Washburn SS40

I purchased this awesome guitar from EBay, purely on a whim. It had fifteen bids on just the first day, so I watched it with baited breath over ten days. The bids were mounting up, and there was no WAY I was gonna let this one go! On the final two minutes, the bids were coming in thick and fast, but it had to be mine. I finally paid £258 for it, and my GOD was I impressed when it turned up.

Oh the sound! Its got a beautiful action, and the Floyd Rose trem really makes it sing for some KICK ASS dive bombing. Its got a gold plated trem, arm, and machine heads. The first thing I did when I removed the packing was to polish it. It looks as good as it does sound! It taken pride of place next to the stack. A day hasnt gone past when Ive picked it up and just held it. Its like a dream come true!

Erm....its quite heavy.

OK, it is rather heavy, but that to me speaks volumes in regards to quality. It has a solid build, Ive thrashed it through several gigs, and ive not had to retune, or be 'careful' as one usually should with their axes. Ive never had a guitar that literally sings (not trying to oversell this honest) but Ive kept my EQ and FX to a minimum as the Steve Stevens takes my (and the audience's) ears to another level.

Really guys, if you EVER get the chance to own one of these beauties, it is a MUST for any level of musician. Check EBay, check your local Guitar Shop, anywhere. Who knows. The bottom line is, that this has to be one of the better guitars to have hit the market. Not the best, but it is up there. (One little feature I like, is that the two hex keys for fine tuning are bolted to the back of the headstock, which makes it very handy to tune whilst on the road!!)Dont take my word for it. Go and find one. I would love to hear thoughts from other owners of the Steve Stevens. herbieflowers@aol.com

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