Washburn XB-200 Bass

I'm not going to list all the specs: that'll be a little redundant. The best feature of this guitar has to be the p/j pickup setup. It allows for a large sound range (more on that later). The strings on this bass are closer together than any Fender under the sun, which made it hard to learn how to slap. But having the strings close together does make it easy to play fast and navigate the fretboard easily. It depends on what style of music you want. If you're a slapper, this bass isn't really for you.

This bass does lack nobs for low, mid, and high sounds, something that I would like to see on a bass. It means a lot of tweaking on the amp to get a good sound.

I got this bass used...keep that in mind.

Again, if you don't play a lot of slap or funk, this bass is fine for all other styles of music. The p/j pickups allow you to dial in a sound for the sound you're about to play. The p pickups get a nice warm sound, but you can always use the tone nob to add some edge. For a really edgy sound, I'd say almost distorted, you can use the j (bridge) pickup and turn the tone nob all the way up. There is a pickup blend nob on the guitar, so you can mix and match the sounds from the pickups.

The downside to the sound is that it sounds rather flat. There is very little expression to the sound in the bass. I don't know if that's because its old, or if it came that way. The lack of nobs for specific frequencies is part of the problem, I think. I would recommend this bass for live performance, because when you have speakers blaring, expression isn't as important as "thump." Use it live, but avoid long bass solos or using it in the studio.

Again, I got this bass used. As it was, I have had to do a lot of work on the action of the guitar, and it's still not where I would like it. The strings are high, and when you lower them, you get very loud and annoying fret buzz. The best way I can describe playing this bass is as "stiff." I feel like I fight the bass to play fast or complex lines. I have played nicer basses, and I know how easy it is to play something like a Warwick.

I've never had a problem with pickup height.

The hardware has stood the test of time, though the tuners are beginning to get loose. While that makes tuning a slightly longer process, it doesn't effect tuning when my strings are in tune.

This bass is solid. It's taken some beatings, but still works fine. I've used for a while without a backup. Hasn't failed me. I am yet to have a problem due to wear or tear.

I think the warranty expired something like 15 years ago...

This is a good starter bass. This is also a good backup guitar for a live performance. I just wish it played easier. There's only so much you can do with bridge and truss rod adjustments. If this one was lost, I might buy another Washburn, but one built up in Chicago.

I really got this guitar out of economic necessity, and it had done well for about 4 years with minimal work. It really is a tough guitar.

I've been using this bass for more than 5 years now. I find it is an advantage when u have 24 frets to play around with. I'm abt 1.76m tall and i set my strap rather low and I find the weight of the bass is just right for me.

I've changed the pickup to an active EMG PJ style. I find that the pick-up really boosted the sound up. I've used the bass to record several demos and it gives a bright punchy sound which made it easier for the sound engineer to eq. On stage, I used a zoom-506 for effects.

I've set the bass to a low action and I just love the playing both the low ends and the high ends. Nice finish.

When i bought it from a yamaha music store, it was on a special christmas promo and I got it for abt SG$300. That was abt 5 years ago. I'm now using a yamaha trb5 bass but I still use my xb-200 for jams and giggs that require me to jump around on stage. I've dropped it once during a gigg but it has not failed me yet.

never tried it

I will definitely hold on to the bass as it has a lot of memories. It is a good bass for beginners. I like the weight and body shape. I think it makes me look cool. But playing wise I'm getting more accustomed to a 5 sting bass and will probably sell it off soon.

I've only been playing for a year so...
year is 2000, made in indonesia, 24 fret, four string, volume, tone, treble, and high/low controls given, original pickups I'm not sure of the model number or configuration, thin neck, hard shell case included

I play with a pick so it suits me fine I play rock and punk, I'm using an old vaccum tube Traynor bass master, if the low is turned up it is noisy, the stings do buzz when I move to fast from fret to fret, I've only played live once and never recorded so I can't talk about which it is better for the sound is quite if I play finger style but with a pick it's as good as any other bass I've played (fender precision) I really like that the inlays on the fretboard are near the top so it really helped me to remeber my positioning

I don't wreck my shit but I do think that the finish is easly scratched the strap buttons work well enough for me I have no backup to use at a gig so I'd have to say that I'd have no backup

never used it

it helped me learn to play it's my first bass it'll always have a place by my side as long as it's in one piece and cheap to for it's looks and sound I think it's a great value for a beginer or for just fooling around with

This bass was fine for a while. But the more I played it with my friends, the more it started to irritate me. The sound just wasn't all that great and the problem seemed to be located in the general vicinity of the pickups. Their output was terrible. Tone-wise they sounded fine, but they just had no volume. I discovered very quickly that my other bass (which had after market DiMarzio pickups installed) sounded much better. I have recorded with it and it comes out great on a recording, but I was always having to adjust volume settings on the recorder and on the amp when switching from one guitar to the other.

The bass was not set up very well. I had to have all of the frets redone when I first got the bass. Many of the frets were raised from the fretboard and caused a lot of string buzz. After having them redone, I haven't had any problems. The action is fine and it plays smoothly. The finish on the bass was fine, however there were a few places in the clear coat that looked smudged, but they were on the back of the bass, so I wasn't too upset.

I go pretty easy on my gear, so I don't know how durable this bass is. It seems pretty light and frail to me, but I know looks can be deceiving. The bass is solid, and the strap buttons hold the strap nice and tight. I don't play live and I only use it for jam sessions with my friends and some recording, but it hasn't let me down in the year since I bought it.

Even though though the bass was under warranty, every time I tried to get the service center (which was also the place I bought the bass) to fix it, they kept telling me there was nothing wrong. Washburn will only let you take the bass to an authorized Washburn service center, and the nearest one to me was over three hours away. I gave up and paid a local luthier to fix the blasted fret problem.

I've been playing bass as a hobby for about 10 years, and this is the third bass I have purchased. Overall, I like the bass...especially after I fixed the frets and replaced the lousy pickups. It sounds fine and for a beginner or someone who plays as a hobby, it is great. If it broke or someone stole it, I doubt I would be another one like it. I would most likely save my money and by something better. If you are a bassist on a budget, and don't mind low output on the pickups...get this bass, otherwise, look elsewhere.

A surprise present from my wife, bought in Jan. 1998. Korean-made I think. Attractive dark green woodgrain and thin solid-body, dark brown standard fretboard with dot inlays, natural satin finish on headstock and neck -- don't know what woods are used in this bass. Standard chrome tuners, 4-string, P- and J-style pickups, long scale. Nice hardshell case included. 4 chrome volume/tone/balance knobs, standard Washburn bridge.

I play contemporary gospel and standard rock/pop/country through a Peavey Combo, no effects. A decent punchy sound, when matched with Dean Markley half-round lights. Not as distinctive sounding as my vintage Rickenbacker 4001 or semi-hollow Carvin AC40, but makes a good backup bass. With the case, comfortably small and light to carry around when traveling or when you don't have a lot of room in storage or on-stage.

Nice to look at, but only so-so fit and finish in some areas. Ripple at edge of body near front neck joint. Fretwires a bit too long, you can feel them when running your hand along then top of neck. Rough spots and small gouge along edge of headstock. However, the action is very playable and was set up well to start with. The highlight is the neck, with a nice flat shape and smooth satin natural finish in the back -- making it very fast and easy to play, especially if you have small hands. So my rating is very mixed: low for fit and finish, but high for playability.

Seems fairly solid and dependable overall, hardware seems OK as well. I'm easy on instruments anyway, so I can't really judge durability as well as other people. The standard strap buttons were OK, but I always upgrade that hardware anyway just to be safe. No neck adjustments needed so far, but I lowered the action from the bridge just a bit out of personal preference.

Haven't needed any customer support yet.

I didn't pick this bass out. I was kinda looking for a backup left-handed bass of some kind, then my wife found this in the local retail music store. I think she paid way too much and this wouldn't have been my first choice. That said, it is a very playable little instrument with good action and features to have as a backup or starter bass, especially for small hands. I wouldn't pay more that $300-350 myself, less if used. Maybe Washburn has nicer higher-end models that I haven't tried, but I am not too impressed with the overall fit & finish of this one. I wouldn't discourage you from getting an XB -- but if you see one you like, be sure to look over the fit and finish carefully. You should be happy with a sharp, well-finished sample.

I don't know the year (around '96 I guess). It's got a hardwood body (Not solid), 24 medium frets on a rosewood fretboard. Satin finished one-piece bolt on maple neck. Very comfortable feeling. Pickups are a P style Washburn 531 in the middle position, like a fender, and a J style Washburn 543 in the bridge. Both are passive. Controls are all passive. One volume for each pickup. One master tone. One balance knob with a notch to show you equal balance. Haven't checked the capacitor on the tone knob. It rolls off a bit too much high's. Standard tuners. Standard bridge.(Not string thru).

I play mostly funk style, with a lot of popping. I also play fingerstyle jazz and more aggressive rock with a pick. I use a Peavey TNT 1x15 amp with no effects (save a crybaby wha for solos). I keep the Lows and hi's fairly hi, and cut the low mids. This bass is great for popping, very punchy with the P pickup engaged. With both pickups on it's even punchier and "badass" sounding. However, the P pickup is louder than the J pickup, and, when balancing, the volume level isn't consistant. For example, if you had the J pickup on full and blended the P pickup on full, the output would dip. Therefore, It is diffucult to make on the fly changes. The neck pickup is bright sounding, but in a good way. For fingerstyle, I would use the J pickup with the tone opened up. The P gets too muddy. With a pick, it gets clearer. It could be my amp, because I played it thru a Hartke 4x10 and the sound cleared up fine. Excellent sustain. Intonation is dead on all the way to fret 24. Overall, it is a good sounding bass, although some active electronics could have helped a little.

The action was good when I got it. Very playable. The P pickup needs to be lowered to compensate for it's output. Everything was properly set up. The finish is very nice, except there is a small disconformity init, suggesting a 2 part body.

I dropped this thing on it's neck, and it was still in tune. It's built well. The hardware is nice, and should hold up well. It does go out of tune if you really whip the strings, but other than that, it's pretty solid. The strap button on the upper body bout came out once during practice. A little epoxy fixed that. It is dependable and the only reason I would use a backup is if I were to break a string (which hasn't happened yet.)

Had to get the jack fixed once because I dropped it and the plate broke. No trouble.

I have been doing this for about 5 years. Not long, but I know what works. I wish it had active electronics, but it sounds fine without them. If it were stolen I'd probably move up to a 5 sting or a Rickenbacker, now that I have more money. But for 300$ this bass is great. I think it sounds equal to any Fender guitars inthe 700$ price range. If you are buying a bass as a beginner, on a budget, need a solid backup, or are using smaller speakers, this is your bass.