Washburn J6

Purchased from Robbie's Music in Wayne, NJ. Paid $659 including hardshell case

The J6 is a lot of guitar for the money. The fit and finish is excellent, the construction detail is on par with any guitar costing considerably more. I have been shopping for the past year and have played many different brands and models, some a bit less expensive, most, considerably more expensive and chose the J6 as it met all of what I expected in a jazz bodied guitar. There are several that I had the pleasure to play that were better, but their cost was prohibitive and I could not in my wildest imagination come up with the justification to spend several thousand dollars more.

I have owned the J6 for 1 week and it has met all of my expectations. I have no complaints so far.

I purchased the natural finish and it is quite beautiful. The application of the finishing material is flawless. Everything from the Grover tuners to the quality of the binding on the body and f-holes is equal to many guitars I have sampled costing several times more. Intonnation is excellent. I don't know how the Buzz Feiten system works, but it does. No matter where I play on the neck, I am perfectly in tune.

At this point in my life, product quality is my primary concern and the J6 has proven to meet all of my requirements. It is a beautiful instrument to look at, the sound is exactly what I have been looking for and the price was affordable. I enjoy playing all types of music but jazz is my personal preference. I play the J6 through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and the combination works wery well. Very glad my wife and kids pooled their resources and purchased this for me for Christmas. Sure beats the ususal shirts and socks!

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

The guitar is called "J6" but entry can be seen on the neck as "Washburn" name "Montgomery" in abalone. So beautiful body in the style of the L5 Wes! The bottom and sides are flamed maple CP's solid spruce top. The handle is contoured to the hair, not too big or too late with markers of two half-blocks and a rosewood fingerboard. Two microphones, two volumes, two tones. Grover golden class. The guitar is imposing but light enough to play standing and is not a problem.

UTILIZATION

At the grip, after trying: Ibanez AF105, AF125, PM35, Epiphone, Peerless, Aria, Hagstrom and so is at once the feeling with the big scratches. The strings are rinsed but despite this, the guitar is immediately pleasant, very fair with easy access to acute. Very good performance tuning with Grover. The sound is good without plugging, accurate, smooth jazz very short! Once plugged in, there is no accidental feedback (as some of the guitars mentioned above).

SOUNDS

The toggle switch allows selection between the two standard pickups. The switch works fine but clearly it is a golden Japanese model I ever had and I quickly changed to a Switchcraft (mounted on Gibson) so to change.
The pickups are not very strong and its lack of definition, but it sounded quite well. Personally I will immediately change for Benedetti.
But hey, I still made the first repeated yesterday with the guitar in its own juices and it sounds great already. I make a point when I put new pickups!

OVERALL OPINION

Finally, I had never thought to buy a Washburn but after trying all the arched top of the magicians of Nimes (Broc'n'roll not to quote) between 600 and 1600 euros, which is the only m 'has given an immediate desire to return to all standards of Wes! I imagine (since not tried) that is far from an L5, but the value for money this guitar is unbeatable!
Attention! For aficionados of Plexi to donf or other Mesa Triple Rectifier, at least two bombs to inject polyurethane foam in the box, you'll have a little trouble controlling the feedback!
In short! This guitar can do only jazz (whatever Rockab 'must see) but it does it well. A must try for anyone who is undecided on the choice of a pure jazz guitar and does not have the huge budget (10 times the price of the Washburn for information) necessary for the purchase of a Gibson L5!