Washburn Bantam Headless Bass

2 pickups. 3 knobs. Gig bag

Sounds good.

No adjustments in 20 years. Yes 20 years.

Used it without a back up in 1987. Also no back up strings. (That show didn't work out well. Second band showed up and I borrowed a bass. Changing strings was a pain. Also if you clip the strings, it's impossible to change just one string. Need to do the whole set.

Bought this all-black bass in Basses Northwest in Seattle, in 2000 AD. I forget the price. The owner must have been a church dude cos there were some lyrics for a praise number in the soft case.

It has two soapbar style active pickups, and was configured to support both the Steinberger double ball strings and normal strings, which you slot in at the bridge, and through thread holes at the stock. I recently tried restringing the bass with cut strings and while the D, A and E strings slot fine, the locking mechanism isn't tight enough to hold the G string in place and it slipped. Because of this I'm using Steinberger double ball strings which work just fine, though, but plan to experiment with some other kinds of strings to see if the locking works.

Tuning is via knobs at the back of the very sturdy bridge, and the locking system has tended to stay in tune beautifully once in place. The rosewood fretboard and frets are in good working order and have, like some of the other posters here have said, taken a lot of abuse over the years I've been playing it.

Access to the single 9V battery is through a beat up panel at the back. The bass has been through some mods over the years, and the wiring is a total mess inside.

Tone is very sweet. Two tone pots on either side of a volume knob let me dial up a good combination of tones, from slap to rock to bassy jazz. I play in a power rock/funk trio; and also have used it for recording. I'd say it has what it takes to cut through a funk guitar with wah, and drums played heavy; it also outperformed a Fender Jazz in studio, sending a very strong, crisp tone to the desk that subsequently laid down the bottom line for an EP I did of about 10 songs.

About the ONLY weakness I can find with its sound is the E, which tends to sound a bit dull and thuddy, but lowering the saddle improved this noticeably, although its still not quite there.

Dings, cuts, bashes, the works... all over this bass. The soapbars are held in place by g**tar pickup holders, one's white and cracked, so I've had to tape it in place, one's black... u get the picture... a real modded beast! But it gets a lot of laughs.

Set up straight out of Basses NW was EXCELLENT. I didn't touch it until last night in fact (hence this review) and I've been playing it coming to three years now (mind u it was bought used).

This bass has taken me through recordings, sweaty studio jam sessions, and entered with me into a Yamaha Asian Band Search competition. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Finish is as good as it gets, and what's left on it has not really worn off when seeing action. Strap buttons hold good, and since it doesn't need much adjustment or retuning, I use it either as a main axe or as a backup, depending on the situation. Oh yeah, one total plus. If you live in a crowded city like I do, and have to commute to work on crowded buses with people who are really really ancy about living in a crowded city and having to take crowded buses to work then you'll LOVE this baby cos she is so slim and compact. Note to air travellers, she fits in a standard aircraft overhead bin with room to spare. (Flew her home from Seattle on United... heheh...)

Never dealt with Washburn

I chose this for portability (see above), but got good tone and a recording bass in the bargain. Excellent deal in my opinion.

Love: it's portability, the fact that it never goes out of tune.
Hate: small problem with the stringing system; the dull "E".

Headless, Steinburger-copy bass with 2 humbucking pickups. Fine tuning bridge and fully adjustable saddles on the bridge. Rosewood fingerboard and thin neck. I bought this bass used in 1986. It came with a padded gig bag, but I had a custom flight case made for it.

I play all kinds of rock and roll, and this bass sounds great, but can get a little thin at high volumes if I'm not playing through a very good amp. Usually use it with an Ampeg head and cabinet. It has a great variety of sounds. I does lack a little of the fullness and warmth that you'd find in a Fender, for example, because of the small body.

The bass was dead-on perfect when I got it, and still sounds great after 14 years and a LOT of abuse. Just about everything on this bass is adjustable.

I have abused, and I mean ABUSED this bass since 1986. It's been through hell, and I have only had to do a little work on the electronics within the last year or so. This bass is rock solid. The body has dings, scratches and dents, but the hardware is still 100%.

Bought it used, so I've never contacted Washburn.

When I bought this bass, I had just started playing. I think I was a little duped by the salesman--I didn't need anywhere near this quality of a bass when I started. It's been a great bass, but it has that stuck-in-the-80s look to it, and occasionally I switch to one of my other basses when I need a fuller or darker tone. My other basses are Fenders, and while they aren't as easy to play, they do sound fuller. The Washburn is a great bass, though, and stays in tune better than any instrument I have ever seen in my life. If it was stolen I'd be heartbroken because of the sentimental value.

I bought this bass second hand in Chennai, Indiain 1998 off another bassist who had it for about 8 years before - so that should make it at least 10-12 years old. Came with the original soft case and allen key set.
Its a four string, 22 jumbo fret, shaped like the stienberger.
2 washburn passive bass soapbars, 2 volume and one tone control.
Full black, headless withlocking allen key bolts on the head and the slide-system tuners at the bridge.
Rosewood fret board, thin neck.
I'm so caught up in the sound and performance of this guitar, I've been searching for a double - maybe fretless or five string.
I just love the compacticity and balance of it. Won't trade it for any other.

It's just right for my music - which is a mix of Indian folk rhythms, progressive rock and a touch of jazz - no particular category - this is a four piece band - lead, bass, drums, Indian percussion and vocals ( english). Check out thermalandaquarter.com - that's the band in Bangalore, India.
I use it with mostly hired out rigs on stage - best so far with a gallean- kruger 400w, a trace elliot 400w and couple of Marshalls.
I use a mix of both pickups to achiev the tone I want, cutting out the neck pick up to get a nasal lead sound on solos.
Get some good slap out of it as well.
Unbeatable compact.

the action inspite of our varied weather conditions is still great.
had a bit of problem with the earthing which comes and goes with the weather! The locking cable socket was replaced by the previous owner.
It's taken quite a beating but just keeps kicking.

great for live gigs. hardware has stood the rigours of the last 10years of contiuous use.
I have been using it for the past 3.5 years witout a back up on stage!!

No idea. have sent in queries to washburn without any reply.
haven't seen the guitar in any catlogue or site.
Would be very glad if I could get more info on it from anyone.

I am on the look out for the exact same bass or if possible a fretless or five string version. Could have active pickups.
would most certainly buy the same again if one were made available.