Washburn Status S1000 renovation

[DGBass]

I occasionally dable in setups and small repairs for fellow bassists and can usually get a non working bass back into a playable state. One of my regular customers gave me something quite unusual today, a Washburn S1000 Status headless bass. It had been stored for a few years by the previous owner and on inspection had a serious back bow on the neck. Headless technology is something I've never really had any experience with and this bass is not quite the usual fender style bolt on type that I am used to working with. The fretting looks quite odd as well as the 6th to 10th frets seem to be much lower and wider than the rest. I thought at first it was graduated fretting like a vintage overwater bass but I'm wondering if it has been previously filed down because of a neck issue to stop fret rattle?
For now, I've released a large amount of neck tension by backing off the truss rod( a lot) and the bass is now reasonably playable and sounds really nice. The electronics at least sound in excellent condition.
However the neck seems to be on the move since its last adjustment and it looks like there is a mild twist towards the headless bit. I've googled around and it seems that the composite fingerboards can be troublesome with the wooden necks and need a bit of care if you are storing them for any length of time. Just wondering if any Bass Chatters have had any experience with setting up these basses and any recommendations for adjustments? For info, the owner will be looking to use a very light gauge set ( maybe 35-90). The current strings are 45-105's. The rest of the bass seems to be in good order.

[kevham]

I have one of these (a left handed one). It has a through neck and a fingerboard which is synthetic (Phenolic). I had a close look at mine and all the frets are the same - I suspect that your example has been molested, maybe because of the fret buzz?
My bass suffered some damage whilst in storage for many years but is quite playable now after a very mild tweek on the truss rod. I use heavier strings on it (I think 105s).
I note you are in Scotland - I am too - I would be happy to meet up and compare if you need to? PM me.

Edited August 29, 2017 by kevham

[DGBass]

Hi Kevham, apologies for the late reply, I've been a bit busy for BC recently. After a bit of tweaking over a few days the neck sort of straightened itself out and the bass settled down. I think you are right, the fretting looks like it has been molested/dressed at some point but with the neck stable it seems to work ok. I set the action and decided to keep a standard 45-105 string set. My client was very happy with the work done. The bridge was a bit fiddly to adjust but I got there in the end. The status in question was a right-handed one in that sort of dark emerald green colour; very fetching. Your lefty one sounds interesting. The downside is I now have some GAS for a Status type bass. As a fellow lefty would be good to see one in the flesh before I get carried away with the chequebook.

[prowla]

I used to have a Washburn Status, but its neck always felt a bit chunky to me, in all honesty.