PSA - Washburn N4s in stock at GuitarGuitar

Cols

One for the Nuno fans.  I remember someone was wanting to try an N4 recently - unusually, one of the UK guitar stores actually has a few in stock rather than just offering them to order in.  

Price is vaguely reasonable too, at a mere £1999.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/12122214582419--washburn-n4-vintage-nuno-bettencourt

jeztone2

A Floyd Rose 1000 series on a £2.5K guitar!!!!

Nah!!! 

Cols

That does seem a bit miserly.

digitalscream

Cols said:

That does seem a bit miserly.

Not only that, but the bridge pickup is a mass-market, inferior version of the original Bill Lawrence pickups.

I'm a massive fan of the N4, but there's no way I'd buy one of these. Hell, they're not even made by the Washburn Custom Shop any more, the production's outsourced.

Cols

digitalscream said:

Cols said:

That does seem a bit miserly.

Not only that, but the bridge pickup is a mass-market, inferior version of the original Bill Lawrence pickups.

I'm a massive fan of the N4, but there's no way I'd buy one of these. Hell, they're not even made by the Washburn Custom Shop any more, the production's outsourced.

I take your point.  Fortunately I got mine while the Chicago Custom Shop was still making them, and replaced the stock bridge pickup with a Bill and Becky 500XL made by Bill Lawrence before he sadly passed away.

For me the best things about the N4 are the neck and the Stephens Extended Cutaway; I trust the contract manufacturer is able to get these parts right.

Stevepage

Washburn for some reason would cheap out on the Floyd rose when it came to their expensive custom shop stuff (save for a few models).

I remember my old WI556. That also had the FR1000 and that guitar cost £2000 new in 2008. It worked well enough but you would feel a bit 'cheated' by it.

Philly_Q

digitalscream said:

Cols said:

That does seem a bit miserly.

Not only that, but the bridge pickup is a mass-market, inferior version of the original Bill Lawrence pickups.

I'm a massive fan of the N4, but there's no way I'd buy one of these. Hell, they're not even made by the Washburn Custom Shop any more, the production's outsourced.

USA, or elsewhere?  I've no idea where Washburns are made nowadays, they've completely lost any sense of brand identity.

Cols

Philly_Q said:

digitalscream said:

Cols said:

That does seem a bit miserly.

Not only that, but the bridge pickup is a mass-market, inferior version of the original Bill Lawrence pickups.

I'm a massive fan of the N4, but there's no way I'd buy one of these. Hell, they're not even made by the Washburn Custom Shop any more, the production's outsourced.

USA, or elsewhere?  I've no idea where Washburns are made nowadays, they've completely lost any sense of brand identity.

I believe they’re outsourced to a shop in Cincinnati, Ohio run by a luthier called Chris Meade.

darius

I was asking a while back how i could get to try one, thanks @Cols

If the trem and pickup specs are not great for new models, is trying one at least a good guide to the neck and general feel of an older one? To enable me to either stop looking or continue wondering...

Cols

@darius - should give you a good idea, although the neck profiles did change over time.  I believe 90s/early 00s were thin, and they moved to a thicker profile around 08/09.

The Floyd Rose can be upgraded, and Bill Lawrence’s wife and daughter are still making ‘proper’ 500XLs.

ThePrettyDamned

Stevepage said:

Washburn for some reason would cheap out on the Floyd rose when it came to their expensive custom shop stuff (save for a few models).

I remember my old WI556. That also had the FR1000 and that guitar cost £2000 new in 2008. It worked well enough but you would feel a bit 'cheated' by it.

My old BC Rich Gunslinger had an ofr on it, and that retailed for about £500 iirc. 

digitalscream

Cols said:

For me the best things about the N4 are the neck and the Stephens Extended Cutaway; I trust the contract manufacturer is able to get these parts right.

If those are the bits you want, I suspect a second hand Parallaxe would sort you out, about £1500 cheaper.

stonevibe

Did the originals have Schaller trems? I know Washburn used own brand ones in the '90s for ages and they were shit.

Stevepage

They would've done. The old Washburn Dimes had schallers too. Very good trems

stonevibe

Yeah, the German made Schaller systems are probably the best of the bunch,  especially for consistency.

Jackobean

The 4N and Authentic still come with the Original.
Think GuitarGuitar recently had a batch of 4N's in at the same price, but looks like they're gone now.

Philly_Q

stonevibe said:

Did the originals have Schaller trems? I know Washburn used own brand ones in the '90s for ages and they were shit.

Didn't they use the Kahler Steeler bridge for a while (the one which was Kahler giving in and essentially making an exact Floyd copy)?

bluechargeboy

Philly_Q said:

stonevibe said:

Did the originals have Schaller trems? I know Washburn used own brand ones in the '90s for ages and they were shit.

Didn't they use the Kahler Steeler bridge for a while (the one which was Kahler giving in and essentially making an exact Floyd copy)?

I had an N4 with a Steeler on it. Nightmare of imperial-sized bolts!