This wasn't something I was looking for, just stumbled on it on eBay a couple of weeks ago. It didn't get any bids first time, so I emailed the guy and tried to make a deal outside eBay, but his "buy it now" price was a bit too high so I just waited for the re-listed auction to end and bought it anyway! Picked it up this morning. :)
It's a 1998(?) Washburn WM200, from the USA Custom Shop. It cost the original owner £1,399 and I've got it for £490, so on the face of it it's a bargain, but I know from a bit of Googling that the model was a flop and Guitar Center ended up selling them super-super-cheap in the USA. :lol: So resale value might not be too great, but I reckon in terms of quality I've got myself a pretty good deal.
Construction is unusual - it looks a bit like an HSS Strat and it's made of Fender-style timbers, but it has a tune-o-matic, a glued-in neck and a 24.75" scale. The body is Ash (one-piece), neck is Maple (two-piece, joined down the centre, which I haven't seen before), fretboard is "Orange Coral Rosewood" (whatever that may be!). Pickups are Seymour Duncans (Custom Custom bridge, Custom Staggered middle and Custom Flat neck.... I think) and it has the Buzz Feiten tuning system.
On first impressions I am rather impressed! It's not overly heavy, the neck is fairly substantial (wide and deeper than a Gibson '60s but not as chunky as a '50s), upper fret access is really good. The construction seems to affect the tone more than the timbers - it sounds like a set-neck, with a fair amount of bass, but the ash and/or maple does seem to give a bit of snap. I want to take it apart and see how deep the neck joint goes!
Badly needs a new set of strings and I think I'll add some TonePros bits and an aluminium tailpiece. The controls are a bit oddly placed, whichever position the five-way's in it's a bit awkward to use either the volume or the middle tone..... I feel a custom scratchplate coming on....
Anyway, some pics:
