Washburn P2QCS

My quilted Cherry Sunburst Washburn P2 was made in Korea around 1997 (from what I can gather), but I bought it brand new in 2001. It looks like a Fender Jaguar spanked the monkey with a Les Paul. 22 medium frets adorn a rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot markers. The 3 piece 24 3/4 set-neck has a nice, medium C profile similar to a Gibson, and the old-style Washburn headstock gives it a nicely vintage look. A nice touch are the non-locking Grover tuners, which only had a little bit of slippage when I first got it. A cheap black nut did the job, but I eventually changed it out for something with a little bit more grip. Body-wise, its 3 pieces of a wood I couldn't figure out - very light coloured for mahogany, but it does have an inherently middy, warm tone that sits nicely in the Les Paul category. It also features a one piece quilted laminated top that is wickedly thin - the figuring is not great and is patchy around the sides, but looks nice enough in the right light. The paintjob is very well applied - no over runs or overbuffing. The neck and body are completely binded in cream, and the insides were pretty clean and nicely shielded with both paint and foil.
Electronically, its a pretty simple layout - two Washburn branded humbuckers controlled by a three way switch that's located on the upper horn, one tone and one volume with speed dials and a tune-o-matic bridge and stoptail.
When I bought it I was looking for a Les Paul style axe with a little more attitude. This fit the bill nicely. I also got a good deal on a Rockcase by Warwick, which is an absolutely tank, when I purchsed it.

Nothings perfect though. I replaced the three way switch with a Switchcraft cause the original was getting a lil fiddly on me. The frets could of done with a bit more polish, and the binding isn't perfect right the way round the body. I also replaced the cheap nut with an Earvana. But for what I paid for it originally, this is a wicked guitar for the money.

I play a variety of music - Tool, Oasis, Crowded House, but mainly my own stuff which is classic rock. Currently I'm playing through a Marshall MG50 with a Tubescreamer as a practice setup, and when I'm jamming I'm going through either a 30th Anniversary 1x12 Marshall Jubilee or a 5150 head and cabinet. Played through the stock Washburn pickups, the tone was very nice - warm & full through the neck and with a little more clarity and bite on leads. Very PAFish sounding. Out of all the positions, the middle one was the most balanced with a nice high end and a chunky low register. Not much in variety being a three way switch, but good for what I was doing.
I felt it did need more however, so I got my tech to install a Seymour Duncan C5 in the bridge and a Seth Lover in the neck, both nickel-plated. Interestingly enough, the original pots were 250k, so I swapped them out for CTS 500k audiotapers. And my god, the difference it made was astounding. Not only did the new pots open up the sound in a big way, it made me finally realise how enclosed and distorted the original pickups sounded. There's a tremendous clarity in the bridge on distortion and cleans, and the Seth has a wicked, mid-rangy lead tone akin to Carlos Santana. I still dig the original pickups however, and for the price I paid they were very good in comparison to a lot of stock Ibanez/EMG-HZ pickups I've tried.

Since I bought it when it was already 4 years old, I can't comment on how well it was setup originally - it could've taken a lot of abuse over the years. When I first played it the action was touch high, but the pickups were at the proper height and the bridge, etc wa all properly routed. From what I can tell, there were a few patches that QC could've taken care of - the fingerboard has a touch of glue on the side of the higher register. The frets, though there were no sharp edges and were properly crowned, had a touch of oxidisation on them. The quilted top doesn't have the best figuring in the world, and sometimes the grain matching seems a bit sloppy when looking at the body. Lousy selector switch (which seems a common problem in lower end guitars) and a nut that looks like it fell off the side of a stapler. However I took it to a quality guitar tech, and after replacing and setting her up with 11's, it plays like a dream.

I've never taken it out to a gig (but soon will) cause they thing is built like a tank. The new pickups make this guitar a frickin beast. I'm comparing this to my USA Wolfgang, and the make quality is more than adequate when putting them side by side. Sure, the Wolf scores more brownie points on build quality such as wood selection, but I'm pretty sure it'll hold up in the club circuit. The medium thick finish doesn't look like its gonna wear down any time soon, and I replaced the strap buttons with Schallers for security. I replaced the bridge set with a Tonepros bridge and stoptail, more for upgrading than quality deterioration. I would and have in the past gigged without a backup (my bad) and though I always tell myself I should take a 2nd axe with me at all times, my brain doesn't register :) Can't wait to road test her!

I did flick an email to Washburn when I first bought it, in the vain hope of acquiring some type of warranty recognition. However, this model has been long discontinued and I wasn't surprised when they didn't reply back. Unfortunately NZ doesn't have much of a warranty support base as well, so I guess I'm on my own.
Cross fingers I won't be needing them in a hurry!

I've played acoustically since I was about 12, just strumming and doing the songwriting route in the bedroom. In 2000 I went out and bought my first real electric - a USA Peavey Wolfgang Stoptail. Now that is a great instrument. However, the thing I found is that something that nice is gonna get pretty banged up once you start gigging with it, so I bit the bullet and went out to buy something that I wouldn't have much of a problem flinging around or doing mods to. I looked at the PRS Santana SE for a while, and though the quality was good, the budget pricetag of US$800 here in NZ seemed a bit much. Ditto the Epiphone Les Pauls which go for around US$600 here. So I picked the P2 because it basically had all the features I wanted, plus it looked a lil different from the norm. With how it sounds now from all the mods I've done, I've basically spent the equivalent of a stock Epi but with a way better sound and feel. No other guitars in this price range could beat it.
The one thing I love about this guitar is the heel. Check out a PRS or even a Gibson - Ed Roman's right when he says those guys should do something about them, cause on my cheap Korean axe there is no heel at all. Zero. Which makes playing high up absolutely incredible.
Though I wish it had a better top and some finer quality tone woods, for the price I paid I can't fault it. Don't take my scores above as a naysay - I just don't believe everything can be a ten in this price bracket. But this axe rates really high as an intermediate guitar. Do some mods and you have an axe thats heading up there with the likes of PRS and Gibson.

This guitar is a Washburn P2 Quilted Maple top, Limited Edition with a cherry sunburst finish. The body of this guitar was made in Korea. It is sort of a les paul style. The electronics and important assembly was done in the USA. It has 22 frets. The dual humbuckers are seamour duncan made with a 3-way switch. It has one volume and one tone; It would be better with two volume and two tone controls. The guitar's neck and body are mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. The bridge is a tun-o-matic with Grover self-lubing tuners. One great feature this guitar has is the neck that is built through the body of the guitar. it sure beats the bolt-on or set necks

The sound is identical to the Les Paul. I am running the guitar off of a Carvin MTS 3200 tube amp. They are a great combination. Their is no undesired noise coming from the guitar or the amp. This guitar has unbelievable sustain. This guitar is very versatile in sound. The humbuckers are great for distortion. I love the "clean" sound this guitar puts out.

The factory had this guitar set up pretty good. The action was a bit high (I lowered it- very easy to do.) The intonation is set up well. The electronics where set up perfectly. I never had to adjust the truss rod either. I did have to clean the neck. the frets were a bit rusty and their was quite a bit of junk on the fret board. The wood is great quality -(very dense wood). This guitar looks and sounds like a Les Paul but The neck is very fast. It plays quite well. perfect for leads and rhythm.

This guitar would be perfect for live performances. The guitar is built to last a life-time. It is backed with a life-time warranty. the guitar is built solid. Since the neck is mounted through the body of the guitar, it isn't going anywhere. The strap buttons are built to take a beating. I would definately be able to depend on this guitar without a backup.

The 3-way switch was bad. It didn't always switch over. I contacked my dealer and had a new switch in 4 days. I offered to replace the switch myself since i have an electronic background. I could have had Washburn fix it for me. Since the warranty is lifetime, i don't have to pay for labor or parts ever. I didn't even void the warranty by replacing the switch myself. The newly replaced switch works perfectly, their is no noise to the electronics at all.

This guitar is perfect for any type of music (except country music). I would definately replace it with another if it was lost or stolen. This guitar is in a class of its own. It is comfortable and easy to play. I do have one thing i dislike about this guitar; It wears on your arm when you play in the sitting position. the edge of the body isn't as smooth as i would like it to be. After a while- you get a crease in your skin as if you would from resting your arm on an edge of a desk. you get used to it though.