All user reviews of 4/5 for the Washburn HB35

Attention HB35 is my vintage (80's) and probably MIJ.
I recently (a few hours), so I'm a little excited, but I will say this: it is a pure killing, a perspective violin.
I say this because after at least 25 years of existence, it should move.
It is also a pleasure, as bcp other current productions but often disappoint once in hand and / or connected.
To take into account also the price almost ridiculous that I had.
The rest of the features is + or - on the net.

UTILIZATION

The neck is terrible (in a good sense), thick enough but not too in tune 24.75.
The intonation is just perfect, the bends are easy, simply bewildering speed ... and the guitar is very much alive!
on the other hand, it is because its weight with a central beam, but it's pretty good for me who often plays in full.

SOUNDS

Let me be clear: I am thoroughly Telephile (wonder what this Telecaster!).
My Washburn of the rising sun is almost the opposite of my guitar fetish, design, sound and philosophy ... but this is what is interesting.
The pickups are very powerful and delivers the sound muffled enough, maybe too ... where are the mids / highs of my Tele?
In my Tele precisely.
Therefore less bitter but more powerful in comparison (normal, they are double qd mm) and say "softer".
In full, it's pretty good without spin eardrums and clear is the neck pickup jazz and blues / rock on the easel.
I approfondirai this point + Edit any later.

OVERALL OPINION

I'm excited, it's true.
But this guitar seems to deserve it, at least for his violin.
And I've played both, and accumulated over the years, only express an objective opinion quickly (roughly, let's modest) seems realistic.
FYI, there are a few brands in my arsenal ... + A praiseworthy Washburn now!

As a lifelong Gibson player who made the switch to a Telecaster a little more than 10 years ago, I had felt for some time the call of the flat, rosewood fretboard. This hit hard when my son picked up an Epiphone Emporer II and I began searching in earnest for an archtop. I had never owned a semi-hollow body and decided that the Epiphone Dot would be sufficient for an alternate, because I never intended to replace the Tele as my main gigging axe. I had the Dot for one day and sent it back. After owning two ES-175's, an SG Standard and an L-5, I couldn't live with the fit, finish and electronics of the Dot.

My eye turned towards an Epiphone Sheraton, but the new guitars were out of my price range and the used ones that I found were beat. It was during that search that I discovered the Washburn semi-hollowbodies, the HB-30 and the HB-35. The HB-30 had better craftsmanship than other guitars in it's price range, and came equipped with the Buzz Feiten tuning system as a standard feature. The translucent red finish on the flame sycamore top makes it a real eye-catcher, too.

I thought my mind was completely made up when I found a brand-new HB-35 for sale by Brian Goff at Bizarre Guitars in Madison, WI. He had a drop-dead gorgeous blond HB-35 that was right at my target price (around $500). I snapped it up and was floored by the deep flame, the flawless binding (everywhere), the bright work, and a really well-designed bridge and tailpiece...not just a Tune-O-Matic clone, but a really well thought out and machined rig (I can't verify this, but I believe it may be manufactured by Schaller. There is a small, swirly "S" on each of the saddles).

Then I plugged it in and....oops! The Korean pickups were not happening for me. The bridge pickup was fine, but the neck pickup was beyond dark. It was awful. You could get a nice range of tone by balancing the two of them, but forget about using the neck pickup on it's own. I immediately replaced them with a set of Schaller Golden 50's (the pickups Trey Anastasio uses in his custom built archtops and that are standard on Heritage archtops), and everything was right with the world. While the guitar was on the bench for the pickup swap, I was really able to appreciate the craftsmanship. The tone block is a solid mahogany 2x6, which gives the guitar remarkable sustain considering it's all-killer, no-filler hollow ES-335 tone.


Beautiful craftsmanship and tone woods (maple, mahogany, sycamore).
Flawless binding and mother of pearl inlays
Excellent machining and plating on the hardware.
Grover heads. Schaller pickup upgrade (pickup replacement is highly recommended).
Tone, tone, tone. Even the HB series are imported, Washburn has remained true to it's Chicago Blues roots and guitar-making history.
After a great deal of research and comparison shopping, I believe this guitar to be the best 335-style entry in the under $1,000 price range (although the list is slightly higher), and I only paid half that amount.


Korean electronics. Sell the pickups on eBay, get some real pickups and pots. The instrument is well-worth the investment. The fit of the case bothered me, too. I ended up using the Canadian SKB plywood/tolex case that I bought for the Dot and tossing the stock Washburn case in the corner pile of misc. guitars and stuff. It's okay, but the Epi case is just better, and I already had it..

It's really good. No kidding. Photos are posted at http://geocities.com/beatlit/dennis.html

If you can't get a Gibson, Guild or a Heritage, this guitar should be your next choice. It's much closer to the class of those instruments than comparably-priced Epiphone, Hamer, or Ibanez archtops.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

No details on the country of manufacture, it is numbered next to the words "handmade in the tradition of Washburn since 1876.
22 frets, the salesman told me about micro gibson but I have not removed to check and externally it resembles that seen in the catalog wasburn.
a switch with three selections of microphones and 4 pots of volume / tone which is built differently depending on the choice of microphone.
Thin neck with some simple pearl boxes, microphones and mechanical gold.
aesthetically beautiful guitar.

UTILIZATION

Very good ergonomics

SOUNDS

For me its very little jazz but to be the shape with a string tie strings very hard and low but not spun smooth. great choice of following the pots and pickups.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it since 2001 but little because of the strings very hard not to bend so little or no solo for me is a very cool guitar (how jazz) playing in his clear and not too fast. I found him a very warm sound and plays with the strings muted very nice for rhythm.
Briefly not as versatile a Telecaster or Start, but its specificity is good sound that makes it interesting, now may be that the strings are for many. bought in 2001 to about 1500 francs a very good deal at this price I do not hesitate even if it is not my favorite guitar.