Washburn F32SCE

This guitar is actually the F32SCE, Washburn confirmed they have never produced a F32CE model so I think this review thread needs to be renamed. Top is solid spruce, back and sides are laminated rosewood (satin finish all around). Body style is unique, it's top and back have jumbo character, but it's sides are much thinner than a jumbo. It comes with B-Band electronics (3 band EQ) and is designed to be played plugged in or played quietly unplugged. It has grover tuners and a hard case was included. Jumbo fret wire, Rosewood fingerboard with maple binding. Cutaway. It was assembled in China and purchased new in 2006. I paid right at $400 for it.

Unplugged:
Washburn describes this as a folk, songwriters guitar and that's exactly what I use it for. When it comes to finger style playing this is an excellent acoustic guitar. Unplugged this is my favorite acoustic to sit with and quietly play/compose with. It has a pleasant sound, but lacks in bass due to it's small body. You may strum on it to demonstrate a song idea to a friend unplugged.

Plugged in:
Plugged in the guitar sounds good. The BBand electronics are about average, it's a little noisy but nothing the sound man shouldn't be able to work out. I've plugged right into the PA with it and it sounds good, but ideally for a gig you want to run it through a few BOSS pedals e.g. (Tuner, Noise Gate, Digital Reverb). The EQ controls on the electronics were adequate. Overall the electronics would get a B- rating, better than most cheap electronics, but not at the professional standards of say Fishman.

I purchased from a mom & pop retailer who takes pride in proper setup of every guitar he sells, so mine was setup quite nicely.

Fit, finish, etc... It's alright. It's a massed produced Chinese guitar. As these type of instruments go, Washburn and Ibanez do the best job, but if you're detail oriented and own higher end instruments you notice a few things in the quality department. Again the first word that comes to mind is adequate. It's unique body size and neck (the neck radius feels fantastic and is made for speed/very comfortable fretting)

My rating for this category is accounting for it's (low) price compared to other instruments in this price range

The guitar will withstand live playing, but again it's massed produced instrument and at times it will remind you (especially when plugged in). The unique look, extremely playable neck and quite but pleasant sound are what sold me. My other two acoustics are CF Martin guitars so I am nit-picky in the quality department and I'm judging it by those standards which is unfair considering it's price. Many will probably think the quality here outstanding. Again, the neck, fretboard, fret dressings, binding etc were all excellent.

Durability. Well, it's got a Satin finish which just isn't as durable as lacquer. The Satin finish on the top is so light it feels unfinished (I believe the top is unfinished actually) mine already has the beginnings of a dark spot showing up where my arm rest over the top which is something you would only get with an unfinished guitar, but then again I never wipe it down like I should, with proper care it should be fine... just know that the top is going to require proper care to keep it looking new.

Washburn support is bad. I own a Washburn bass and a Washburn RR150 (artist signature) electronic guitar and have had questions on both only to experience long delays in response time and generally unhelpful replies. The reality is on discontinued models and all their Asian imports (including this guitar) they take a very hands off, distributor attitude.

I'm giving them a score of 4 because at least they replied to my e-mails, some vendors won't even do that.

I've been playing over 20 years. My other acoustics are a Martin Dreadnaught and a Martin OOO-15, both of which I cherish over this guitar, but I love all three of them and if something happended to my Washburn I would try to replace it with the exact same model.

Unlike some people I spend weeks before buying a guitar, trying out many different things. I'm not the best player, but I know what feels right, sounds right and makes me sound the best and this guitar impressed me enough to make me want it. As I said before, it's my favorite finger style guitar, it's my favorite songwriting guitar and it's cheap enough that I don't feel bad leaving it outside its case.

Folk Style Cut-away Mini Jumbo
Satin Finish
Grover Tuners
1 3/4" nut
B-Band Electronics under saddle
3 1/2" thick, 16" at large bout

Unamped is has a nice sound, but a weak bass (but I use light strings and it is only 3 1/2" deep). Amped it sounds great. I like the wider nut, particularly for fingerpicking--helps with a clear, distinct note, I feel.

I felt the action was too high, so I lowered the saddle substantially and now you just coast down the strings. I feel the guitar is pretty basic, it has nice wood and it is well matched--nothing fancy. Mahogany neck, spruce top and it seems sufficiently braced. Nice tuners and it holds tune well. No pickguard, since it was geared to be a fingerpicking guitar, so I added a clear one--finger picks can do a number on a finish. Thin body makes it really comfortable.

I have had this guitar about a year now and no problems of any kind. It does seem that the tone is mellowing some. At this time I cannot see any problems in the future--neck hasn't changed, bridge is secure and no buzz or other noise has developed.

I have never had a problem, so I have never called for support.

I have been playing since the '60's. I am a fairly good player, not professional. I also have a Guild D40 and a Fender JG12 12 string - both I like a lot and play equally as much.

If this guitar was lost or stolen, I would either buy another one or move to the now discontinued (if I can find one) Washburn F52SWCE - I played a friends and it plays similarly to the F32SCE, but it has a deeper body and better bass.

I really do like this guitar.