Washburn XS 2

[StratRat]

A friend of mine is moving out of state and offered to seel me a washburn XS 2 for $45. i tried to find info on this bas but could not find anything online abiut this bass. Is this a beginners model? Should I buy it or just let him take it with him to the place where he is moving?

[FrankJohnson]

Generic review....
Not sure if it helps, but I ran across it for you SR

http://www.bgra.net/reviews/washburn-xs-2-1-rvw.html


Reviewer Marky, 15 years or so
Manufacturer Washburn
Model XS-2
Price Didn't buy it - see text



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Fingerboard Nicely finished rosewood, 24 frets
Body Type Laminated mahogany
Finish White w/black headstock
Pickup(s) Passive, P-Style
Controls Vol., tone, series/parallel



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I was going to buy this bass from a friend. He let me borrow it for a couple of months to see if I really wanted it. I finally decided not to buy it, although for $150 with a new gig bag, it wouldn't have been a bad deal.

The headstock is 4-inline with a spiffy black finish and Washburn in a nice brush script. The neck is nice and thin with a gloss finish. The neck was not terribly stable, but certainly playable. The frets seemed small to me, and I like jumbos.

The pickup was weak and microphonic, although with a reasonably good sound. I replaced it with a pickup of unknown origin that the guy I borrowed the bass had. Huge difference, and all positive.

I put Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats on it, and it had a nice, deep sound, with plenty of definition. The main negative is that it has a major dead spot around the fifth fret on the D string. Also, I never quite got the action right, because of the touchy neck. The series/parallel switch was located in a push-pull volume control and worked OK.

The build quality of this bass was about a zillion times better than a recent Washburn XB-100 I looked at. The one I looked at was really crudely constructed, and I would rather have had this "plywood" bass than the new solid XB-100. Admittedly, both are low-price instruments, but this XS-2, built in 1990, was a much nicer instrument.

I called Washburn several times about this instrument and others, and they were personable and very forthcoming with information, although some of it turned out to be somewhat inaccurate. For instance, they told me the body of this bass was mahogany, but left out the word "laminated." Based on the quality of the XB-100 I looked at, and some recent reviews in Bass Player magazine, I have decided not to buy any Washburn.



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Construction 60%
Playability 60%
Appearance 80%
Sound 70%
Value 50%
Cust. Service 80%
Overall 70%

[FenderBender]

SR,
Do you have a main axe that you use for gigs, and are just looking to pick something else up cheap? I guess I was just wondering if you need a chep bass to play, or just another one to add to your collection.