Washburn XB-400

1997 Korean model,4 strings,Alder body, maple neck ,rosewood fingerboard, 24 frets,Washburn w941 and w943 soapbar Pickups controlled trough 4 knobs:Volume,treble boos/cut,bass boost/cut,Blend/balance.Good standard bridge. It has active electronics and a very nice Natural wood color. Well balanced instrument with a very fast neck, providing very goog playability.

This bass suits my playing style very well, i play mostly, hard rock, blues and soul and it sounds very nice and warm. Due to it??s wood characteristics it has a very well balanced sound, not too dark or too bright, which makes this bass a very versatile instrument.
I use it trough a warwick profetIV and a 4X10 cabinet, and in the studio i use a Behringer BDI21 bass DI. In both situations i also use a Boss LMB-2 limiter, for better control. When I want to get a "Toolish" tone i add an analog delay and a Boss flanger BF-2, producing good results.
Just don`t push the treble boost too much or it will get a bit noisy.
The only complain about this bass goes to the electronics. I wish this one came with a better onboard pr??amp and with bartolini pu??s. I never upgraded it, but I??m convinced that it would make a huge difference and make it sound like a Pro level bass.

I bought this second hand, but it came home with a proper setup and in excellent "cosmetic" condition.

I can say that i trust this bass. Well built, stays in tune, never had hardware or electronic problems. All knobs are noiseless even with their 10 years of use. I Just have to tight a bit the strap buttons screws once in a wile.
I usually adjust the truss rod every 3 month and verify the intonation every time i change strings. This one looks like it??s built to last.

Never had to deal.

This was my second bass and if it were stolen or lost i would probably get another model/brand since this onde was discontinued, but, it would certainly be a sad lost. I find it a very beautiful instrument, very well balanced, well built, with goog playability, very fast and slim neck, and nice sound. If you are a slap fan, there are better basses for you out there, but if you like to play fast finger style, you just have to try this Washburn necks.
Has i said before, i just would like to try this with a good onboard preamp with active/passive swich option, and better Pu??s (like bartolini W4).

Active, light wood finish, humbuckers, 24 frets (which I LOVE), etc. You read the others reviews, you get the idea. Features are standard. Not sure what year, as I bought it used.

I play hard rock, but I delve into classic rock, funk, blues, and hiphop too. The sound is full and round. Not that dark, but has thunderous low end.

Good action, especially after the one and only time I had it set during the 10 years I've owned it. The cut is good and the pickups are near perfect.

I've had it for 10 years, and never needed fixing ever. Only had it set once during that time. The only thing is that once, the battery wires came loose - an easy fix, and right now one of the tone adjustments is a little loose and has a spot that fizzles, but not too bad considering I bought it used and these happened on the 9th year of my ownership.

Never had to deal with it, but it's old enough not to be under warranty.

It's the bass I learned on. I play it on 79 Peavy Centurion with a 4x10 Hartke. I use bass overdrive, bass chorus, and flanger. Works well with those. It's my freaking baby. I'll never ever get rid of this even if I end up getting a Ricchenbacher or a Warwick.

My was made early '90 in Japan. I have played it a lot. It's 4 string bass.I used to put E to D, but i changed 5 string set and i got H, lowes string.i don't have G anymore. Ou god, how beautifully it sounds.
I play in 2 rock bands and one blues.

In blues i miss G String sometimes.

5 string bass don't look rock, so i have to satisfied this.

I have Hartke set. i also have bass attack pedal.
The overdrive is exelent.
In studio the sound is one of the bests.

I have also Gibson thunderbird IV and Fender Jazz bass.

They are more expensive and feel good to have classic bass.
But they don't sound any better.

The pickups are little bit too up for finger player.
So they are noisy.
if you compare prizes and sounds, this is one of the bests.

i always have backup, but never needed.
I just like to change basses between songs.
i haven't any problems. Just remember change batteries.

Never need. Homepages are very poor.
It's like: Kiss my brown and smelly ass.

You know, I bought this thing brans spankin new in 1994 and I have no idea where it was made. Didn't save the papers - stupidly - I was 15. XB-400 24 fret 4 string basic Bantam Bass. I see the other reviews mention through-body stings and pot pickup controls. No such luxuries here. The bridge is surface mount strings and all and I have a three way selector for the two active pickups (971 neck 671 bridge.) Not sure what the body's made of but it's this kickass sunburst red stain with thich clear over it. Rosewood fretboard. Got it with the factory black plastic hardshell case. Wish it was tweed.

It does it all. Almost any sound is possible. Emulates my P-bas really well but has a good ring to it when I want. I play it through a Crate BX-160 which, I seem to own the only one ever made but am still happy with it. Had the amp for 10 years so it's what I'm used to hearing. No major complaints other than the lack of a 2x10 add on, maybe. I've recorded with it and gigged with it alike. My only complaint would be the straphooks which loosened up on me early on, but as I learned with my Fenders, I corrected that sheit with a pair of long-assed screws so it's no loger a concern.

Action wise, not a complaint. The only thing could possily mention, is that I have noticed, that I tend to strum closer to the neck than the bridge, but that may be because the top end of both pickups are great thumbrests! I sometimes have tocorrect myself consciously. Otherwise, everythung was setup great. I check the intonation etc. when I first bought and don't think I've ever changed. I changed it just to see but it was right on to start. I can't argue with the quality of the components. Everything was cut right, its snug, the nut, the tuners... I have it over 10 years now and the nut and screws holding the jackplate are starting to rust a bit, as well as the black screws that retain the pickups. So what, it's about time. The rest of the hardware looks band new. I don't have any noise complaints but one thing that has always had my atention is that the finish is not crystalline like a strat. It almost looks like the finish was added with a brush- a shellacing. No brush marks but it looks like it was done by a person rather than a robot in a spray booth. I guess that's a compliment.

Play live for 10 years+. Never had a backup. Just keep spare strings, a spare 9-volt, and change them both regularly. duh. Always came through, never doubt it if I keep it in shape; never had to adjust the truss, the hardware speaks for itself and as I said the strap buttons just needed longer screws for my taste.

10 years never needed. Chew on that.

playing 11 years. This is my second and last bass. I wouldn't mind a stingray just because it reacts better to popping/slapping, but this is a much more versatile instrument, especially for the price. I would buy this again in a heartbeat, but only after finding the dude who stole it and making him bleed. I love the versatility, all kinds of sounds, I like the fact that it is heavier and more sophisticated than a p-bass, but also dislike this in a quiet way. But the sound is still there.

I've had the MF for 10+ years and it still kicks ass. The jackplate connector is oxidized and crackles and thus needs to be replaced. What do you expect. In all this time it has TWO dings in it, once from something falling off the wall in nicking it while it was in a stand and once because my a-hole firnd kicked a mike stand at me while we were playing. Both marks are mark-ed-ly smaller than I would have expected. Love My Washburn.

El Washburn XB-400 es un modelo discontinuado a comienzos de siglo, pero siguen circulando algunos ejemplares por ahi (como sucedio con el mio), asi que lo comentare.

Mi bajo lo obtuve a fines del 2003, estaba en buen estado, solo con un piquete y un par de rayas. Es color rojo transparente, cuerpo de Aliso (Alder) con tapa de Fresno (Flamed Ash), cuatro cuerdas, posee dos pastillas soap bar, clavijas encapsuladas y un brazo de 24 trastes algo mas delgado que el de un Jazz Bass, hecho de Arce (Maple) con diapason de Palo de Rosa (Rosewood).

El hardware es cromado, con un puente realmente robusto y cuatro controles: uno de volumen, uno de tono, uno para el activo/pasivo y otro para el paneo de capsulas, con la que se va balanceando el nivel que se desee para cada pasilla.

Es un bajo grande, aunque liviano, comodo al estar colgado, y comodo al tocar sentado, debido a su forma con mas madera en la zona de los controles y del jack. Tiene rebajada la parte que da al abdomen, y esta levemente curvado en la zona del antebrazo derecho. El mastil esta atornillado con cuatro pernos directamente puestos sobre la madera, con lo que se evita la chapa metalica que a veces dificulta el acceso a los ultimos trastes.

El espacio para la bateria de 9v esta cubierta con una tapa de dos tornillos, pero no es dificil abrirla. El espacio para el cableado de los controles esta cubierto con una tapa de cuatro tornillos, y esta revestido de una especie de pintura que aisla el circuito.

Y ahora, al sonido. Aqui todo es subjetivo, asi que sere especifico. Usualmente lo utilizo con un Fender Bassman de 60w, ecualizado con 40% de bajos, 50% de medios a mitad de su nivel y 60% de agudos. Este bajo es muy versatil y comodo de manipular, debido a la posibilidad de panear las pastillas y de nivelar el activo/pasivo. En pasivo da un sonido con poca ganancia, pero nitido y dulce, aunque me limita casi exclusivamente a tocar walking. Activo entrega una gran ganancia y un sonido algo ronco pero bien nitido. En la pastilla del puente se da un sonido gordo, algo confuso, pero se arregla bastante bien con el control de tono. Hacia la pastilla del puente da un sonido sin cuerpo, que el tono no arregla del todo. Usualmente paneo desde el centro levemente hacia el puente, con lo que me da un sonido de graves y agudos definidos (y de muchos medios, por eso le bajo bastante desde el amplificador), y con el tono mas grave se presta para walking bass y esas cosas. Mas hacia el centro se dan bien los ritmos latinos y el rock. Y con todo el tono al agudo (que es como mas me gusta) se dan unos slap muy definidos y percusivos, un tapping bastante claro (aunque podria ser mejor) y unos acordes como un rugido. En cuanto a electronica, el mayor problema podria ser un persistente ruido de masa.

Es bastante resistente...

He escriot dos veces a la firma, y me han respondido solo una.

Este bajo lo encuentro bastante comodo de tocar y de gran versatilidad. Como todo es cuestion de gustos, rechace tocar con el Jazz Bass Mexicano de mi banda para darle al Washburn. Es mas comodo el Fender, pero la versatilidad peso bastante mas, ya que a poco de probar no me costo encontrar sonidos similares a la gama del Fender. Por cierto utilizo cuerdas del 0.45 al 1.05.

Estoy bastante conforme con mi bajo, lo encuentro bonito, de buena construccion (aunque algunos detalles son medio toscos), me entrega los sonidos que me satisfacen y se adapta bastante bien a mi (soy chico y de dedos cortos, aunque elasticos). Y lo encontre a 1/3 de su precio original sin ninguna reparacion ni reposicion, salvo esos detalles en el acabado.

1996 - I bought it in Australia so I don't know where it was made.
4 String 24 fret bass with laminated top (TBL).
4 controls - bass, treble, selector and volume - all chrome.
Active soap bar pick-ups (941 neck, 943 bridge)
It has the typical Maple underbody with Rosewood fret board on top. I believe the body could be alder and something else. I got a hard case with it as well as a strap and some cables.

I've being playing this bass for over 8 years. I've been in heaps of bands with different music styles and this bass has never let me down. As a matter of fact, when my last band was recording an album I was offered a 1974 Fender Jazz in the studio which didn't sound have as good as this XB 400. I believe the secret is with the active pick-ups. They provide such a bright, funky sound but the magic is that you can swap down to a full warm hum with no loss in tone. I have not changed a thing on this bass - it's all stock standard. I play through a Peavey Mark VI amp with a Peavey bin that has 2 x 10inch on top of a 18inch Black Widow speakers. It will cover all your sound requirements.

This bass is solid as a rock. It's not too heavy and looks great, especially with the chrome controls. The only thing I have changed from the factory setup was the action. Due to the 24 frets it tended to not clear the higher frets when I was playing up above the octave of each string. The selector is a bit noisy but it doesn't bother me. Everything feels good when you play it and I have no complaints. I've dropped it a few times and banged it on equipment but all that did was give it a little character.

I play live all the time and have never had a problem. Just make sure you have a spare 9volt battery just in case it goes and a little Phillips head screwdriver. I play Dean Markley Nickel plated medium strings which I have found over the years give me the most versatile sound. Don't play cheap strings on this bass because you will only be ripping yourself off. The hardware is solid as well as the finish.I've had it for over 8 years and there is no sign of wear at all. It could probably do with bigger strap buttons but that's about the only weakness.

Washburn are a strange bunch of people - it's almost like they don't like selling their stuff. Their website is crap and they don't offer any easy way to talk to their customers. Wasburn should be proud of their stuff and get out their and promote it more - it kicks ass over Fender and Yamaha. As a result I get all my work done through a reliable local bass tech. He loves my bass as much as I do and can't believe I get such a fat sound out of a relatively cheap bass.

I didn't know anything about basses when I bought this - I had this big heavy piece of crap so this was like heaven when I played it. I was lucky that someone helped me pick it out as I truly love it. I have thought about upgrading a few times but nothing gives me the same sound under $2000. You basically can't go wrong with it. It looked like the best bass in the shop when I got it and I can't believe how well it has held up over the years. If it was lost or stolen I would try to get the same model and colour again. I love how well the rosewood fretboard comes up after a clean and polish and I love the sound it gives about a week after new strings are on. Definitely one of the best purchases I have ever made. I'm currently thinking of purchasing a BOSS GT-6B effects board to play with it.

Alder body 2 piece, Solid maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Tight neck joint. Thumping lows via ACTIVE PICKUPS. Good on batteries. Grover Tuners, Satin natural finish.

This thing can cover any territory. From funk, to Beatles, to thrash and death Metal. Jazz, blues, the flippin' Carpenters, whatever, there is a knob combo that will work for you. It sounds great on the stage, but is superior for recording as the controls really let you manipulate the tone for any condition or style. It has a deep rich sound but can be bright if you crank the treble knob up on the bridge pickup.

It is Washburn. They are great about quality. My only gripe is that there are 2 types of Bantam basses. These ones that were made in Japan and the cheap crap ones that were made who knows where that give THIS Bantam a bad name. It is like putting the Squire name on an an Affinity. This Bass is great, later models were dunk. Try one of these Japanese before knocking all Bantams.

It has lasted me for 10 years strong. It has been in many bar fights and domestic disturbances. It took a hit when we played a festival from a full beer bottle. It got a big dent, but stayed in tune and the war damage even looke pretty cool. My Bass has been played by Les Claypool and the dude who played for Poe. They were impressed with it for the price catagory. I met them when touring with my band.

Never dealt with them. I have many backups.

I love this piece of gear. If I had to I would get another when this one died. I have been touring for 16 years with various bands. I am a happy owner of several Basses, but this one is the best all around bass I have ever bought for under $1000.

1997 USA Washburn XB-400 Bubinga Red quilted
24 frets 4 string
laminated
4 knobs-volume, selector, bass, treble
2 active soapbar pickups washburn 941 (neck) washburn 943(bridge)
Maple neck with a rosewood finger board
came with stock bridge and machines which I had replaced with sperzel crome tuners and a chrome Schaller bridge. was string through body prior to modifications. also added straplocks.

Deep lows. I use Rotosound 35's and I can still shake your gold teeth loose. I have used this with my GK RB 800, my ampeg SVT bass pre amp, and my ADA MB 1. I've played metal, punk, jazz, country, funk, polka, and folk and it cut's through. I like that I can roll the highs off with the treble knob. It will buzz through PA's, but that helps. There isn't a lot of string talk, but then I got a set up with a luthier. I slap and pop a lot, but I also use a lot of pedal notes. When I'm riffing, I like to have a bright articulate tone, but for most passages, I like to groove with a deeper full tone. I also get some pretty good feedback with my distortion patches, but i have had better. I have more variety with this bass than with my 77 Fender Jazz. Great in studio and live. I hate the stock hardware that washburn supplies. Other than that it's great.

It looks great. It really is a quality instrument. The set up initially was ok, to good, but the bridge was a piece of crap. One I got a new one on, the thing sings. No flaws other than the bridge. The high end gives some buzz, but it can be rolled off. I play live a lot and it's not the worst thing i've encountered. I use a monster cable so it's the instrument not the gear. Still, the bass is a masterpiece as far as wood conctruction and neck design.

I've pulled it out of the case and just played. While not recomended, it was in tune and sounded fine. The battery cavity for the 9v has screws. Carvin has the plastic pop off cover. don't know why more manufactures don't use this too. ALso the battery connectors are had to apply at times. I only do it once a month or so, but geeze, they could have made it easier. It holds up and won't wear your shoulder out. even with it's petty flaws, it's still a canvas for you hands to paint.

OK,

I have issues with Washburn. I live the instruments, but they can be difficult if not user friendly. When you can get someone, they are nice, but man, tracking someone down sometimes is near impossible. They did help, but I play every day and when I call I have only moments before I'm either playing or leaving to play. I need it done yesterday, not in about 2 weeks.

I've been playing for 20 years. I have an older washburn Force 8, a 77 fender Jazz, and a 2000 P-bass. all 4 strings and a 5 string Michael Kelly acoustic. I play through a GK RB800, an ADA MB1, and an Ampeg SVT1. My cabinets are a David Eden D115XLT, an Alumibas 410T, and a custom built JBL 2226H 15 loaded Cabinet. I use Rotosound RB66ls strings. IF stolen, i might just get a musicman, but other than that, i love it. I'd probably get another, they are easy to get. I love the versatility of the tone. It is my main axe. the jazz is great but it sounds like a jazz. The washburn sounds like me. I can get that jazz tone, but I can get other tones too. I've played MV pedula's, Alembics, Peaveys, my old Guild B301, and the Tobias. They had tone limits believe it or not. Great axes all of em, but they did what they did and i need utility. I don't just play one style of music and I'm not lugging six different axes to a gig. I'm not Rick Neilson.

You know all about the technical details of this bass by now -I won't bore you. Mine is a red matt finish - sorry don't know the year. Bought in Denmark Street in London for about #160 second hand with no flight case. Selling it but they hold their price because they're so darn good. And you won't look a prat with this whatever style you play.

basically it can do anything - the better the bass amp the more you'll enjoy it. Really loud pickups so if you are not a precise player you'll want to back off a bit when gigging it.

Well made by Washburn - natch. Thick neck makes it not an ideal beginners bass. Buy this one next when you've got rid of your cheap fender bassman copy - it is about the best value out there (sounds as much more expensive than it is). Get one and spend your next windfall on a decent amp rather than try and upgrade to an #500-#1000 guitar that probably won't sound appreciably better

Unbreakable, reliable and genuinely versatile, so why back it up?

never tried

Buy this one next after you've got rid of your cheap fender bassman copy which you bought as a beginner - it is about the best value out there (sounds much more expensive than it is). Get one and spend your next windfall on a decent amp rather than try and upgrade to an #500-#1000 guitar that probably won't sound appreciably better

I really don't know when it was built, but i think it must 1999!
There are 2 tone, 1 volume and 1 slecor to controle the two pickups, one single and one splitted!
It has a b transparent blue finish and - of course - 24 frets!

I'm mostly playing heavy-metal and punkrock! I'm using a boss-overdrive with an Fender bxr 100 combo (Absolute bullshit (The amp)) and the sound is not bad! With the gallion&Kruger amp from a friend the sound is wonderful, even clean! It's a very Warm and Rocky sound, but with many attack! i think not so good for Jazz or Blues.
The pickups are very loud, even without overdrive, the noise is really sucking!

I never had any problems, except the noisy pickups!

This is Bass-guitar is the one and only stageguitar! It once fell down from 1,5 meters and nothing was damaged! I Think even a moshpit is not to much for this guitar!

I'm now playing for one year and a half. If the bass was stolen i would by anotherone because of the sucking pickups! But if I would find a moddel with Humbuckers I would think twice...