Washburn T-25 Taurus

Ottimo basso,specialmente per chi acquista il suo primo 5 corde.Le corde originali sono veramente di basso costo e bassissima qualita'.
Ottime le cromature del ponte e delle chiavette...piuttosto scarsi direi i fret,che risultano alti.Qualita' dei legni eccellente e il fatto che sia un neck thru da' una sonorita' molto piu' corposa allo strumento. Tutto sommato uno tra i migliori bassi a basso costo attualmente in commercio.

Suono equlibrato con buona varieta'...le migliori regolazioni le ho trovate tenendo a un quarto i controlli di volume e tono del pickup al manico....invece con tutti i pomelli al massimo tende a essere un po' troppo secco e pieno di frequenze alte.

Altezza corde migliorabile,come pure migliorabile e' la regolazione del truss rod...essendo un neck thru mi sarei aspettato una maggiore rigidezza del manico e una migliore regolazione della curvatura...ma credo che i legni non siano stagionati a dovere e risentono un po' troppo delle mutazioni climatiche.
Fornito di custodia morbida originale Washburn

Ottimo per chi si avvicina per la prima volta a un 5 corde....si puo' acquistare un buon strumento spendendo davvero poco.

This bass was a great introduction to 5 string bass for me. It was made in Vietnam and I bought it new through eBay and even with international carriage to the UK, it was cheap! The fret board gives a full two octaves, the neck was 35 inches and construction was neck through body a la Rickenbacker. 2 pickups and various rotary controls (not very well chromed - please see 'Reliability'. The controls are 2 volume & 2 tone. I found maxing everything, then backing off the tone on the bridge pickup about a quater turn gave a pretty decent sound. Grover tuners and Bartolini Mark 1 Soapbar pickups. The body was stained natural finish and it looked pretty good. Not too heavy either. No gigbag but I bought an optional non-Washburn hardcase at the same time.

Sound was OK for home use. Came new with Da Vinci strings which I hated and replaced immediately. I played some traditional rock with a mate for some years with this and used a Torque T2001 200 watt combo (which I still own). It gave a variety of tones but for me, was right for the rock we were plating. I joined a band and went live on stage with this and the pickups just weren't up to the job. When I upgraded my amp to a Hartke HA3500 with GK cabs, the sound became fuzzy and charcterless. It wasn't until I bought a 4 string Japanese Fender Jazz that I realised why the other guys had been leaning on me to change the bass. I now play a USA Jazz 5 string. It's cheap electronics & pickups that let it down as a working bass. The Bartolinis just weren't good enough.

Came brand new and apart from some minor tweaking, was pretty much sorted out of the box. Frets are finished well, neck true, action nice and just a tad higher than low causing no nasty buzz or flat spots. The nut is REALLY sharp though and I can't tell you how many times I caught my finger on it and told myself off for not sanding it smooth. Tuners are Grover and were super. I used D'Addario EXL170's, by the way, and the low B had a problem fitting through the bridge. Got all caught up in the string binding but went through eventually. The bridge was a nasty looking alloy thing - kinda looked like chromed plastic, but apart from the string thing, gave no problems.

The finish on the bass was excellent. I made a very shiny patch on the body by the neck pickup as thats where I rest my right thumb, but the finish stayed good. Tuners were impeccable but one of the volume knobs went passed it's stop mark (and if you were brutal, would probably have kept twisting til it snapped inside. I'm careful so it didn't. It was also like the bridge - cheap chromed plastic. Also, the jack socket sometimes cut out, which made me uncomfortable about playing it live. It only happned maybe 4 times, but that was enough and this is ultimately why I now don't own the bass, along with the fact that my Fender just sounds brighter and more positive. Never had any neck issues at all.

Never contacted. I bought the bass from the US and live in the UK, so I always thought I'd be on my own with it.

Been playing almost 30 years, on and off, but have been playing solidly now for almost 8 years and gigging up to 50 times a year. I currently use a 5 string USA Fender Jazz with the Jap 4 string as a backup, though it is now, sadly, rarely played. I use a Marshall VBA400 and VBC412 as backline. I haven't mentioned, but I bought the 4 string T24 as well shortly after buyng the T25 as I liked it so much, and I still own this as my backup backup and it is now never played, but I'll not part with it as for all their small faults, I actually like the play & feel of these guys. I just adore the extra inch of scale, the feel and the look. Just gotta love the neck thru construction. Probably wouldn't replace the 4 string if it went west and deffo wouldn't get another 5, but as a cheap bass to cut my teeth on for learning 5 string, I would recommend the Washburn if you were on a tight budget. If you could afford an extra few hundred quid (or dollars or rubbles etc) go for quality everytime. You get what you pay for.

beutifuly crafted through neck with lighter peices of wood where it is laminated, decent pickups not a well known make but pack quite a punch

it has a warm but cruchy sound sounds awesome through my swr henry the 8 x 8 cab and swr head

pots come loose quite often but apart from that a good bass

only let me down once when the pots broke but it took me half hour to rewire it

N/A never delt with customer services

overall i am pleased with this bass it looks as good as it sounds

2003, Vietnam made, fairly thin 24 fret neck, 34" scale, slab-esque mahogany body with multi-laminate maple and ??? neck (neck through) with thick, clear satin finish, rosewood fretboard with offset-to-top dots, 2 volume/2 tone, 2 J-style passive pickups, standard stock bridge and tuners, kinda Andy Warhol-ed Warwick looking body, and no other accessories.

Only point deduction is the slab-like body instead of contours.

I play progressive metal in one band and classic hard rock covers in another, and this thing works well for both, although it's better for the cover band. The prog-metal band tunes to C, so I'd tune up for it, and the cover band's tuned to E flat, so I'd tune down there, and it suits that better. Got an aggressive J-bass sound through an Ampeg BA-115 combo, and various effects and such. It's pretty clean sounding, and works good for stage and studio use. I don't do much past straight rockin' out, so can't really say if this thing's good for pop 'n' slap or anything, but I'm sure it would.

I can't leave well enough alone, as far as modding to fit my personal tastes, and I added a master volume to go with the original 2V/2T it already had, and the previous owner had an odd replacement for an output jack, so I installed one more correct for this bass.

More of my personal taste mods here. Replaced the bridge with one with narrower string spacing, and also a bone nut with the string slots cut where I wanted them, narrower of course. I have small, non-bass player hands, so wide string spacing doesn't work well for me. Also had the sharper edges on both sides of the fretboard, so I shaved it down just a little. Nice and rounded smooth edges now. Added Schaller strap locks.

Ok, the only real problem I have with this thing: It has a lot of neck flex, which makes it practically impossible to lower the action really low where I like it. If I do drop it real low, then any pullback I do on the neck while playing makes the neck bend back and fret out big time. Truss rod seems to work fine, as I still can adjust it ok, so I don't understand what the deal is. I've had to try and find a happy medium with the action and the neck flex, but it's still a lot higher than I like. Judging by other reviews, I got the only one that does that. Too bad, 'cause otherwise it's a killer bass for what I paid for it.

The neck flex is a live playing issue for sure, especially since I don't like to impersonate a statue on stage. It definitely won't be the only bass I bring to gigs, if it even goes to any. Otherwise, everything else about it seems like it'll survive lots of live playing.

Never dealt with Washburn, but I think I need to inquire about this neck issue.

I'm kind of a schizo with what I want to play, even which instrument. Drums are really my main axe, but I've been a bassist in more bands lately. Been playing drums and guitar for about 20 years and bass about 15 or so. For basses (all 4 string unless noted) I own a Tobias Toby Pro 6 string (main axe for prog-metal band), an old Charvel Model 2B, a B.C. Rich ST bass, a B.C. Rich Mockingbird, a B.C. Rich Beast modified fretless, and a bastard mutt 5 string bass, and several guitars and drums. Guess I wish I knew about the neck flex problem ahead of time. If it disappeared I'd be happy to find another one as log as it doesn't have the same neck problem. As mentioned before, it would have been nice to have body contours, but eh, whatever.

5 string neck thru passive.

Sounds great for an inexpensive low end bass. Nice neck through sustain.

I submitted a review last year. Here's a long-term update. I like this bass but I encountered some longer-term quality issues. After about 6 months the stain started to discolor. It started turning a pale color on the bottom. So I applied a water based dark walnut colored stain from Minwax and then added about 6 coats of tung oil and replaced the bridge with a chrome brass hipshot bridge. This improved the punch and sustain a bit. My Taurus bass now looks custom and sounds great. I sanded out the Washburn name on the headstock and it is just dark Walnut now. I emailed Washburn Technical support to find out how to remove the pickups. They don???t come loose when you remove the screws and are not accessible when you remove the backing plate. Washburn never emailed me back so I just covered them carefully with tape when I stained it. I???d like to replace the pickups with something high-end like Bartolinis but can???t get the old ones out. If you want a cheap passive bass for practice and/or as a back-up this isn???t bad. However, I would compare this with something else like a Peavey Grind. Maybe Peavey has better quality. I also had a Washburn Force 5 and had problems with that bass too. The active electronics crackled like crazy whenever I adjusted the bass or treble. Now I have to admit this Taurus 5 bass sounds great for an el cheapo. It makes a good fixer upper if you want a do it yourself neck-through ???platform??? for adding a new bridge, pickups, and applying a custom finish yourself.

No opinion

Washburn Support never replied to my email.

I've been playing 12 years. I own Fender, Warwick and Carvin basses. If it were stolen I would not replace it with another Washburn.

This is a one-piece solid bass (Mahogany?). An axe, I like the way if looks and the way it feels. Passive pickups, 5-string, an eye catcher indeed.

I do love this baby! It is MY bass. I plays through a Behringer BX600, it sounds as wonderful as it looks, can be punchy and fat as you want. Just some problems with the noise in some electrical noisy stages, I'm planning to shield it to avoid it. An easy workaround is to put an effect in bypass.

I had to sent it back to the store and get it replaced as one of the higher frets was too high and it skipped a note. Once received the new one it needed no adjust and was ready to play, no flaws to date, maybe a little hard, but I like that.

Looks very reliable. I have had it for a couple of years and does not show any wear.

The store replaced the first faulty bass it with no questions, but I think that is the store as I had a poor experience with Washburn in the past.

This is my first bass, just tried a few and decided for this one. I definitively love this bass. Great value for the money.

2004 I believe, maybe Taiwan or Malaysia(I was told so Ml, but I don't really care) 24fr. neck-thru, s/s, 2tone/2vol controls, Grover Tuners, etc. For it's price it rocks, even outsounds some pricyier basses.

I play misc. stiles, from prog and funk to rock/metal, suits all of them. I use it with a 100-watt solid-state combo with a 15" speaker, or a 120watt Behringer - on both without anything in front; on the first one it sounds pretty fat, on the second it sounds more brigh than fat, but it doesn't get run over by the other instruments. Very good sustain. Pretty variable for me - I use just a couple types of sounds.

It does make some noise when I use only one of the two coils, but it doesn't irritate me too much.

Nice acion. When I got it in it's factury settings it was fine, but I lowered the strings a little bit and it plays even better now. I haven't touched the pickups - they were fine.
The only flaw that occuted is that sometimes the hexagonal bolts, that lower the strings get loose and need a touch of the screwdriver, but I play pretty agressive, despite the fact that I play only fingerstyle. Otherwise great.

It withstands live playing. Proven. The only backup that I use are backup set of strings.
The hardware looks pretty solid, except the bolt thing no other flaws. I've replaced the strap holders with strap-locks, to keep it wothout bumps and scratches, but they were fine before.
No adjustments on the thuss rod made yet. No need for them.

N/A - had no dealings yet, which might be a good thing...

I've been playng guitar for almost 6 years, bass for about 3, this is my first bass of my own. It's been in my hands for over 2 years.
Recently I started to play in clubs, and it holds out great. Just plyg and play
Great bang for the buck. If stolen or lost, I would buy it again(problem is that according to the sellers it's the only one in Bulgaria for now, and it's hard to import new ones :D )
I compared it to other new 4- and 5- string OLPs and Squiers for almost the same price, but this Washburn washed them away. I love the fact that it plays easy, sounds good and it looks and feels a lot more expensive.
i wish it had better noise isolation, but this can be fixed.
Great instrument! With good FX and head/speaker or combo it can rock the hell out of any gig.

Never dealt with them

Fellow bassists, I am now the happy owner of a Taurus 5 but it took some time to get here. Six months ago I purchased a Washburn Force 5 with active EQ. I ended up trading it in for the "cheaper" Taurus 5 with passive EQ. The Force 5 does have Active EQ. However, the tone controls are noisy and crackle like fireworks on the 4th of July. Then there's the battery in the active EQ which dies frequently and without warning. I could never play it with confidence at gigs. Don't be fooled by price. The cheaper Taurus is a better value than the Force 5. Both basses have excellent action and are comfortable to play. However, the Taurus has superior tone and you don't have to worry about the issues associated with the Force 5's active EQ. I paid $660 for that Force 5 and $360 for the Taurus 5. In my case, paying more didn't translate into getting more.

I bought this bass from a US supplier thriugh eBay for about $300. In the UK, these basses are closer to $500. I also had a hardcase included at $79. The bass is manufactured in Vietnam, but don't let this put you off, as it is remarkable. Body is a satin 'natural' finish, neck is true and has a 35 inch scale. Intonation is as good as my Rickenbacker 4001. 4 knobs control tone and volume for the 2 ABT (Advanced Bass Technology) Jazz style pickups (which are passive). Neck is through body, neck is fairly thin for a 5 string and it sounds superb! Great range from the pickups, which I blast through a Carlsbro Reactor 400 bass rig. Tuners are quality Grovers. Came with Da Vinci strings, which were awful. Replaced with D'Addario EXL160's and it has made all the difference.

Oh man, this bass, considering it is a cheap end job, gives a phat sound indeed. I used to have a 4 string US Fender and have now sold this in preference to the Washburn. It just sounds excellent and can be used for all manner of bass work, from the metal, through funk to the more peaceful songs. Initially intended just to get to grips with a 5 string, but I have been seduced by its sound and playability.

Action is fairly low and was set at the factory. The nut is blooming sharp at the edges and will have to be sanded down when I get a chance. Pickups sounded just sweet and it was a case of plug & play from the box. I note a slight blemishin the laquer of the boody, just neckwards of the neck pickup. Overall, it feels a quality bass and is lighter than my old P Bass. The B string has a job getting through the bridge and was very tight, but all components work perfectly.

I ahve used solidly now for 6 months and am confident with a 5 string now. My intention was to replace with a better quality 5 string in the future but this won't be happening for a while. I replaced the bottom strap button with a Dunlop Straplock, as the strap kept coming off the button and I would state I totally rely on this bass not to let me down in a gig, though I always have a backup bass. The finish is very nice and shows no signs of wear, even though it's been used daily for 6 months. Nice bass to play.

No dealings.

Having been playing for 20 years, I never thought I would get on as well as I have with a cheap end bass, but this is a remarkable product. I have no idea how something so nice looking and playable can only cost $300. If stolen or lost, I would seriously consider another one. 1 flaw is it is slightly neck heavy, but this is picking fault. On the whole, I love it. It blows the P Bass away in its wake, though doesn't sound quite as raw as my Rick. I suppose it could be active, but then it wouldn't cost the same. For the price, I highly recommend this bass.

I got this off of ebay for $250 with no case. I'll be buying a case for about $90 off of music123.com pretty soon. Once I buy a bass I play it for a while, and when it doesn't seem right I sell it, but this one I haven't thought about selling, for $250 it is great. The body seems sort of like a warwick streamer or fortress. The Strings seem smaller than normal strings, which is good if you want to do alot of chords on bass.

I play this with a fender bxr head, with 2 2x10 electro voice cabs and it sounds good. I also have a 10" Swr amp I use and it sounds with that as well. I like how you can adjust the tone and volume individually for each pickup almost like a gibson guitar setup. I usually make one pickup muddy and the other clear to get a good sound. If both pickups are set to the bright tone it would be way to ringy. I definatly like the sound though. great for slapping, I don't think you could find a better guitar for slapping in this price range.

this bass has one sort of mark where it was filled in with puddy or polyurethane glue, but that doesn't matter I really like it. The action is great, the neck is wonderful, no dead spots, very consistant sound.

this bass would be great for live or studio, interesting finish. I would have no problem using it on a gig without a backup.

I also have a Dillion maple 5 string stingray copy, a walnut warmoth body/ might mite neck jazz bass, and an epiphone 5 string el capitan fretless. I think if this was stolen or lost I would want to get another one. I really like the design.