Where to get to play an N4?

darius

Always liked the look of them, the spec of them, the general design of them, never able to justify the cost of one and have never played one.

If, hypothetically, the money were to be available, where might one actually TRY one? They come up very infrequently in the market and I'm not going to waste a seller's time just giving it a try. And way too much cash to buy unseen.

Cols

They’re great guitars - the most comfortable neck I’ve ever played, and unparalleled upper fret access - but very niche.  As far as I’m aware, they’re not held new in stock by any UK stores; anyone selling them is just ‘available to order’.

Your best bet would be to find a nearby FB member who has one and doesn’t mind letting you have a crack on it.

darius

yes, thats what im hoping for. iso-lockdown-olation allowing of course....

digitalscream

Where are you based?

darius

Derby

Philly_Q

Nuno's house?

stonevibe

GuitarGuitar had some a while back, but I haven't seen any recently. I had a '90s one and I would say that the neck is a bit too small for me, but it isn't flat like an Ibanez etc

The body on them is tiny and it felt a bit too small for me. Nice guitar, but very over-hyped for what it is. Works for Nuno though, but most players I have seen using one don't have his feel or tone, so it is wasted on them.

digitalscream

darius said:

Derby

Well, when lockdown's over, you could head over to mine if you're in the Peterborough area. Mine isn't a standard N4, though - it's the matte green one (including the back of the neck).

Cols

stonevibe said:

GuitarGuitar had some a while back, but I haven't seen any recently. I had a '90s one and I would say that the neck is a bit too small for me, but it isn't flat like an Ibanez etc

The body on them is tiny and it felt a bit too small for me. Nice guitar, but very over-hyped for what it is. Works for Nuno though, but most players I have seen using one don't have his feel or tone, so it is wasted on them.

Later specs had a larger neck, I believe.

It does have an intentionally small body; Nuno’s not a big guy.  I’m only 5’8”, so it’s perfect for me.  If you’re a strapping 6 footer it may feel like a toy.

I’m down in Surrey; bit of a trek from Derby I’m afraid.

digitalscream

stonevibe said:

The body on them is tiny and it felt a bit too small for me. Nice guitar, but very over-hyped for what it is. Works for Nuno though, but most players I have seen using one don't have his feel or tone, so it is wasted on them.

Not really - they're a very unique kind of guitar. And not everybody who buys one is trying to be Nuno...I actually bought one based on the neck joint, and then became a Nuno fan.

skullfunkerry

digitalscream said:

stonevibe said:

The body on them is tiny and it felt a bit too small for me. Nice guitar, but very over-hyped for what it is. Works for Nuno though, but most players I have seen using one don't have his feel or tone, so it is wasted on them.

Not really - they're a very unique kind of guitar. And not everybody who buys one is trying to be Nuno...I actually bought one based on the neck joint, and then became a Nuno fan.

I've never understood why that neck joint isn't more common

digitalscream

skullfunkerry said:

digitalscream said:

stonevibe said:

The body on them is tiny and it felt a bit too small for me. Nice guitar, but very over-hyped for what it is. Works for Nuno though, but most players I have seen using one don't have his feel or tone, so it is wasted on them.

Not really - they're a very unique kind of guitar. And not everybody who buys one is trying to be Nuno...I actually bought one based on the neck joint, and then became a Nuno fan.

I've never understood why that neck joint isn't more common

Mainly because it's very, very hard to get right. The tolerances are much finer than in a normal neck joint, even down to the diameter of the bolt holes in the body - if they're even slightly too big, the neck will almost certainly rotate in the pocket, which can't happen with a normal neck joint, and then you've got intonation issues as well as alignment issues to deal with.

The other problem that can occur with them is that you get an "S" bend in the neck itself, above the 12th fret, because of the asymmetrical shape of the wood and how it reacts to moisture (or so I've been told).

This difficulty is the main reason they were only really available from the Washburn Custom Shop - it was too difficult to get the consistency required from a production line at low cost. The N24, N61 and Parallaxe models all struggled with these issues (apart from the set-neck Parallaxe ones).

darius

@digitalscream it must be at least doweled in for some antirotation feature surely?
i had not heard about any of those issues you mention. 

All the above is confirmation that one needs to try one to like or not like.

digitalscream

darius said:

@digitalscream it must be at least doweled in for some antirotation feature surely?
i had not heard about any of those issues you mention. 

All the above is confirmation that one needs to try one to like or not like.

No, the necks are just bolted on. Those issues are actually quite well-known in the Washburn Nx community (yeah, we're a bit rabid). They're rare in Custom Shop Washburns, but known in the cheaper ones - and when other luthiers have had a go at that joint.

I even had a go at it myself, and...let's just say the end result needed "correction". It's definitely not easy to get it right.