Where are all those Washburn basses?

[adriansmith247]

Just saw an ad here for a Washburn bass and it made me wonder. Where have all those 90s Washburn basses gone? There seemed to hundreds of them around at the time. 

[TheGreek]

I had one (two actually, the nut on the first broke so the bass was replaced) - ABT Force B20 - more 80s than 90s. I thought it was a good bass - definite improvement on the Hohner B2 I sold to buy it.

[Cato]

I've still got my Washburn Status.

It was my 18th birthday present so it's not going anywhere, even though I only pick it up once in a blue moon.

 

[TheGreek]

Just came across this on eBay - need to watch for GAS again.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/90s-WASHBURN-FLAMED-MAPLE-TOP-BASS-active/124573531614?hash=item1d01293dde:g:4icAAOSw8xxcoAXS

[Reggaebass]

I’ve still got my Washburn force 4, it’s a great bass, extremely low action and a fairly flat fingerboard, and it rarely goes out of tune, I really should play it more, it’s got some punch especially on the bass control , I might have to have a play tomorrow now you’ve reminded me about it 🙂

[adriansmith247]

These Washburn basses are a lot better than I remember them being. I just remember Washburn making cheap basses but maybe I was wrong. The shop I used to frequent in the 90s was full of them

that one on eBay looks amazing for sure

[stewblack]

I may be selling an 80s one soon... 

[casapete]

Still got my Washburn AB20 Electro acoustic bass. One of the best available IMO at the time, (although to be fair there wasn’t that much competition). Had it over 25 years now, never adjusted the neck once. It’s done thousands of gigs with me in that time, and is one of the basses I hopefully will never need to sell. Also owned  a six string from the matching Woodstock range which I stupidly moved on. 

[Skybone]

I had an MB4 from new in the sparkle black finish, bought it in '93 IIRC, the first new bass I'd ever bought. Good to look at, good to play, shame it only sounded OK. It was significantly lighter than the Westone Thunder 1A I had, so it became the main bass. The guitarist in the band I was in at the time also had a Washburn Mercury guitar (bought from the same shop).

Haven't seen any of the 90's Washburns in a long time.

Must admit, I much preferred their 80's basses.

[4000]

14 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I had one (two actually, the nut on the first broke so the bass was replaced) - ABT Force B20 - more 80s than 90s. I thought it was a good bass - definite improvement on the Hohner B2 I sold to buy it.

I had a B20 like that but in a metallic burgundy finish. It sounded very good. However the neck had a slight twist, so I bought a new neck, which developed exactly the same issue once set up. I sold it soon after. 

[sykilz]

My only bass through the 90's was this one, an MB5. This has seen some serious hours of playing/gigging. Massive sound, very tight and focused too. It was active but years ago a problem occurred ( can't remember what!!) and it was repaired, badly as it turned out, so I stripped out all the electronics and wired it direct to the volume /jack so its passive now. Still sounds huge!!!!

The neck is sublime, if heavy, with very dark rosewood and super jumbo frets. The one bad thing is it neck dives, not so much of a problem when younger, but now....no. This bass means so much to me. I remember playing it in Monkey Business music Southend, 1992, went in to try another 5 string butbthe guy in the shop said, try one of these, they just come in, and this blew away the others I'd tried. Ahhh, memories..!!!

[Cato]

I think Washburn just lost their market position, at least in the UK.

Back in the 90s they were in direct competition with Ibanez and Jackson in the super strat rock and metal market and their bass product lines reflected that.

These days for whatever reason the only Washburn lines that you seem to see on sale in the UK are acoustics and archtop semi acoustic. electrics.

Bass wise they seem to be down to 3 models, 2 entry level precisions and a lower mid range Taurus reissue.

https://www.washburn.com/instrument-style/electric-bass/

Edited March 7, 2021 by Cato

[Bleat]

15 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Just came across this on eBay - need to watch for GAS again.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/90s-WASHBURN-FLAMED-MAPLE-TOP-BASS-active/124573531614?hash=item1d01293dde:g:4icAAOSw8xxcoAXS

That's a Washburn B-200. I fell in love the moment I saw it among all the other bland looking basses in the music shop. I think it was around 93/94.  It was in the same finish and was my first gigging bass. Loved it but can't remember what happened to it. 

I have always had a thing for Washburn's and owned a handful over the years including a Hammerhead, B-10, 2 x WB-66 Idol basses, and an acoustic AB-10. The older models gave a lot of bass for the money. 

 

edit: ...And 2 Scavengers!

Edited March 7, 2021 by Bleat

[Cato]

My Washburn Status that I've had from new.

Complete with 30 year old glow in the dark Batman stickers.

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Cato

[Reggaebass]

Just now, Cato said:

My Washburn Status that I've had from new.

Complete with 30 year old glow in the dark Batman stickers.

That’s really nice Cato, do you want to sell....the stickers 😁

[Cato]

7 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

That’s really nice Cato, do you want to sell....the stickers 😁

About 25 years ago I started thinking that maybe I was too grown up for such things, but I never got round to doing anything about them.

At this point it sort of feels like they're part of the instrument.

And I suspect if I tried to scrape them off I'd find that they actually are.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

19 hours ago, stewblack said:

I may be selling an 80s one soon... 

If it's a status , I may have to invest 😼

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

My Washburn is the same as Cato , but with a twist. 
Back in the mid '90s I got carried away at band rehearsals . I punched the body. This gave me a couple of years of grief. One repair after another via Denmark street. 
Then one day , graham Noden in Denmark street suggested taking the active circuitry out ( if the pickups were strong enough ). Job done.  Bass has always been my go to bass. Most bands I was in ( rock covers / blues) preferred the new sound . 
If I got another one as I'm no longer gigging , I'd keep those and offload the rest . If I eventually get one , I'd get it defretted....

[Reggaebass]

I’ve never had a headless bass , but Cato’s status has definitely got me looking 🙂

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

1 minute ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve never had a headless bass , but Cato’s status has definitely got me looking 🙂

It's the nuts ! 😼
so many people liked the look of it . They have some cool colours too . Shame not yellow though 😼

Edited March 7, 2021 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Apologies for another post , but I think there was a Washburn bass in the last decade that had a whammy bar ..

[AndyTravis]

I’ve owned 2 Washburn basses. One was my second or third bass, an unremarkable xb-100 which was very light.

The second was an SB-40EQ.

Now lives at a Washburn Museum in America.

[Muzz]

I had a Washburn Status a couple of years ago, I moved it on quick because it didn't suit me (but then no Statiii do), but my 80s one was a B20-8, which was enough to put anyone off... 😕

[Paul S]

I had a black Scavenger bass, if memory serves it was an '80.  Loved it to bits until I hurt my back and then the nearly 11lb weight become an issue.  It was 9/10 condition as we ll.  

[lemmywinks]

6 hours ago, sykilz said:

My only bass through the 90's was this one, an MB5. This has seen some serious hours of playing/gigging. Massive sound, very tight and focused too. It was active but years ago a problem occurred ( can't remember what!!) and it was repaired, badly as it turned out, so I stripped out all the electronics and wired it direct to the volume /jack so its passive now. Still sounds huge!!!!

The neck is sublime, if heavy, with very dark rosewood and super jumbo frets. The one bad thing is it neck dives, not so much of a problem when younger, but now....no. This bass means so much to me. I remember playing it in Monkey Business music Southend, 1992, went in to try another 5 string butbthe guy in the shop said, try one of these, they just come in, and this blew away the others I'd tried. Ahhh, memories..!!!

 

A pal of mine had one of those, in a fancy wine red finish. Weighed a ton and I hated the preamp but it was built to withstand some serious abuse. They were Samicks I think.