Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass Scarf Joint and Fretboard Repair

Though looking its age, the active electronics on this Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass were still functioning as they should. Granted, there was some crackling when you turned the pots; but this was fixed with a squirt or two of contact cleaner in the right places.

The real problem with this bass was that the rosewood fretboard had somehow become separated from the maple neck; from the nut right up to the third fret. Meanwhile, at the back of the neck, the scarf joint had opened up quite a bit. I should also mention that someone had fashioned a crude ill-fitting nut out of black plastic. And yes, I forgot to snap a pic or two of these abnormalities.

The game plan was to reglue the fretboard and scarf joint with Titebond III and clamp everything nice and tight until the glue dried. Then there would be lots of sanding, followed by a Tru-Oil refinish on the back of the neck. A new custom nut would also be installed. And guess what? It turned out okay, thank goodness :)

Flood Victim #1 - Washburn XB125

Preamble
The Washburn XB125 featured in this post is no stranger to me, as I've worked on it twice before. The first time was to rewire it along the lines of a passive Jazz Bass, [1] while the second was to add a Phat II circuit transplanted from an Ibanez GSR205.[2] [3] [4]

This time around, however, the XB125 was in really bad shape; no thanks to the severe floods that hit Kuantan earlier this year. The 'fotoflame' finish had peeled off in several places, exposing bare wood which was either moldy or rotten. The electronics (save the pickups) were totally shot, but most of the hardware could be used again after generous amounts of elbow grease and TLC. Let's take a quick look at what was done to get this instrument in playing condition again at minimal cost.

Body
The body was stripped down, bleached, stained, and clear coated.

Neck
The neck and headstock were stripped down, sanded smooth, and clear coated. The neck also had a slight backbow, and this was remedied by loosening the truss rod.

Electronics
I reverted the electronics to a passive scheme with a three-way toggle switch, a master volume (Alpha 500K), and master tone (Alpha 500K / 0.047uF cap). I should mention that both pickups emerged unscathed, thanks to being potted in black epoxy. Thumbs up, Washburn.