AndyTravis Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 1 Washburn b10 dark blue. A present off a mate. A gift as I helped him out with a guitar amp issue. That was cool. Needs a bit of a set up - but looks great. Were these Japanese or Korean? I'm assuming Korean built, late 80's? 2 a Sigma electro acoustic bass, solid spruce top. Absolutely no need for it, but I remember these when they relaunched and thought they were great. Absolutely wipes the floor with a Fende I've been using and is not dissimilar to a much more expensive Breedlove I sold a few months ago. Anyhow, I thought I was done for gear. Turns out I was wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Andy If the Washburn is one of the Force ABT then I'd say Japanese build. My 3 were Japanese. Congratulations on a great day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 [quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1488414618' post='3248830'] Andy If the Washburn is one of the Force ABT then I'd say Japanese build. My 3 were Japanese. Congratulations on a great day. [/quote] Yeah after a bit more rummaging that seems to be the consensus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Andy - pics please! There's a lot of knowledge about vintage Washburns on the [url="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1066707010017715/"]Daion guitars[/url] FB group, largely because early MIJ Washies were made by the same factory (Yamaki Gakki) that built Daion, and many share common features. A fella called Michael Bechmann is pretty much the guru about this stuff - although I don't agree with [i]all[/i] of his info & conclusions! It's not terribly clear when MIJ production stopped and what factories were involved, beyond Yamaki and probably Chushin Gakki. I think the consenus now is that Matsumoku never built Washburn. Stuff like serial number & components might help establish a country of origin. I'd be wary about general internet speculation - people seem to really want their old 80s instruments to be MIJ, even when they're demonstrably not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Andy sent me a few pics that I'm sure he won't mind me sharing: [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Washburn%20Force%20ABT/image1_zpsjjpin0k2.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Washburn%20Force%20ABT/image2_zpsvbpn72uy.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Washburn%20Force%20ABT/image5_zpsiw9q4squ.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Washburn%20Force%20ABT/image3_zps8njsnrnc.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/LanterneRouge/media/Washburn%20Force%20ABT/image4_zpsy9nnzbdc.jpg.html"][/url] Nice looking thing, that. Still unsure whether it's MIJ or not though. It has the same massive bridge as my MIJ SB40 (except mine doesn't have the logo) and these were definitely MIJ - made in-house by Chushin Gakki. Serial number looks like 7010221, and if it's dateable would likely suggest 1987 - plus the logo style would fit with that. Looks like Grover tuners. If it is MIK then I'd guess it was one of the first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Blimey. I love the colour, not so keen on the headstock though - you could do someone harm with that, I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Alyctes You're dead right about the headstock. My B-10 got rounded off. The B-20 is still razor sharp though It has a strange notch on the body,bugged me for years till I got all NCSI on it. 6" cooks knife's blade fits the notch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) I had a Washburn guitar that looked kinda PRSish but had that same weird pointy headstock on it. What were their designers thinking of. The headstock got broken off though when it fell over so be careful. Edited March 6, 2017 by Grahambythesea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Just been talking about these with another BCer - we're in agreement that they're seriously overlooked. Plans afoot to buy them all up while they're flying under the RADAR and sell them on when people realise how good they are. There's one on eBay currently for under £100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Gave up trying to sell mine. The de-fretted B-10 took awhile even at a mega bargain price but the B-20 in red crackle finish never got 1 bit of interest. Even at less than £100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 B20 you say? If I had seen that for sale I may not have built this from two.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 @BreadBin I had 3. Sold the de-fret B-10, gave the 5 string B-105 to a kid in Ghana. The B-20 has same finish as that LH body,actually had 2 of those. 1st was a white one bought from Machinehead Music in Harlow 87/88. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 This is my third - I bought a B10 with a busted neck and the lefty B20 with a right handed B20 neck fitted (still has the original model  sticker on the back). It has the B10 body and preamp, B20 neck, pickups and hardware. The body was bashed about a bit so I sanded the whole thing to a matt finish except the ABT logo, with a touch of relic-ing to smooth out the dents. My first was a white B10, picked it up in the early nineties. I defretted it but lost it after losing contact with a guy who had it in his workshop. Second was another B10, this had been taken back to bare plywood and played lovely. I had a declutter and put it on eBay where it fetched the grand sum of £26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 24, 2018 Author Share Posted February 24, 2018 The blue one is long gone. As is the Sigma. Just another pair in a long line - I should add that they went to fund the return of a very special bass so I don’t mourn their loss. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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