Washburn A-5 Original

My A-5 is reissue. It's black, dual humbucker (washburn originals, very hot), string-thru body bridge. Kinda fat v-neck, unpainted 25.5inch bolt-on. Woods, age, origin, no clue. Controls are two tone and one master volume. And one of the other reviews mentioned the great location of the 3-way switch (which, to boot is back-forth instead of up-down ... I prefer). Rosewood fingerboard, medium frets well-worn. Grover tuners. I bought this from a pawn shop in Sioux Falls, SD, earlier this year. My guess is its an early 90s model at latest - this girl has been around the block. The strap buttons had been moved a few times and are now on the bottom of the body and where the heel of the neck meets the body - which means I had to cut up a leather strap to get it to fit. I do have a bad this girl fits in but someday I'll have to call up my carpenter/upholstery guy with some measurements before this thing goes out on the road with me.

I have a pretty heavy rock band (lots full-chording, single note riffing, hot solos, cool noise) that led me to seeking out Washburns nearly 10 years ago - I like this guitar in the live aspect because it looks badass (and who's the guy talking **** about Dimebag? Doesn't he realize Washburn built that guitar WAY better than Dean did? And only once you are a far better player than someone else can you you talk junk...) and whereas Ive played a couple friends' Jacksons and I don't like the way their body weighting makes the guitar tilt south. The A-5 stays at the perfect angle for me when I'm standing - I'm all about good form. Look at Randy, Dime, Petrucci... Plus our shows have a lot of movement going on and I get pretty crazy. the A-5 stays where she ought and I rock on...
I play out of a Peavey Bandit and a few other outboard pieces... A rookie rack is what it is. But the immediacy of high-gain pickups and solid-state distortion is very nice in the live mix. Our other guitarist is a tube guy, likes Teles and PRS and Ibanez, so the blend is perfect when we have unison riffing - not too shrill, not too smooth. And the harmonics are fantastic, even if this guitar is old. Blending the pickups and manipulating the individual tone controls is a great tool when controlling sustained notes, not to mention slide or delay or clean work. Havent gotten to record with it yet but I have some bend-pinch harmonic-wah wah overdubs to do and I know she will squeal with zeal and cut thru on tape. Also, no whammy means no string lock. the spread of the infamous washburn headstock makes the tones behind the nut very similar. A nice tool for unexpected sounds, not to mention the occasional jimmy page-approved bends.

Here's where I have to lay down the law. All 'metal era' washburns Ive played have stiff action which is my preference. But this guitar is a work in progress. Number one the stiff action I like is a nonplus when you add the fact that the action takes off after the seventh fret. If I have any fast/high leadwork in a song, I have to use a different guitar. I'm looking into having a shim put in because the neck/truss rod are as straight as me and 9 other guitarists have tried, the bridge pins on the hi and low e strings are all the way down (I had to replace or modify the string-saddle screws - they were too hi and dig into the side of my hand). Also, the nut needs to be replaced. the groove in the neck needs to planed out smoothly, and here's the kicker. I pick a bit hard, I'm no tap-dancing sweep arpeggio artist but I'm not Kurt Cobain ether. I break maybe 10 strings a year and I play about 20 hours a week. But this guitar chews up the high E string all the time. Thinking it might be that pesky nut I wound the top 3 strings 'backwards' on the tuning pegs, hoping a reduced angle=less tension on that brittle POS nut. The neck is not as solid as other bolt-ons Ive played. I dare say its the worst attribute of this guitar. I hope its a 'lemon' sort of problem bc I'd buy another one of these someday fo sho. Black finish has nice shine still, but scratches and a few dents on the body are really obvious. Hardware, though good dense metal is starting to corrode. Had to have soldering job, pots sprayed, etc. basic health check. I had to really work this girl over to my side of tracks, and it's still going on. I have good people tho. I'm not worried. If anything I'm buying a new HM series as soon as I get to the Twin Cities and can do some real shoppping.

This is a guitar made for playing live. Sioux Falls has a climate from -10F to 110F. VERY hard on guitars. This guy stands up to the dry cold in the winter and the incessant muggy hot summers without needing a drastic setup change each season. Also, it stays in tune when youre moving from 10 outside to 75 inside or if youre opening up for Five Finger Death Punch in a way-too-small club and suddenly its 118 degrees (no kidding) inside. I would never use any guitar by itself for one of my band's gigs, But I use this gal pretty heavily onstage and I'm mostly satisfied. One caveat again is the neck and the nut. The tuning may swim just a little, but you keep an ear out and deal with it.

N/A Cant wait to get brand new Washburn -- I'll tell you all about it!

I'm 25, been playing half my life. My first guitars were all acoustic - I had a big thing for the blues and classic rock. I got a strat-knockoff, a taiwan-made Yamaha 11 years ago, a Washburn G-20V 8 years ago and my A-5 Ive had since March. I have a Peavey Bandit, about 10 years old, that is my chariot and horse. A few japanese pedals, old morley wah, parametric EQ and a Crate Blue Voodoo 4x12 cabinet.

My favorite thing about my A-5 is NOBODY has old washburns around here and ain't NOBODY got my A-5 onstage! It's a gain monster and on heavy songs it really brings the wood and is so sensitive to changes in articulation. Great feedback! Its my only string-thru-body guitar, too, and while I love a good whammy bar it's nice to have a guitar I can throw into DADGAD, standard, or open G real quick. And even it's shortcomings have advantages. The high action and small fretboard radius? Slide guitar from hell. Once I get another A-5 that's what'll likely happen to this one. I'll just jack up the action and leave it for slide.

Big black body. Made in Japan. 22 frets. A volume knob, tone knob, and three way selector. Really nice dual humbuckers--I'm not sure of the make but I would guess Seymour Duncan or Dimarzzio. Whatever they are, they are hot. Annoying/unique body style (have yet to find a case it will fit in). It has a whammy, which is starting to discolor and does not stay in tune very well. The tuners are non-locking george washburn. Jumbo frets I believe (makes it look like a "student" guitar). I'd give it a five except for the pick ups.

When I purchased it I was playing metal, and punk rock. It worked well for this genre...when I started playing more experimental music it was fun to torture. Not a lot of tonal variety with the 3-way, although I can get really deep bass tones and the guitar sounds its best tuned down an octave. I mostly play it through a Crate solid state/tube Stealth combo and speaker cab...it sounds great paired with a wah or a big muff but really isn't subtle enough to handle my more individualized effects (Zvex fuzz factory, Justin Philpott NY Octave, etc). It sounds a little muddy with a clean setting or played through a vintage amp. It can sound very dark and raw though which has its place.

Hardware has rusted a bit, I've been through two nuts and the finish flakes off of the tone/volume knobs. The paint has chipped, but the wood remains intact. The finish on the neck makes playing leads a little sticky. The oversized frets make you work harder than should be necessary to play some riffs. The action is a little high...quite "stiff" too (if say a Strat has loose action), but it handles heavy gauges better than more expensive guitars. The weight can be off-putting.

Built like a tank. Its individual components often require maintenence, but the overall neck/body could withstand just about anything (and mine has survived just about anything you can imagine from fights to being dropped five feet onto a hardwood floor to nail polish to fire). Eventually the hardware will rust away, but otherwise you can't break this guitar.

I've been playing for about 11 years. I also own a Nuno N1/IV which I love. I have played through teles, strats, les pauls, sgs, etc. I own a closet full of weird effects and a couple of vintage amps are at my disposal. These pickups are worth $50 alone--definitely my favorite feature. This thing is kind of a joke because of its weight and how ugly it is...its cool for someone who is hard on their gear though. If It was stolen and I saw another one for less than $100 with the same features I MIGHT purchase...otherwise NO WAY. I'm glad it was my first guitar though. If you can play this thing, every other guitar will seem like it is creamy smooth.

I bought this guitar from a friend couple of months ago. Originally it was bought new by another friend of mine in 1982. So the year model is 82 (which can also be read from the back plate. I new the history of this guitar and the fact that it wasn't played much made me buy it. Only the body painting was a mess. The shape of the body is a "mild" explorer type. Original colour is black. It has maple neck and two single coil pick-up's. It has a three way pickup selector, volume and tone controls. No whammy.

I play mailnly classic rock and R&B. After I bought it, I just made some adjustments and it was ready to play. A-5 has bright strong sound. The single coil pickups (which are quite powerful) make the guitar sound like Fender Strat. The noise is in acceptable limits. I really like the sound of this guitar, especially with clean rich sounds. I also like the smooth overdriven sound using neck pickup - the bridge pickup could have just a little more power. Overall it seems that my musicman and A-5 match together just fine.

The guitar has a slightly v-shaped neck and thick lacquer in it. The shape is ok but the lacquer...well less would have been enough. The playability of the guitar is great, keeps tune well and plays accurately through the neck. Thicker frets would have been nice, I bend the strings a lot so you want get a good grip. Overall this guitar seems be rock solid with nice sound and good playability.

This guitar is just plain simple and solid. You really have to abuse it hard to get it broken. The front strap button is placed backside of the guitar, not a very good solution.

I have e-mailed once and got an answer quickly.

I've been playing for 20+ years but had also long periods of not playing. I also own a Ibanez JEM777 and a MusicMan 212 Sixty-Five which I use with Boss GX-700 effects and a FC-50/EV-5 pedals.

A-5 is a great guitar. I have noticed that I grab the A-5 more often than the JEM. What a great guitar fro that rock'n roll thang...

I bought this in 1983. All black. 22 frets. Two humbuckers. I replaced the Bridge with a Armstrong 213(I think, it was a long time ago.) Grover tuners. Got rid of the standard whammy bar a put on the Wonderbar, the best whammy in the world. I don't have any Idea why they don't make this bar any more. Three way selector. Basswood body. Neck is maple covered in a thick black poly (just like the body) with a rosewood fret board. Configured a little different than most A series, the selector is behind the bridge which is great! You never hit it while playing until you want to hit it.

A great metal and classic rock guitar. So fricking comfortable to play sitting or standing. Very full sound. Harmonics are bright. Stays rock solid in tune. Mostly played on a Crate G212 with a analog delay stomp box. Now it plays through a laney.

This is a wonderful axe. Small flaw on the fret board, the 14th fret is a little high. You can see a slight bow looking down the fret board by the 14th but the action is still very low. New the guitar was very nice.

This guitar has stood the test of everything. It never really gigged serious, but has been kicked across the floor among other things. One time, when Cinderella guitar spinning was cool and before I bought strap locks I stuck into my parents lawn neck first when the strap came undone and it just stood there growling at me! I lost it another time like that on gravel ( don't ask!). I left it in the changing room of my sauna ( temps of -30 to maybe 100 ) for two years when I was playing some other guitars. As far as the finish is concerned, it is beat to crap. I tried black nail polish on it covering up all the nicks, but finally put this yellow gloss dripping effect paint job on it to cover up all the holes. All I need to do to get her back up to par it replace a volume pot that is going bad. I must have played EVH's "Cathedral" and Ozzy's organ part of Mr. Crowley with it a million times, so the pots about due! So basicly I took this axe to hell, beat the tar out of satan with it until he "uncled" and repaired it with a band-aid.

Washburn seems like pretty good people.

I have been playing for 20+ years and this is still my favorite guitar. It plays very nice and is so comfortable to play. The funny upper part of the body makes a real nice place to keep your picking forearm and is a great reference for accurate picking. The Wonderbar whammy system is great and second to none. Because the bar system was a retro fit the string lock is behind the nut and someday I'm gonna replace it with a modern locking nut. If my A-5 was stolen I'd go nuts, grab my A-5 Browning shotgun and find the thief. The only thing Washburn should do I they ever re-issue this is make it with a unpainted neck, that would speed it up a little. I have seen a few of these on ebay and they are priced really cheap. They have a cool shape without looking like a dimebag dipshit. It's as close to a vintage instrument as I own so I now sometime light oil the metal and treat the fret board.

My guitar was built in 1983. It is one of the early Japanese model Washburn guitars. The body style is similar to an Explorer. Think of Quiet Riot. That is the body style. It has a black body with maple neck and fingerboard. The headstock is also painted black. The guitar features two humbucking pickups (yes they are original) and a standard string through body bridge. It has one volume and tone knob, and a three way toggle. The controls are mounted to a metal piece that looks like a tongue depresser(the very same controls of a Fender telecaster.)

I just got this guitar back from the repairman and it really rips. I think that the guitar has a really bright sound probably due to the maple fingerboard. The middle position on the toggle produces a clean that can scare a Fender owner.

I purchased this guitar used from a pawnshop. The guitar needed a good cleaning and setup. The toneknob didn't work and the truss rod was loose. After it was fixed this guitar is gig ready.

I think this will make a great lead/backup guitar. I am putting on some straplocks on it. The finish almost looks brand new.

Don't know much about Washburn

I would rate this guitar high considering it's relatively simple setup. I like it better than some of the new guitars being produced today. It just has more character.