The good folks at Washburn set me up with a loaner of their latest custom shop guitar, the WM526 pictured above. It's a beautiful guitar that illustrates the depth of Washburn's lineup. In particular, what makes this guitar unique is the carbon glass composite fretboard and stainless steel frets. Long time guitarvibe gear heads may recognize that as characteristic of Parker's family of electric guitars, and that's no coincidence. Parker and Washburn are both part of US Music Corp, along with a few other brands including Randall amplifiers, Lyon acoustics.
While I'm a big fan of Parker Guitars, they are a bit unconventional given their light weight and styling. Parker has a bit of a cult following among jazz/fusion guitarists, but they're sometimes knocked by rock guitarists for not quite having enough tonal heft.
The Washburn WM526 is not styled like a Parker, but it does capture one of the most important parts of a Parker guitar: the smooth as glass feeling of the fretboard. Combine that with a beefy mahogany body and two high-powered EMG humbuckers and you've got a very impressive rock guitar. Everything about this guitar is designed for a serious rock sound. Even unplugged, you can tell this guitar has got great sustain. And your hands just want to rip up and down the neck getting more vibrato, bends, hammer-ons and squeals per bar than would otherwise be possible. This guitar begs to be played loud and fast.
The EMG pickups (EMG 81 in the bridge, EMG 85 in the neck position) are high output models that deliver a very powerful yet smooth sound. They're a little hotter than I'm used to, so I turned down the volume on the guitar most of the time, cranking them only when needed. It felt like they're ready to go to 11 or even 12 any time needed. If they're good enough for Zakk Wylde, they're good enough for just about any rock or metal you can throw at 'em.
The WM526 is part of Washburn's HM (Heavy Metal) series and it's certainly got the brute force for any serious shredder. More importantly, it's got the speed on the fretboard for anyone who wants to boost their playing to another level. And if you back off the volume a bit, it's a very versatile guitar. With a list price of around $2,400 (street price under $2000) this is a luxury purchase. Fittingly, Washburn has equipped the guitar with top notch components including Grover exclusive tuners, a locking nut, Buzz Feiten tuning system, genuine Floyd Rose bridge, and a hard shell padded case. While the price puts this guitar out of a lot of people's reach, I gotta say, it's one beautiful axe. If you're among that class of musician who can afford it, it's a luxury that has to be played to be appreciated.
Most importantly, the neck, body and pickups of the WM526 combine to deliver more sustain than I've heard in a long time. Now that I've returned this sucker, every other guitar I play feels like it comes up short. No wonder GuitarWorld gave this guitar it's platinum award for design.
Hopefully this cross-pollination between Washburn and Parker will continue and we'll see more models sharing components in an interesting way. And who knows, maybe some of that cool technology will trickle down to the mainstream sub $500 guitars. I sure hope so!
- Washburn: Main site, WM526, GuitarWorld Review, Gearwire video
- Parker Guitars: Main site
Way too expensive, IMO, but indeed a beautiful guitar. If you want to rock, then this is what you need, for sure!Just that for me at that moment (not considering the price, OK?) a more versatile guitar is needed, not a hard rock one. Well...
Posted by: Ovidiu - GuitarFlame.com | July 02, 2008 at 12:58 PM
These have the best shreadder style necks I have ever had my hands on. This is one great playing and sounding guitar. With the quality of build from the Washburns USA Custom shop is a steal at the price. I will own one and will order mine with Duncans as a custom build ( I current;y own 9 Washburn USA Customs).
SMOKING ax that has to be seen in person then played to believe!!
Posted by: Richard Rutledge | September 23, 2009 at 07:22 AM