Washburn XB-100QTS

I recently reviewed a purple Washburn XB-100 with maple neck from around 2001, which I have owned for several years. I liked it so much that I ordered a new XB-100Q. This review is to compare the two basses.

The old XB-100 has a 24-fret neck that is narrower than a jazz bass. The new XB has a 20-fret neck that is much wider ? almost exactly the width and string spacing of the 1957 precision bass. Both necks have a shallow C-profile. Both are straight and fret well, and the fret ends are well dressed.

With four frets removed from the neck on the new bass, it sits deeper in the body and gives the bass a shorter, less ?necky? feel ? quite comfortable.

The W100 P-style split pickup has changed from enclosed plastic to an exposed pole piece design that looks exactly like a Fender P-bass pickup. The 2001 pickup in the purple bass has 11K ohms impedance, the same as a stock Fender pickup. The 2004 pickup meters at 12.5K ohms, i.e., a little hotter, a little duller. However, the new pickup is still plenty bright and has the same P-like thick bottom.

On both basses, something good happens tone-wise with the tone pot rolled off around half way.

On to the ?quilted maple? finish: it is described on the Washburn site as a quilted maple film top. What this means is, there is no actual maple on the mahogany body. There is instead a ?photo finish? ? some kind of thin mylar or plastic film printed with a color image of quilted maple. It?s not a photograph, mind you, but a 2-color image made up of a yellow background and tiny black marks that create a very convincing quilted maple effect once you are a few inches away. It?s not completely convincing, as the quilt patterns do not ?shimmer? and show depth when you move the body in the light. But it fools the eye with its fixed 3D grain texture. It's an illusion, but it's pretty cool.

You know the super-realistic finishes being used on fishing plugs these days, where every gill and scale and color of a real fish is applied? I believe Washburn is using this advanced bass plug technology.

Now, a warning if you order one of these basses. I ordered an XB-100Q, which is depicted all over the web with a yellow quilt center and a black sunburst edge. It looks beautiful. But somehow Washburn drop shipped me an XB-100?QTS?. Perhaps I confused the guy at Custom Shop Guitars by saying, "?...yes, the tobacco sunburst??, assuming that was the black and yellow finish. It is NOT. The bass I received, the ?QTS?, has the yellow center and a transparent brown, sort-of orange-ish root beer colored edge. At first I was cheesed ? I was looking forward to a bass like I saw in the web pictures. But I decided to keep the brown-edged bass rather than start bucking the cost and delay of returning it. It?s exotic looking, a bit reminiscent of the Nathan East Yamaha basses. It looks a little like leopard skin ? a bit loud, a bit hokey, and I decided good for blues and R&B work. Nowhere on the web have I found a picture of this finish. I still wish I?d gotten the black and yellow. If you order one of these basses, make it clear what edge color you want.

All that said, the top coat, surely polyurethane, is thin, clear and well-applied, and the finish looks hard and durable.

These basses are made in China. I assume they are built with close tolerance CNC milling technology and the latest finishing and assembly methods. The result is a very well made bass.

Like the 2001 model, the 2004 XB-100 plays well and sounds good. I am glad to have a second one.