Washburn N6

The Washburn N6 came out in 2005. Nuno an accomplished guitar player was looking for more diversity in his sound so he and Washburn set out to make a stratty version of the Nuno signature model. Nuno Bettencourt is the guitarist for the long time band Extreme. Extreme had some hits the 80s and are still going today. Since the early 90s Nuno has played Washburn guitars exclusively. A unique part of Nunos guitar is the neck joint. Nuno hooked up with a luthier named Stephen Davies to design the guitar. Together they designed a guitar with a very cool neck joint. The neck joint is ideally suited for neck through guitars but for Nuno and the ease of repairability they made this guitar a bolt on. To get a more strat like tone from the guitar the guitar has a maple fretboard and a pickguard along with two Seymour Duncan single coils along with the Bill Lawrence 500xl in the bridge. These pickups are mounted in the pickguard to give more of a strat tone.

UTILIZATION

Because this is just a modified Nuno signature model guitar it plays just like a normal Nuno model. The flat fretboard lets you have a super low action and that makes it very easy to play. The extended cutaway lets you play all the way up the neck. With the guitar only having 22 frets every one of them is very easy to reach. The volume knob is kind of in a strange spot. It is not easy to do volume swells with it if you are used to the a Fender or Jackson volume knob placement. The tone knob is also way out of the way. The pickup slector is also out of the way and being a 5 way selector you will not be switching pickups very quickly. All N6's have the Buzz Feiten tuning system which is a mod on the nut which helps make the inotation of the guitar as close to perfect as you can get without changing the frets.

SOUNDS

This guitar gets pretty close to the strat tone they were looking for. The neck pickup is placed pretty far back because of the hole for the trussrod so it has slightly more high end than a normal strat neck pickup would get. The 500XL in the bridge still cuts through like crazy but with the single coils it kind of over powers them. The volume and output difference you get with the single coils and the 500XL is pretty extreme.

OVERALL OPINION

The Washburn N6 is a great playing guitar that gets a lot of the strat tones. Nuno has been playing these guitars for nearly 20 years now so you know there is something about them that draws you in. When you play one you will feel the unique feeling you get from the innovative design.

Here are the specifications of the guitar Washburn N6 Nuno Bettencourt:

- Solid Alder Body
- Maple neck speckled
- Key birdseye maple
- Grover 18:1
- Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo Schaller
- Neck pickup Seymour Duncan ssl1
- Bridge pickup Bill Lawrence L-500
- Protection plate anodized aluminum
- Cut "Stephen's Cutaway"
- Buzz Feiten Tuning System

There are two colors, black model with silver and aluminum plate model acastillage cream with gold and gold aluminum plate (beautiful).

UTILIZATION

Custom Shop Made in United States, the finish is impeccable.
The guitar has a certain originality in its unique silhouette. A great American whose head reverse recalls the spirit Hendrix.
The handle is very pleasant to the touch and immediately adopted the game faster.
Normal weight, neither too heavy nor too light.
The sound is very versatile and much more interesting with a N4 although the bill lawrence is still effective.

SOUNDS

The style of music is still quite rock but there is a range of sounds very interesting.
on the other hand I do not have good enough amps you detail the sound unfortunately lacks a tube amp ...

OVERALL OPINION

The value price is right, the price of nine is still € 2500 with experience is an original model that I like.
What I like most is the handle and exceptional head reversed.

Vritable N6 custom manufactures the custom shop out of catalog
MODEL unique custom "one of a" 2007 sign from the hand of Nuno back (n0704050)
body color "red", mechanical and accastilage "gold brush"
Solid alder body
Saddle handle mouchetbr /> key in Saddle Mouchet 22 frets
Bill Lawrence L500 bridge pickup
micro intermdiaire Seymour Duncan STKS5M
Seymour Duncan neck pickup STKS5B
1 slecteur 5 positions, 1 volume, 1 Tone push / pull (to the microphone splitter double L-500)
vibrato Schaller licensed Floyd Rose
sleeve junction / Stephens extended cutaway body 5 toward license
junction head / neck adverse Luthier
inverse head 14 "
mcaniques Grover 18:1
Buzz Feiten Tuning System

UTILIZATION

Couraging custom guitar by Washburn custom shop, finishing top in really. The wood was first t t select and bought at the festival in 2005 and NAMM guitar over the month of April 2007. Its originality lies in its custom color "red" not in the catalog and fittings "gold brush" trs bright.

The neck is super smooth, enjoyable to play with a trs ACCS IDAL acute thanks to the dcoupe Stephen's Cutaway. The key is trs quick dish with a handle that facilitates plutt at run technical plans.

The rglages are few and you get a sound very easy. one volume and tonality.

The Floyd is trs effective, it does not move hardly even in heavy use.

SOUNDS

Clear sound with blues / rock / hard rock.
The original of this guitar over a N4 based on the presence of two single coil pickups and STKS5M STKS5B, and prsence SERIES in the split push / pull on the Bill Lawrence L-500. So, we have seven configurations of microphones diffrent or better flexibility than with the N4 split.
I use this guitar on two heads Hughes & Kettner Triamp MkI (6L6, 1997) and MkII (EL34, 2005).

The sound is good trs with great force, SPECIFICATIONS amps on low gain. This guitar sounds on vintage vritablement intermdiaires positions. Pass some gain, the sound tends to become much rounder and less incisive.

In his clear, simple position 2 micro distilled trs bluesy sound with a good dose of aggressivit with a slamming trs enjoyable. Any combination of micro are enjoyable in its light.
Low gain saturation for the positions intermdiaires (2 single or 1simple/1double) are the most INTERESTED. The sound is really in the spirit stratocaster with a power reserve of supplmentaire gniale. It sounds vritablement in mind vintage ...
For Hi-gain, the sound is more with the position INTERESTED intermdiaire (1simple/1double). On the other hand, the micro double L-500 alone, trs aggressive is the same as for N4 (see these reviews).

I use hardly any simple microphone positions lacking a bit of power and personality I got (without Stratocaster typ), except for the songs blues / rock that require less power.

The SETTING THE Tone got me is useless. By decreasing the treble is lost completely for which this guitar has a rel intrt. His ct vintage and aggressive.

OVERALL OPINION

The original of this guitar is a combination of micro double and single. It is in this position that all the characters of this guitar spring. It is really a powerful sustain trs enjoyable.

N4 compare my vintage / relics, the N6 has much less personality in the bridge position (L-500). The sound is much rounder for the same rglages in Hi-gain for the same L-500 (probably the varnish of the body and the button on the handle Saddle). However, it is much more effective in a register-Mid-Low Gain. The avalanche gain of the dual L-500 associated with the simple STKS5M provides Tone vintage trs trs with a grain enjoyable.

I would do without this choice hsiter second. I do not regret one second. That said, as a guitar "custom" single, I'd be impossible to find the same ...
The report is qualitprix INTERESTED, especially for orders in the United States, with a trs Dollar down ...
A choice between my and my relics N4 N6 custom, impossible! These two guitars have two philospohies totally Different.

I advise those who think this guitar the Fender Stratocaster crystal clear sound but want bnficier a reserve of power not ngligeable.