This is the latest contender in the headless bass stakes, and while it may seem as if another copy has been born, there are features and a level of manufacture to the Washburn Bantam that makes a mockery of the 'copy' tag.

For a start, the body and neck of the Bantam are based on wood. This is then encased in a massive shell of polyester plastic to give a fine matt finish that looks just like the carbon fibre of the Steinbergers - except that this guitar is, subjectively at least 'warm'.

A description of the controls on the Bantam would be meaningless - the basic Steinberger ideas were so damn good that there was no need to change them, full marks Washburn for realising that. The neck of the Bantam is apparently slightly thinner than the Stein, but this seems to aid playing high up the neck. The frets themselves are wide - and surprisingly low to the fret-board, but there was no attendant buzzing, except if you attempted to take the string action down to wood level - which is almost possible here.

So, it looks like a Steinberger, it hasn't got a head, and it is going to be mistaken for a Stein all over the place.

But, the Bantam does differ in some rather nice areas - like your pocket. British distributors Gavin Mortimer expects the Bantam to retail for around the £575 (or less) making it roughly half the panic of a real one.

The second area of difference is around the sound. The tight treble on the Bantam is sharp and clear, with none of the 'clank' that is often associated with high powered treble boosted bass. This is a real boon for slappers, and it springs to mind that the bass might have been designed principally with them in mind - (thumb followed by finger - 'ban' 'tam' - Geddit?) - and it certainly packs a punch. The controls are very easy to reach, either in a horizontal position, or at a near vertical angle (that seems to be the trend now) - hence the controls in a single line rather than curved. The flatness of the pickups, and the string height from the body of the Bantam certainly aids slapping, and with the action up a trifle, it feels like a well set up Precision. Unlike its more pedantic rivals, the Bantam is lighter, more manageable, and (once you have mastered the headlessness - and your hand stops zooming off the end of the neck) it is very fast indeed.

On 'normal' bass playing (ie. non-slapped) the Bantam went to demi god status. The rich bass sound, that is rounded without becoming sacharine sweet, is a new dimension to bass playing - mainly through the versatility of the sound itself. Between the sharp treble and the hyper mellow bass sounds, there is a guttural growl that is ideal for hard rock, a warm and powerful drone that would admirably suit 'prog' rock or even soul, and a (very) forceful sound (on a single setting) that ranges from a muddy deep bass to a tinny sqawk at the top that allows the Bantam to sing right over synths and electronic keyboards.

Technically - the bridge section (standard single piece bridge/tuners/tailpiece) is a nice rest from the usual blocks of tin that masquerade as such these days. The pickups are Washburns' own, and excellent they are too. While their lineage might be traced to a number of similar models, the output is very high indeed - and intelligent use is required until you get used to the extremes that this instrument is capable of.

The polyester finish is very hard, and offers a high degree of protection to the instrument (Gavin actually dropped the sample - with the total damage being an almost invisible 'dent' on one edge). At the top of the neck are a pair of string clamps, one to each pair of strings, that hold them in position. Washburn are planning to make this four separate ones - which preempts my initial gripe about this. The clamps allow the use of single ball ended strings instead of the specialist designs that are required by the Steinberger - a great advance.

The Bantam comes complete with a plastic carrying bag, with carrying straps as well as a shoulder strap. (The only problem being that you might get taken for a terrorist - it looks very like a rifle slung casually over the shoulder...).

To conclude then, it is perhaps unfair to compare this instrument with its predecessor - taking the price into consideration the two should be in different markets. That they are not is a tribute to this instrument, that offers the latest technology for bass players at a price that the majority can afford.

Washburn are planning to add some new colours to the range in the near future - including a metallic silver, yellow, and red.

Hopefully, they will now turn their attention to the guitar side of things and add that string to their bow. I hope so.

Information from Washburn, (Contact Details).