Washburn Announces HM Import Guitar Series

Washburn have release some new pointy guitars - the HM Import Guitar Series. I used to be a major Washburn fanboy as a teen for the simple reason Nuno Bettencourt played them, and he was GOD to me back then. These days the only guitar in their range I am a big fan of is the Idol Series. Now that is a classy looking guitar.

Anyway, back to the pointy ones. I'm sure some of you will like them. Me, I'm pretty "meh". What do you all think?

Features:

* Solid Mahogany bodies. The WV40, WV40V, WI50 and WI50V feature set Mahogany necks, while the WM24V and WM24 feature Mahogany bolt on necks
* Phenolic fretboard
* Grover Exclusive tuners
* Randall humbucking pickups
* Licenced Floyd Rose Bridge featured on the WV40V, WM24V, WI50V, Tune-O-Matic Bridge featured on WV40, WM24 and WI50
* Buzz Feiten nut and saddle allows for pristine intonation

The HM Series is currently available at Washburn retailers.

Washburn Guitars, pioneering the world’s finest cutting-edge instruments for over 12 decades, has announced today of the release of a stylish yet affordable HM Import Guitar Series. The HM-Series is designed for superior tone and quality, the Import Series features a revolutionary Phenolic fretboard, providing the ultimate surface for fast riffs, arpeggios and runs. Phenolic is a resin that has a very smooth glass like feel similar to ebony. Notably, some pool balls are made from Phenolic Resin.

The HM Import line includes 6 stylish guitars: WV40, WV40V, WM24V, WM24, WI50 and WI50V

All Washburn HM Import Series Guitars feature a solid mahogany body and neck, Grover Exclusive tuners. The series also includes Randall pickups, which have been specifically designed to match the tone woods of these guitars, providing the ultimate guitar to amplifier tone.

“Our Washburn HM Import series offers a tremendous value for guitarists who want the lightning fast speed and quality build that our HM series is known for,” said Jody Dankberg, Director of Marketing and Artist Relations at Washburn Guitars. “With the HM Import Series, we have been able to provide high-end features at affordable prices, resulting in a line of guitars that allows musicians across all genres to perfect their sound while using a meticulously crafted and visually stunning instrument.”

Washburn N4 Vintage

With the rumours of Extreme, one of my favourite bands when I was growing up, touring Australia, I had a look for some info on his Washburn guitars. I found this great video on the newly released N4 Vintage which is a replica of the guitar he used back in the 90's.

I didn't realise that they had expanded so far with the N Series, now with seven currently produced models. But what it brought me back to most was the P Series, in particular the P4 Deluxe, which Nuno also played.

Built with a mahogany body, with a flamed maple top, the P4 Deluxe also featured Washburn's (then) exclusive sound chambers, making it lightweight and extremely resonant. Loaded with Seymour Duncan classic '59 and custom humbuckers, the tone was to die for.It also came with Deluxe Schaller locking tuners and a fine-tuning tailpiece giving total control over tuning with the added bonus of a graphite nut. It could be found in a variety of Burst colors, including; Wineburst, Cherry Sunburst, Blueburst, Honeyburst, Coffeeburst, Tobaccoburst, and more.

Washburn have since pulled these from their line up, which is a real shame. They were a fantastic guitar, and if I ever saw one I think I'd have to buy it straight away.

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Washburn Joe Trohman Idol Series

Ok, when I got this email the first thing I thought was "WHO????". Then I read a bit further and found out it's the lead guitarist from F.O.B. (Fall Out Boy for those not in the emo know). These guys are one of the few emo bands I enjoy, mainly because they can sing and can right very catchy tunes. Turns out Trohman now has a signature Washburn about to be released.

The guitar features include:

• WB630 high-output humbuckers
• One-piece set maple neck
• Rosewood fingerboard with mother of pearl keyhole inlays -24-3/4" neck scale
• 14" fingerboard radius -42.5mm nut width
• Adjustable bridge with stop tailpiece -Grover 18:1 gear ratio tuners
• 2 volume and 2 tone controls
• 3-way pickup selector
• Available in both black (WI26B) and white (WI26W)

What's more, it's a bloody affordable guitar, retailing for US$419.90 and is available for pre-order online at www.empireoftherepublic.com. Not quite sure what the deal is with the name of the site in relation to anything, but you can place your order and pay via PayPal right there and then.

Again, this is another guitar that I like in white. To me the white brings out the lines much better. The guitar has a rather classic look to it while still feeling like a modern guitar, and I like that a lot. It also features what Washburn call Voice Contour Control (VCC). This effectively splits the humbucker into a single coil and lets the player control the blending of single and humbucking singnals. A nice feature but I would be interested to see how practical it actually is.

All things said, I could see myself playing one of these, regardless of the signature on it. How about you guys?

Washburn Preacher Paul Stanley Signature

So how many companies has the Starchild switched between over the years. Anyway, this guitar is definitely better looking than some of the other dodgy pieces of crap that have had Stanley's name on it. The Washburn Preacher is a very interesting little beast. The deluxe model (shown above) is one of the more strikingly beautiful guitars that I have seen in quite a while. But my goodness you pay for it. Coming in at close to $4000 it better be good.

* Mahogany body
* Gloss finish
* 8 ply white binding
* Tone Pros� Bridge
* Stop Tailpiece
* Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups
* 3-way toggle switch
* 2 volume, 2 tone controls
* Mahogany set neck
* Bound headstock
* Art Deco headstock inlay
* Ebony fingerboard with Pearl block inlays
* 22 jumbo frets
* 24.75" scale
* 12" fingerboard radius
* Double action truss rod
* Graph Tech nut
* Gold hardware
* 18:1 Grover� tuners

You can get an entry model about $1300, but that sexy white is just not available. Not that the black looks that bad.

I have to admit that until about five years ago I was a massive KISS fan. Then I got burnt out. So did my wallet. In fact I had a Limited Edition Ibanez Signature Series Iceman at one point. I sold it and bought three guitars with the money. If anyone wants an almost full collection of Psycho Circus comics just let me know.

What other crazy purchases have you made just because of the name on it?

Washburn Guitars Introduces Solid Wood Travel Guitar

Based on the popular Timbercraft Line of Solid Wood Acoustics, Washburn Guitars is pleased to announce the addition of the B52SW, Travel Size guitar to its line. The Travel Size, B52SW features a Solid Spruce Top and Solid Mahogany Back and Sides, giving the guitar a big clear projection that sounds exceptionally large for its size. The B52SW has a Mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard that ensures smooth, round sound, and great playability.

The Washburn Timbercraft B52SW features gold tuners with black buttons, bone nut and saddle, and maple binding. The B52SW is currently available and has a list price of $599.90, which includes a deluxe padded gig bag.

One thing that I miss not having is a little travel guitar, although I would rather go for something like this or even this crazy thing if you want something a bit more normal then this is a good choice.