Sound:
With a Seymour Duncan '59 and an SD Custom you get a wide range of sounds from this guitar from hard rock to a nice clean sound for jazz. Really can roar with the bridge pup (three-way switch). The VCC is a Washburn set up that is a variation on a tap for switching on single-coil. You need to play with it a for a while to get the feel, its not like the usual push/pull that other guitars have. With this, you can roll on and off to get shades of change in tone. I'll give it 9 here allowing that some people are never convinced with any single-coil tap effect.
I play this through a Peavey with a GT-8 and when I'm in my Zep 'mood' this thing destroys all enemies!! :) it has been played live and people are suitably impressed.
Feature:
No frills with this. Straight ahead, no BS guitar! As mentioned, has a VCC set up rather than a push/pull tap for single-coil but thats it and this can be ignored and the guitar played as it is. Grover tuners, Seymour Duncan pick ups. Nicely laid out fret board inlay and really nice headstock finish. Neck is a through-finish.
Ease of Use:
The standard of guitar you get for your money means this has to get a 10. You can ignore the VCC option just plug it in and play and this thing will kick your ass!! nice action with a rosewood fretboard.
It has a through-neck which with the cut-away design gives excellent access to the higher frets.
Quality:
Excellent set up. I bought this over the internet, so sent it to a local guitar shop for a set up and it plays like a dream. SD pick ups, Grover Tuners, really nice Caramel Burst finish on the one I have, through-neck design.....really excellent quality. Gets played all the time, including gigs (my daughter steals it when my back is turned to play at school gigs with her band!). Looked after with set-ups there is no reason why this guitar wouldnt have good mileage in it over the years.
Value:
Put it this way - most guys that think Gibson and cant afford it get an Epi. Quite frankly, the set up of this guitar, the quality of pick-ups etc would wipe the floor with any Epi or similar. Dont even bother thinking about it. I'm quite serious here. Its a no-brainer.
I live in the UK and bought this at the time for about £390 (about $720 now, give or take). This price compares with higher spec Epi's but comes with far better hardware than Epi ever offer.
Manufacturer Support:
Had the guitar for 2 years and never had a problem. So, cant really judge support. Washburn do have a players forum that I read now and again but I've never had to contact anyone with any issues.
The Wow Factor:
Absolutely!! A Gibson-style guitar, with quality finish and hardware this is something that definitely attracts attention. I let my daughter play it in her school band at some gigs. The combination of its look, sound and the fact that a Washburn guitar is a bit of a rare find over here means the guitar gets a ton of compliments. :)
Overall:
Right now I have no reason to think of movimg on from this guitar. If I get another guitar it will be to sit along side this. When I look at what this guitar delivers compared to 'big money' guitars (you know who I mean!) it is an outstanding buy - about the only thing I might do is get a higher spec of the model!
When I was looking for a guitar (already have an Ibanez and I wanted a more straight forward guitar, no trem etc.), I couldnt beleive what I got for my money. Compared to other guitars in this price bracket it has to be ranked as one of the best. I cant understand why Washburn dont market them more in the UK. To lose it, break it whatever would really hurt. I'd certainly buy it again compared to Epis etc.
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Sound:
Tones are of great quality wherever you put the tone nobs and switch. String bends are easy with an action that is not too low. Singe notes ring nicely and cords sound powerful with settings ranging from clear to distorted. Dialing the tone nob to a clear setting seems to bring down the volume somewhat, but not enough to worry about. The stings that came with the guitar were too light, broke easily and didn't let the sound out of this guitar. I changed them out for D'Addario regular light gauge EXL110. The difference was huge.
Feature:
All components are high quality items. I'm not used to such high quality tuners, they are smooth and the ratio feels right while tuning, not too fast, not too slow.
Ease of Use:
Very playable. I did not take this guitar to a shop for set up. It doesn't need it. My strat has a very low action which I'm used to. This guitar has somewhat higher action, but somehow it is just as easy to make bar cords and plays fast too.
Quality:
I would rate 100% but the neck pickup vibrates(rattles in the guitar body) when holding the guitar flat (pickups toward the ceiling) and plucking the wound strings. Hold it completely upright as you would play standing with a guitar strap and I don't notice the vibration. I'm sure there is a simple fix for this, but I'm just not worried about it.
Value:
I think it's worth the money.
Manufacturer Support:
I did not try to contact Washburn, so I don't know.
The Wow Factor:
I love everything about this guitar.
Overall:
I will probably keep this guitar long enough to wear out the frets and then go looking for a repair shop to fix it. I'm not selling it.
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Sound:
the sound is absolutely incredible with the VCC system on it.
Feature:
i love the buzz feitien tuning system and the VCC and the way above the neck is cut out to make it easier for you to play up all the way to fret 22.
Quality:
it is great quality even though it is made in a different country. i usually dont like guitars made in differnt countries but i love everything about this guitar.
Value:
i think it is a fair price for a great instrument.
Manufacturer Support:
i have never used it
The Wow Factor:
the guitar is beautiful. period.
Overall:
overall this is my favorite electric guitar. i have many and have played a ton of others and out of all single cut guitars this is my favorite because of its incredibly easy access to the high frets.
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"Beautiful guitar, horrible action and playability. Would not recommend
this guitar to anyone. Would guitar buying experience ev" submitted November 26, 2009
Sound:
The guitars pickups are great and sound great.
Feature:
Don't really care for the VCC it's not like having split coils at all.
Ease of Use:
For being a cheaper guitar it has a really good sound with the pickups.
Quality:
I bought this guitar and the neck was twisted. Had it sent back and took a month to get another one. The second one was very beautiful.
But once again I was very dissatisfied with the neck. Took it to get
the neck setup and turned into a nightmare. This thing sounds like a
bees nest attacked it. It needs the frets leveled and that's not
a cheap process. Very dissatified with the quality of the playability
of this instrament. I have played First Act guitars that played
better than this one.
Value:
As far as looks go it is a very beautiful guitar I will give them that.
But the really important part is the playability and they struck out
with me on that. It plays horrible.
Manufacturer Support:
Took forever to get another guitar and this one played horrible too.
I bought a hard shell case for mine. They forgot to send it back
with the new guitar. It took another 2 weeks to get it back.
The Wow Factor:
I give it a 5 just because it's a beautiful guitar. But like I said
looks don't make it play better.
Overall:
I will be selling this one if I can find anyone who will buy it. I will
be losing big time on this one.
Thank you. Your vote has been counted. Could you briefly tell us why the review was or was not helpful?
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