Members A_Gitarman Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 The folks over at TGP didn't seem to appreciate this one... probably too pointy for them I ordered this from Amazon for $170 a little over a week ago and got it just in time to give it a once-over and take it to Saturday's gig *sorry for the stock pic, I haven't had a chance to snap any of my own yet. Specs: Mahogany body & (set) neck Phenolic fingerboard, 25.5" scale Grover 18:1 tuners Randall pickups Buzz Feiten tuning sys First thing first, I was appalled that this thing left the manufacturer (shipped directly to me from US Music Corp, Washburn's parent co.) with a seriously bowed neck I had to give the truss rod almost 2 full turns to get it back in line!!! For something that's supposedly 'set up' at the factory, that is just completely unacceptable! Once that was taken care of, though, I found that the intonation was (shockingly) nearly spot on. Supposedly all Washburn's with the Buzz Feiten tuning sys are pre-intonated, but I don't see how that could have happened on an axe with such a bowed neck. Either way, it was VERY close:idk: Next, I had to knock down & polish a fret that was a little high, causing the high E & B strings to fret out when I did more than a half-step bend on the 16th fret. The action is decent; not as low as some of my guitars, but acceptable. I may see about working on that more as the neck settles. On the positive side of things, fit and finish on this thing are absolutely wonderful. The color is actually highly metallic & looks awesome under stage lights. The phenolic fretboard looks and feels smooth as glass; it's very 'snappy', almost like a cross between ebony and finished maple. The Grovers work perfectly. Once I tuned up for Saturday's gig, I don't think I had to touch them again all night As for the Randall pickups, they sounded nice and responsive when I first tried them out. I found that the rolling back the volume gave me a nice mellow clean tone & the guitar had some nice character in either the neck or bridge position. HOWEVER, once on stage they seemed almost too dark & easily got lost in the mix. As I said, though, they sound nice on their own, so I'll try playing with the EQ a little before I pull them out. The guitar itself is much bigger than I expected. I was anticipating something akin to a Rhoads, but instead got one that was more like a Dean with a shortened lower wing. In fact, my Dean easily fit inside of the gig bag that came with the Washburn It is also a good bit thicker than I expected; feels about the same as my LP. Once strapped on, it balances almost perfectly & is very resonant. Even on a loud stage, I could feel the guitar 'talking' to me Finally, due to the location of the jack, it's just about impossible to play this thing sitting down. Unless you are using one of those flat right-angle jacks, you'll end up getting stabbed in the leg while playing in the 'classical' position. Really, though, a guitar like this is not meant to be played sitting down All in all, this is a heck of a guitar for under 2 bills. Once properly set up, it easily rivals just about anything in the same price range (~$400-500 retail) that I've played. & for my moment at Saturday's gig... I brought my usual # of 3 guitars with me: the Washburn, my Yammie (for backup & songs where I use the trem), and my 12-string, but only managed to grab ONE STRAP before heading out the door & driving ~ 1/2 hour to the club. I even ran across the street to a Wal-Mart hoping to find a cheapo First Act strap or something, but this particular Wally World didn't have squat! So, I eagerly mapped out which guitar I would play for each set & even managed to swap from the 12-string to my Yamaha in time for the 2nd solo in Hotel California. WHEW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 HNGD. Yes - if you keep checking, you can grab some good bargains at Amazon. But once they are down to one they jack the price up. 3 pointy paws up from Lamb Chop. She likes Washburns. - w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 That is actually really cool looking for a shredder pointy type axe. I like it!!!! HNGD!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wedgehed II Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted April 19, 2010 Share Posted April 19, 2010 That is actually really cool looking for a shredder pointy type axe. I like it!!!! HNGD!!!! Same here! Congrats!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A_Gitarman Posted April 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 HNGD. Yes - if you keep checking, you can grab some good bargains at Amazon. But once they are down to one they jack the price up. 3 pointy paws up from Lamb Chop. She likes Washburns. - w Thanks! Amazon does indeed have some killer guitar deals from time to time. I scored my BC Rich Mockingbird Special there for ~$330 (normally a $7-800 axe!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnewb1 Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 it is very pointy!:poke: HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A_Gitarman Posted April 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 it is very pointy!:poke: HNGD! Why yes. yes it is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beckman Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 Same here! Congrats!!!!! +2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members awd83 Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 I like it! I've been wanting an offset V for a while, and I really like the fact that it has a hard tail instead of a trem. I'm just not sure about the arc'd top, like a shark fin. But cool guitar and HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cBc Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 HNGD ! Nice score at a nice price, wat's not to like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExiledCrow Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 Cool, my first post in the new-old HCEG is to say kick-ass NGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A_Gitarman Posted April 19, 2010 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 Cool, my first post in the new-old HCEG is to say kick-ass NGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted April 19, 2010 Members Share Posted April 19, 2010 Congrats! (o)(o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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