Product: Washburn EA-26 Festival Series Acoustic Electric
Price Paid: 400 (GBP) used
Submitted
02/05/2001
at
09:37am
by
Mike Seddon
Email: Mike_seddon at lineone<dot>net
Features
:
9
Year of Manufacture: Unknown (S/H) 1997? Made in korea
Craig Chaquito signature model.
Natural finish, spruce top. Fishman Matrix transducer bridge
pickup, Equis Gold Preamp, 21 Fret Rosewood Fingerboard, with
Gold grover tuners. 5-way equaliser with Volume and tone.
Sound
:
10
I bought this Guitar Second Hand from Dawsons in Warrington, I originally went in to buy a Yamaha slim bodied guitar that I'd played
earlier and liked. When I got there however, there was someone else
playing it, so While I was waiting I picked up this Washburn and
had a play. What can I say, It blew the Yammy away totally.
It has a nice bright sound over the sound hole, but up the neck warms
nicely. I play most styles, but this lends itself well to any type
of finger picking. It was more expensive (400 quid) but it was so
much nicer I bought it. The same guitar brand new at the time was
over 650 quid. You could not tell this guitar was 2nd hand, the
previous owner had really looked after it. It has a gorgeous sound
even if you don't use that marvelous Equis gold preamp, but through
an amp, and it really shines.
If I had any gripe, it would be the rather thin neck, you cannot
change the string gauge without changing the action. So you either
lose action (higher guage) or get buzz, unless you start tweaking the
neck. I've stuck with 12's now that it's been set up that way.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
The guitar is extremly well made, no problems at all so far.
The action is very low with no buzz anywhere and the intonation
is spot on. The bridge is not fully adjustable (save for height),
but so far has not been a problem. There was one prominant fret
up around 18, that could sometimes grab the sting if bending around
that area, I plucked up courage and a tap later, end of problem.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
The Guitar was already second hand, but still looks like new, the
sound has got a little warmer over the few years I've owned it, so
I suspect it wasn't very old when I bought it.
I would certainly use it on a gig without fear of no backup.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never needed to deal with Washburn.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for 20+ years. I also own a Hohner Classical, a
Vantage VS-600 electric and a Hohner 12-String. I pracice through
a Baby-Marshall combo, but mainly unplugged. If the guitar was stolen
I would definatly consider buying another of the same model.
For the money, there was nothing, in my opinion, of the same style
that touched it.
