not connected & it ended up being the one that goes underneath the bridge. Once that was put back the noise went away so the bass was grounded now. But it still hums when my hands aren't near the strings but it does go away when I lay my fingers on the strings. What's the reason behind that?

2. The nut seems to be odd. Especially for the G string. Are all B-50RS same? I had to raise the action because I was getting horrible buzz. I took it to another tech who was able to get the action as low as possible without buzzing but it's still a bit high. Could it be the neck is warped? Or in need of a new nut?

3. Would I have trouble finding the right size replacement for a pickup?

 

[John Heller]

Hello. I wonder if you'd like to sell the Sarzo bass. Was one of the first basses I bought years ago and would love to have one again.
Thank you,
John
[email protected]