• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Washburns?

#22
mr sprocket said:
The idol series looks interesting.
Invalid Link Removed

The new CB Series looks nice as well.
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
I'd like to try both of these ranges (esp Idol) when and if I ever see them locally.
I have a Washburn Status Series 1000 and it's a nice bass. No issues at all for what it is and what I paid for it. Happy to have it alongside my 'real' Status.

I bought a lower end Idol guitar as a gift for a friend's son for Xmas and it's a superb little instrument. My 'bleeds Gibson branded blood' guitarist mate spent several hours playing it after I set it up and it sounded great through his rig. All for ~$US110.

No experience with other Washburns, but have no stigma against them.
 
#24
I have an XS-5 "Axxess Bass" and I think it is an excellent bass. It simply does what it is expected every time. A great value. Mine is from the early 90's and I gigged with it for years and It has held up very well. It has a very nice blue burst to black edges with a quilted look to it. I did have to replace the stereo barrell jack recently though.
 
#25
i'm looking for what is basically my 2nd bass, (i rented one for a couple months to make sure i liked playing) and i played a used t24 at a music store today and it seemed pretty nice. the neck through setup is cool but i agree that it does seem heavier than other basses. i'm pretty strong so i didn't have any problem playing it but i don't want something overly tiring if i want to play for a while.
 
#27
I've owned an XB400 for about 6 years or so (check out my avatar!).

Used that bass for everything from metal to blues to jazz. Great tone, nice and light and the neck is about as thick as a broomstick next to my Jazz Basses!

EVERYTHING on that bass is stock - in fact, it's the only bass that I have not needed to do ANYTHING to as far as maintenance goes. Neck has always been ramrod straight and the intonation dead-on! Excellent bass for tapping, but the string spacing is a bit narrow for slap.

GASsing for an XB600 in a Natural finish , but the wife still says I have too many instruments!!! :D
 
#30
Well I finally found one problem with my washburn, though I believe it's easily fixed.

The Input jack that came with it is kind of Junky, it's a solid piece and it no longer hold any 1/4ers in it snuggly. so now if i move at all an ear piercing crackle sound comes forth... but i figure i'll just take it into a guitar tech and get him to drop a better one in.

**~**EDIT**~** I'm fairly new to Talkbass, whats with the clubs? how do you know what # you are? lemme know
 
#33
FunkyWilly said:
I just got hired to work at Washburn! So talk to me about what you want, like, dislike, would like to see, etc.

From what I have heard overall, many people are happy with their Washburn bases and some have poor experiences. I have heard some people in other threads say that they think Washburns feel and sound like much more expensive instruments. But of course, not everyone agrees. If you could deliver a *constructive* message to the company about what you would like to see in future basses (or perhaps what they are doing well already), what would you say?

Here's your chance. I will take all your feedback with me when I start my job there.

FunkyWilly
Click to expand...
Sounds like a fun job – congratulations!

I once very strongly considered buying a T-24; I mean really – a neck-through, 24 fret bass at those prices! (and I'm referring to the pre-price drop price). So, I did a lot of reading up on the subject here at TalkBass; these are the reasons I decided against purchasing the Taurus.
  1. While most agree that Washburns feature superior construction, it is almost ubiquitously stated that the pickups are sub-par sounding – usually described as cold and lifeless. Which brings us to number 2...
  2. As I understand it, the Taurus series uses non-standard-sized Jazz style pickups – because of this, the player cannot change his or her sound by replacing the stock pickups, and thus is stuck with the stock sound.
  3. The Taurus model is clearly, shall we say, borrowed from the design created by Jerzy Drozd:

    [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

    I do understand that for years, companies have been living off the designs of Leo Fender. However, in my mind it is quite a different thing to appropriate the design work of a four-man shop than it is to join in on the borrowing of a standard design from a multi-million dollar corporation. I'd assume that Mr. Drozd probably wished to pursued legal actions in this matter, but couldn't hope to compete with Washburn in the deep pockets category.
I know that the business world is a dog-eat-dog proposition, but as a small business owner, this design "borrowing" from a four man shop just didn't sit well with me.

Perhaps I've strayed too far from constructive criticism – in which case I'd say: if one is going to use Jazz pickups in their instruments, ones that could be easily swapped would be infinitely preferable.
 
#35
My first bass was a Washburn XB-100, back when they were made in Korea and VERY different than the ones they put out now. I myself prefer the old Washburns, especially the old ones with the V-necks. But they still make a decent bass for the money; I really don't have any problems with the way their instruments sound or play.
However, the Washburn/Jerry Drozd thing does cast kind of an ugly light on them, I'll say that.
 
#36
I had posted in this thread previously that I had been hired as VP of Marketing for Washburn (US Music Corp). Unfortunately, that job didn't last more than a few months. They seem to have a lot of turnover in the management staff there, and I got caught in that trap. They just fired the new President that they hired less than a year ago. The company has a lot of ongoing issues. They do make some fine instruments, but they also make some less-than-fine ones. If you have a Washburn and you like it, you probably got a good one. I had a very nice AB-90i that I just sold.

Note that these are my personal opinions. I had a bad experience there, others may disagree.

-Willy
 
#38
Jjango said:
...

  1. While most agree that Washburns feature superior construction, it is almost ubiquitously stated that the pickups are sub-par sounding – usually described as cold and lifeless. Which brings us to number 2...
  2. As I understand it, the Taurus series uses non-standard-sized Jazz style pickups – because of this, the player cannot change his or her sound by replacing the stock pickups, and thus is stuck with the stock sound.
...
Click to expand...

And it's for these reasons that my T24 doesn't come out of the case much anymore, despite how much I enjoy the neck, sustain, and overall look of the instrument. :(
 
#39
I have a Lyon by Washburn; as far as I can tell the Fender Squire of Washburn. It was my first bass (got it about 11 years ago), and I think it's amazing. It is the single most comfortable bass I have ever played. The tone is amazing, especially after putting a Badass II and some DiMarzio Split P's in it. It is and will forever be my main bass.
 
#40
I'm a big Washburn Bass Fan,

I own 3 of them 1994 XB-800 Korean made Status pickups
1998 XB-900 American..Bartolini Pickups
1999 XB-900 American EMG Jazz Pickups.

I also own a 1983 Fender Precision and a 2004 Fender Jazz and I enjoy playing the Washburns just as much as I do the Fenders.

I heard a lot of bad reviews about the low end Washburn Basses (XB-100) but the high end Washburns can't be beat>
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back