Washburn AB-20 Fretless

According to the serial number, this model was made in 1992.

Four string, fretless, Equis II pre-amp, XLR* & 1/4" outs, bridge pick-up, usual sun-burst laquer finish... in short, it's all factory.

*The XLR wasn't wired to be a balanced out, so don't get too excited.

I bought it to have a gentle sounding acoustic to play at "guitar pulls" in Nashville. Since then, I found out it also has superb sounds from the bridge pick-up. It's great for jamming with friends or recording songs.

It will give me everything from gentle background sounds to deep popping stabs to a unique distortion... all using the Equis II pre-amp controls. It just sounds GREAT!

This puppy had been played a lot before I bought it, so I had to do some work on the neck; there was some wear on the top end, which was causing the strings to buzz on the lower end of the neck... but it's a 12 year old fretless so you have to expect that. Now that I straightened that out, everybody who picks it up loves playing it.

I think they could have spent more time on it at the factory, but the overall quality is tolerable.

This guitar can last a long time, but you're not going to play rough with it; the body is fairly thin wood, and the finish is a little too thick.

The big weakness is the plastic 1/4" jack. It is a tip-ring-sleeve design, and closes the circuit for the battery powered pre-amp... until it quits working the way it's supposed to work... then you can't find "factory parts" for it.

I wrote to Washburn and told them about the problem that I was having with the 1/4" jack. They told me that parts are not available, but they would gladly send some schematics. They were the WORST schematics I have ever seen. The polarity wasn't even marked on some of the items. (I took it to a friend who builds his own pre-amps, and he wasn't sure what was positive/negative, either.)

Now I understand why it was abandoned at a pawn shop: the jacks are bad, the wiring diagram is bad, and the support is bad.

I would give them a "1" but they at least responded to my email.

I really love this bass; it felt right the day that I picked it up and held it for the first time, and I can't imagine ever selling it.

However, I'm disappointed in Washburn. They added an XLR out, but didn't wire it to be balanced, and didn't wire it to the Equis II.

They designed a great guitar, then cut corners when they built it.

By the way, I'm pulling the wires and jacks, then putting it back together the way Washburn should have, thank you.

I bought this Bass used and was told it is about 10 yrs old. This bass is so awesome I had to write about it. I have no idea what country it was made in but it is very well made. This bass has the best playability of any bass I have owned.The tuners are great too. Very easy to get tuned and they stay where you put them. Overall this is a bass to be desired.

The dude I bought it from had the action lowered way down. He played Jazz and needed to play the neck from top to bottom quickly. The only reason he sold it was he upgraded to another Washburn. I raised the action back to nearly normal because I play Bluegrass with it. The neck was nearly straight so the truss rod was adjusted to give it a slight bow.

great tobacco sunburst finish on the top, sides and back are nearly natural.

As far as most basses go the neck is fairly slender but still plenty of room to get around. The bridge is bone and the tailpiece is what looks like ebony.By adjusting the active eq/preamp I can make it sound just like an upright. In a large jam session it does need a little amplification. With a small group it holds it's own while maintaining a high quality sound. I would trust using it live without a backup bass.

I've been playing the bass since I was 13 and am now 42.
I love the preamp/eq. '
The only thing I don;t like about this bass is where the cable plugs in. It is next to the strap button on the bottom so it has to be unplugged to set it down.

Washburn AB-20 Fretless bass. This bass was made in 1991. One of the last years for this model.comes with haed shell case. Equas gold pieso pickup. this pickup is active requires batteries.

These basses are great for blues, jazz , or country the fretless model is even more responsive than fretted model. rich ful sound for bass in this price range. There is a good range of sound from this bass. pickup is somewhat limited. For live playing D.I. will give even greater sound

Bass is setup well and is easy to play when playing live make sure you have an amp with at least 300 watts. let amp do the work. pickup sounds better if not overloaded.

Bass is well made and quite durabile. good for any situation you are looking for fretless vib.

Washburn does not make this model any more, do not know about customer support .

If you want uprite vib, or never played fretless this is a good place to start. also great for pratacing.If you have a chance to pick one up go for it. P.S. AB-40 are even better?