Washburn WD250SWCE???

[smokeynichol]

Anyone familiar with this particular model??? what are your thoughts on this one?? i know it retails for somewhere around $1300--for someone like myself who likes strumming country songs what kind of of tone would i be getting throughout?? any thoughts would be appreciated.

[DeepEnd]

Just googled it and it's $749 at Sweetwater. I was thinking I wouldn't pay $1300 so that's a relief. As for strumming Country, it's solid spruce/solid rosewood so it ought to sound okay. Depends on whether you mean modern or classic Country though. Modern stuff is Takamine/Taylor. The old stuff is Martin/Gibson. Different vibe. Really, though, if you have a broken heart, you can play Country on anything, kinda like the Blues.

[TMROXS]

Hello, I have had my Washburn Timber Ridge WD250SWCE for 3 years now and I like it except for a few flaws. I wonder why Washburn has so little info out there with regard to their flagship acoustic line? there is only one video for the WD160SW on their YouTube channel and no other user video reviews and very little in print.

 

The things I don't care for too much is the high amount of striping on the sitka spruce top on my guitar. I wish it was more uniform in regard to the grain and color. I know this may be mostly aesthetic with little affect on the sound of the top but this is a visually low grade sitka top. I also don't care for the Nubone nut and saddle. I plan to replace these in the future with either a Tusq set, fossilized ivory or another natural material.

 

I had to do several truss rod adjustments after settling on the right strings for me. I set the guitar up with Martin SP 4150 Light/Medium Phosphor Bronze with relatively low action. I just did not like the light strings and the Light/Med's are a great in between gauge. I also tried 80/20 Bronze and thought they were too bright for a cutaway Rosewood back. Phosphor bronze seems a bit warmer and tames the treble response of this guitar.

 

There are intonation problems on the Low E and high E and B strings when fretted on the second fret being sharp. I am getting a little fret buzz on the low E when fretted on the second fret. The Fishman Presys Blend is about what to expect from an under saddle pickup sound but the mic sounds terrible. I Plan to replace the whole unit with a L.R. Baggs Stage Anthem Pro. Acoustically I love the sound of the guitar and it records acoustically great. Recording direct with the onboard preamp is again what you would expect from a transducer. The ability to blend the mic in with it helps a little but I found I can only blend in just a little of the mic as the mic does not sound very good when it is dominant. It is good for adding a little airiness to the pickup sound.

 

I think Washburn was having some quality control issues with this guitar because when I first ordered mine, I did not like it at all and returned it for another from the retailer. The first one I received had an even worse top with a big pink sapwood stripe in the middle and a dark set of stripes on the lower bouts. The retailer does not even carry the Timber Ridge series anymore! Must be a quality issue as returns were prevalent for this model. I don't completely dislike the top I have now as I think it looks unique. It doesn't sound bad at all and I am hearing the top really open up after 3 years of playing it. I have been playing it hard to get the top to loosen up.

 

I wish they had put better tuners on it. I heard when they first issued this guitar, they installed grover tuners on it. They have some generic Washburn tuners on it instead and I plan to replace those as well. They also should have installed a strap jack on the neck heel. I did this myself without issue. The end pin jack has a habit of becoming loose and it is a real pain to get inside the guitar and tighten it up again. I have had to do this at least three times already.

 

So Washburn, for the price I got this guitar with the matching Washburn case, it is a great deal on an all solid wood guitar. It is too bad that I have to spend around $500.00 to upgrade it to pro specs. So maybe these are the reasons for no meaningful videos or reviews anywhere to be seen. What is the future of this series? Are there going to be any improvements or modifications?

[DeepEnd]

. . . I also don't care for the Nubone nut and saddle. I plan to replace these in the future with either a Tusq set' date=' fossilized ivory or another natural material. . . .[/quote']

Hi and Welcome to the Forum. You should know that NuBone and TUSQ are similar (TUSQ is harder) and you may not notice a difference: https://support.graphtech.com/support/solutions/articles/6000051009-what-is-the-difference-of-tusq-and-nubone-. Also, TUSQ isn't a "natural material" so if that's important to you, you should go with something like bone. ''Fossilized'' ivory isn't always as old as you might think and some of us would prefer not to support the ivory trade. Good luck getting your guitar up to your expectations.

[Idunno]

Don't know a thing about Washburn. It was never a brand I found hanging in the stores I visited so I have no informative input about it. I can relate to your comment about the internal mic versus p'up blending and agree with you. I had that combo in an LR Baggs system in a Breedlove concert. I wasn't completely convinced the Piezo UST was the better sound but I could not lean on the mic as an an alternate source for the reason you cite. Blending them was a must but at least it dampened the Piezo quack enough to suspend my angst.

 

Anyway, the amount of money your anticipate spending on that Washburn is no guarantee it will yield the results you're looking for. I would pause on that idea and take another look at other brands and models in that price range first. If you're ears and hands ensure you can do better spending it on the Washburn I'd be surprised. Give other makes/models an honest go first.

[Freeman Keller]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum. You should know that NuBone and TUSQ are similar (TUSQ is harder) and you may not notice a difference: https://support.graphtech.com/support/solutions/articles/6000051009-what-is-the-difference-of-tusq-and-nubone-. Also, TUSQ isn't a "natural material" so if that's important to you, you should go with something like bone. ''Fossilized'' ivory isn't always as old as you might think and some of us would prefer not to support the ivory trade. Good luck getting your guitar up to your expectations.

 

 

I use bone for everything I make, however once upon a time I tried both bone and Tusq saddles in a Taylor 314. Frankly I couldn't tell a difference. Big manufactures such as Taylor like synthetic materials like Tusq because they can mold it that cnc the slots. Tusq is so named because it is supposed to emulate ivory.

 

Replacing a nut is a lot of work and unless there is something really wrong with the one in a guitar (broken, slots too deep, wrong spacing) I don't recommend it. I usually charge $60 for a bone nut because of the time it takes to make it. Since the nut is only in the picture for open strings its overall affect might be arguable.

 

For ethical reasons I won't touch any ivory regardless of how long its been dead.

 

I install a fair number of pickups and unless a customer absolutely insists on a UST piezo I use the little K&K Pure Mini bridge plate transducers. Moderately inexpensive, easy to install and most people seem to really like the sound.