Old Washburn bass

Uber-Soldat · 2008-04-14T19:14:57+00:00

Hi. New here. Was referred to the site by spyke. Great forum! I have had this Washburn SB-40 EQ bass for about 8 years now. Can't seem to find much info on...

Old Washburn bass

guitarcomet

Hey guys!

I was searching for info about my Force 40 bass and saw this forum.
After seeing your bass, I had to put my pics here.
I hope you're still hooked into this forum and get to see my pics.

Jack-Flash-Jr

? Alan is still around... and that is a killer bass you've got there. The bridge pup seems set pretty far back, how's the sound?

guitarcomet

It's got a thick neck and it's quite heavy, but it sounds great.
The phase switch that everyone talks about on these models is what makes this bass sound so punchy.
I like the way it plays, but I have an Ibanez AxStar AXB-1000 that feels much better in my hands.
I'm willing to sell this Force 40, but I'm not gonna sell it for less than $500. A price that no one has come close to offering. I have a Washburn case for it, but not the original case. (long gone)

RiccBass

A little late but are you still reading this?
I'm interested in the Force 40....

MEKer

Being a historian of sorts in the difficult subject of SB-40's models (and I own 2) I need to remind all that the SB-40 was made in 1981 (not in 1980 as I previously had believed),with the SB-40EQ in 1982 and that was it. There is no differences between the 40 and the 40EQ other than the 40 had brushed aluminum cavity plates and the 40EQ did not. If anyone can add or correct my research on that so far, I would really appreciate it as I hope to do a book about the lost years 1978-1987 of Washburn, with most focus on the classic years '78-'84. BTW, the electrical package became the dominant package and was adopted on the B-40/B-40EQW and Force 40/Force 40EQW.
As they are VERY hard to find-------if anyone has pictures and Serial numbers AND ESPECIALLY ANY ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS--PLEASE PLEASE POST THE PICTURES. Lots of mysteries still abound on these!!!! I am also MEKer at TB and my personal email is mekentinc@yahoo.com

PAGuy

Don't want to hijack this old post, but I just picked up an '83 Force 40, very close to guitarcomet's serial #, but red.
It's had a rough life, and the electronics are flaky, but it feels really nice.

I'm wondering if I could get recommendations on how to get the electronics as close to original as possible.

AlanRatcliffe

EMG pickups? Pretty straightforward then.

Even if it has an active tone circuit, it's probably still just the pots, switch and socket, etc. Replace any offending parts, clean any board connectors with switch cleaner and chances are good that it'll be right as rain.

PAGuy

Yeah, EMG's. I found (supposedly) a schematic of the original layout, which includes an unknown circuit board with terminal strip. That's not there now. I'll definitely clean up the pots and switches. But based on what I hear, I think there is better sound that should be coming out of her.
Thinking since I'll have to refinish it, maybe I'll do something unique to the color as well.

AlanRatcliffe

Could also be that you just don't like EMGs. They are rather flat for my tastes - a bit hi-fi and lacking in a character of their own. To be fair, this is also exactly what a lot of bass players love about them, and paired with a good active EQ they can get a great range of tones, covering a lot of stylistic ground. You could always pick up a decent preamp from Bartolini or EMG if that's the way you want to go.

Another thing to note is that a through-neck bass will have a very tight low end and lots of punch/attack, but lack a little in the "size" of the low end - it'll never fill up the lows the way a P-Bass will. If you want to embiggen the low end, you'll either have to go active EQ or change the pickups.

I also like through-necks, and my bass is maple bodied, so I went with passive humbuckers and wiring and tend to 15" drivers and valves somewhere in the chain. Think old school Rickenbacker tones...

domhatch

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: embiggen

wow. cool.

well played
dh|

PAGuy

Thanks Alan! ?
Once I get some time, I'll let you know how it goes.

Albert