Washburn Guitars Opinions

[dugger]

I have a DK20CET got it off ebay cheap. Fantastic guitar for the money. Had a setup done and xlight stings put on plays well and sounds good. Great for playing the Blues and doing bends.

[Gostwriter]

I bought two Washburn EA 2000 Millenium models 11 years ago. They are beautifully crafted guitars for the money and I really enjoy both of them. One was my sons but he stopped playing. The problem I have been having since almost new is that the pre amp will cut out when playing on both of these so I think it is a pre amp problem. I don't know if any other models had this issue but no one else seems to know anything baout it. I have taped the abcttery into the hodler thinking it was sliding loose but it still continues to have sort of intermitent cutting out. Other than that I love them.

[michaeljohnr]

I still own my Washburn Force 2 electric. Bought it new in 1983.

[GuitarMedic]

Originally Posted by Gostwriter

I bought two Washburn EA 2000 Millenium models 11 years ago. They are beautifully crafted guitars for the money and I really enjoy both of them. One was my sons but he stopped playing. The problem I have been having since almost new is that the pre amp will cut out when playing on both of these so I think it is a pre amp problem. I don't know if any other models had this issue but no one else seems to know anything baout it. I have taped the abcttery into the hodler thinking it was sliding loose but it still continues to have sort of intermitent cutting out. Other than that I love them.

Washburns Electronics at one point weren't very reliable(poor heat displacement). Those are usually the issues with Washburn's that I have heard of.

[Nashman]

After reading all this, I believe it’s the person not the guitar!

[Jim in TC]

Originally Posted by arbutusq

I had a washburn mandolin in the 90's that was pretty decent, but I didn't think much of their guitars until Thursday when I played a friend's washburn dred, which cost next to nothing new and was probably all plywood. Did it sound like a Martin? No but it did have a lot of volume and a decent tone, especially for the money.

Your experience probably varies from guitar to guitar.

I played one at a guitar store some time ago and had the same thoughts, plus it was *really* set up well for playability. And cheap...

[TBman]

I have a D-10S that I bought back in the early 00's when I returned to playing. It has my special "Tommy Emmanuel" setup, lol. When my hands are really tired and I want to play off the guitar stand it comes. It may not be a tone monster, but plays like butter.

[ship of fools]

I know there are haters for Washburn Guitars just like there are haters for Martins/Taylors and Gibsons and Larrivee's there are haters in every group.

Yes Washburn did have some what we who know Washburns as complete dud's and yet they had some great guitars that folks never discovered because of not looking at the instrument but at the name we know that Dana B made some fantastic guitars for Washburn and a few were made by the Tacoma guitar which were very fine instruments also and even the world seem to fall in love with the D-10S models were at one time the highest selling instrument in the world for its price point and even today Washburn got some pretty good reviews at the NAMM show for the guitars being built out of China at their price today.

So at this point as I always tell folks never look at the name but listen to the music you make form the guitar and frankly and good player can make a crappy guitar sound good or a cheap guitar sound just as well as some other makers and enjoy the sounds of music.

[Steadfastly]

It's likely because their entry level guitars are so, so. The heritage models they have out right now are getting some attention and I for one am changing my view of them.

[L20A]

Washburn, like several guitar makers went through a change from American built guitars to import built guitars.
This is a turn off for many of us.
When Washburn made their move to import guitars, I was not impressed with the sound that I heard from their guitars.
I never felt that I hated them but these guitars were not on my radar at all.

In the past several years things have really changed as far as import guitars go.
They have really stepped it up and are now making guitars that compare very well to American made guitars.
Washburn in no exception to this.

A couple of months ago, I played several OM size guitars to see if the smaller size was more comfortable for me to play.
I played some Martin, Alvarez, Taylor and Seagull guitars.
A few of them sounded very nice but were priced at over $1,00.00.
As I was about to leave the room, I saw a Washburn Grand Auditorium [OM]
and gave it a strum.

I have not been as impressed with the tone of a guitar as I was with this Washburn sense I got my Martin D-35.
The Washburn sounded much better than any other sub $500.00 that I have ever played.
It sounded as good as most of the guitars that cost up to $2,000.00.
I went home to research more about the guitar and then went back and bought it.
Not only is it a great sounding guitar, it's a real looker.
Maple bound neck and Abalony bound body and rosette.

We are living in a great time to be guitar players.
There are so many nice guitars being built today, that it is hard to choose just one or two.

[Oldguy64]

I’ve just never been a fan.
I don’t abhor them. They just don’t blow my skirt up.
A very long time ago I helped a gentleman trying to decide between two J26’s(?)
I played both of them for him.
I noted that the two were very different.
I sent him on his way with the better of the two.
I noticed that it was a beautiful instrument.
But for the sound I liked at that time, it wasn’t for me.
As many before me, I’ve never revisited Washburn guitars.
And at the time I was fond of the the Hollowbody electric.

So, the knowledge that Washburn does make good guitars is there.
They just aren’t on my radar.

[steve223]

I never even thought about a Washburn, But recently I was in the market for a new guitar in the thousand dollar range and I played a bunch of guitars in a bunch of different stores and had about settled on a Martin road series GPRS1. I wandered in to my local music store one day and saw a nice looking burst hanging on the wall so I grabbed it and wow... I went back 3 different times to play it before I bought it. It the Washburn Revival 1939 Solo Deluxe Grand Auditorium,it's all solid wood sitka top and indian Rosewood . And it is an awesome guitar!! it sounds as good as the Martin GPRS1. I have had it since the first of April and like it better everyday. I'm not crazy about it being made in China but so be it.

[Rev Tim T]

I recently (February) purchased a Washburn WCG25SCE guitar. This is an amazing sounding guitar. It is in their comfort series (sloped for comfort) and has a solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides, cut away and electronics.

W = Washburn
CG = Comfort Guitar
25 - rosewood
S = solid top
C = cutaway
E = Electronics

I am a Martin person but because of its comfort design I find myself playing every night as I sit in my recliner watching t.v. It has a great sound, is easy to play and even looks good! Yes, it's made in China but so are many other very good guitars. Without starting a war I am one who believes that Martins (or Taylors) that are made in Mexico are "real" Martins or Taylors.

If I had an extra $2000 laying around I would have one of the U.S. made Washburn 135th Anniversary guitars. I also wouldn't mind having one of Washburn's Timeless Series parlor guitars and mandolin.

Tim

[stuco]

I like the prewar ones quite a bit.

There are newer washburns that are nice guitars. Thare are good entry level instruments in general. Samick has made a lot of them over the years. I had a tacoma made one that was really good sounding. Bourgeois made some I'd love to try. I'm also interested in the high end MIJ ones they made in the 70s and 80s, never have gotten my hands on one though.

[v32 finish]

Originally Posted by steve223

I never even thought about a Washburn, But recently I was in the market for a new guitar in the thousand dollar range and I played a bunch of guitars in a bunch of different stores and had about settled on a Martin road series GPRS1. I wandered in to my local music store one day and saw a nice looking burst hanging on the wall so I grabbed it and wow... I went back 3 different times to play it before I bought it. It the Washburn Revival 1939 Solo Deluxe Grand Auditorium,it's all solid wood sitka top and indian Rosewood . And it is an awesome guitar!! it sounds as good as the Martin GPRS1. I have had it since the first of April and like it better everyday. I'm not crazy about it being made in China but so be it.

that's a nice guitar!! I have a very favorable opinion of Washburn, but I also understand the hate they get, as someone who used to not care for them at all. I wouldn't even pick one up at all for years, regardless of how it looked or its price, really. As for coming from China, I feel the same way about the tiny part on the label of my 120th Anniv. WD-44S that says "Indonesia" -- but if you didn't look for it, you would never know that it wasn't a mid-high end American made guitar. I A/B'd it against the very best that my local GC had to offer, when I had it set up. 3-4 guitars each from the Martin wall, the Taylor wall, and the Gibson corner... and the only* guitars that were *clearly* better were a used HD-28 and an SJ200. I wouldn't have traded the sound for a single other guitar in there.

Anyway, I have sang this guitar's praises many times on this forum, and in a single stroke it taught me what someone else said earlier on, which is to not pay attention to the name on the headstock but the sound. And also, it made me COMPLETELY reconsider their brand. I am not real familiar with the ones coming out of China, as they don't stock very many near me, but the couple I have played (including the revival series, but not that one you have specifically) were also very, very good, but not as good as mine.

I remember feeling like a kid in a candy store when I played those first chords inside the pawn shop and I knew at that moment I was playing my new guitar. I was afraid someone would buy it while I waited for the following day or 2 to come back with the money -- funny enough, and adding to its 'story', it was my wife who snuck and put it on layaway to surprise me... could you believe that she actually let me believe that it had been bought by someone else ..she saw how dejected I was, and she caved, and told me that it was her, because she couldn't stand to see me in the throes of 'the one that got away'. "It was supposed to be a surprise!! "

Anyway. I have a very high opinion of Washburn and also respect their long history/heritage... but I also recognize that they have their fair share of duds, which is why my initial impression of them was so crappy. I'm glad they turned me around, and now I'm even thinking about getting an OM-type guitar from them from their comfort series.

cheers