Buffalo Grove, IL (January 22, 2014) -- The Nuno Bettencourt N4 has long been a popular model in the Washburn line. The combination of the Stephens Extended Cutaway with a Floyd Rose has proved irresistible to shredders the world over. Now Washburn ups the ante with the addition of a carbon fiber fretboard and stainless steel frets.
The N4CV’s 22 stainless steel frets are silky smooth and will last the life of the owner without needing replacement. The carbon fiber fretboard is extremely fast and slippery so bends and dives never bind your fingers.
The N4CV is made in the Washburn USA Custom Shop and features a vintage matte finished alder body with a Seymour Duncan '59 neck pickup and Bill Lawrence L-500 bridge pick-up complemented by a Floyd Rose bridge & locking nut system and Grover Exclusive 18:1 tuners. One of the hallmarks of the N4 is the Stephens Extended Cutaway on the maple neck which allows for unprecedented upper fret access. The Buzz Feiten Tuning System allows for perfect musical intonation at every point on the neck. The stripped down control layout features a 3 way pickup selector and 1 volume control.
The N4CV comes with a Washburn GCN4 hardshell case and retails for $3,999.90
Washburn Guitars announces the addition of 3 new parlor sized guitars to its broad line of acoustic guitars. The new parlors are based on designs Washburn used over 100 years ago.
All 3 parlor guitars are 24.75” scale and feature a natural stain finish, solid cedar top supported by quarter sawn scalloped sitka spruce bracing, abalone rosette and standard Washburn rosewood bridge. The mahogany neck features a rosewood fingerboard with 44mm nut and gold open gear tuners. These specs produce a nicely balanced tone perfect for fingerpicking and singer/song writers. The clarity of the parlor sized body is especially suited to recording and mic’d performance.
The WP26SNS features beautiful rosewood back and sides with highly stylized pearl fingerboard inlays and retails for $712.90.
The WP21SNS specs are identical to the WP26SNS with the exception of pearl dot inlays on the fingerboard. It retails for $622.90
The WP11SNS features mahogany back and sides for a slightly more focused, articulate tone and has pearl dot fingerboard inlays and retails for $533.90.
Washburn Guitars is pleased announce a new addition to its Idol family of solid body guitars, the WI40NM. The Idol series has been a popular line in the Washburn family for over 15 years and the new model builds on the Idol’s solid feature set and sexy looks.
The WI40NM features a solid 2 piece mahogany satin finished body with a Canadian maple set neck with recessed heel for upper fret access. The 22 fret ebony fingerboard accentuates the pearloid block inlays and the gloss black capped headstock features pearloid Washburn logo and stylized W inlay. The all black hardware compliments the mahogany and maple and features a tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece and Grover 18:1 tuners with keystone buttons. The electronics are what make this guitar a real star. A hot alnico bridge humbucking pickup wound to 16k has been chosen to excel at rock tones and soloing. The neck alnico humbucker is wound to 8k for pristine jazz or rhythm tones. Both are controlled by separate volume and tone knobs. Taken together, this pickup combination makes for an incredibly versatile instrument.
The WI40NM comes equipped with D’Addario EX-120 strings and retails for $1069.90.
Washburn Guitars is proud to announce a new signature series with legendary Six Feet Under and Feared guitarist, Ola Englund. The new Solar Series is part of Washburn’s recently introduced Parallaxe Series. It consists of 6 and 7 string, 25.5” scale guitars offering standard Parallaxe features for the most demanding metal players with the addition of Evertune or Hipshot/style bridges. The Parallaxe Solar Series will feature 9 models, 5 of which will be built in Washburn’s USA Custom Shop just outside of Chicago and will cover a wide range of price points.
Parallaxe is Washburn’s recently introduced metal guitar series focusing on the worldwide rock/metal market and aiming to serve it with dedicated and advanced guitar technology. The line includes features that the most demanding rock/metal players have requested for years. It is stage & studio ready and packed with unique features such as the Stephen’s Extended Cutaway, Buzz Feiten Tuning System, Spring Silencers, big brass trem blocks, super jumbo frets, EverTune bridge and USA hardware & electronics.
Ola Englund is widely known for being the guitarist for legendary bands such as Six Feet Under, Feared and recently joined Swedish melodic death metal band The Haunted. He is also highly respected by the worldwide metal community for his professional YouTube demos and reviews for countless manufacturers.
Due to the success of last year’s USA Custom Shop P4 Princess, Washburn is adding another, more affordable model, the P2 Princess.
Like the P4, the P2 features a single cutaway solid mahogany bound body and is an exceptional value with premium hardware and electronics. It features USA Seymour Duncan pickups, Tune-o-matic bridge with Schaller fine tuning tail piece and Grover 18:1 chrome tuners, the combination of which provides unparalleled tuning accuracy and stability. The set mahogany neck features a 22 fret ebony fingerboard with tear drop inlays. The pickups are controlled by single volume and single tone knobs and selected with a 3 way toggle and the body shape is complimented by a 3 ply white/black/white pick guard.
The P2 is ideal for producing thick, meaty tones perfect for classic rock, blues and jazz. It is available in Black Sparkle and Silver Sparkle, comes equipped with D’Addario™ strings and includes a premium Washburn gig bag. The P2 retails for $1065.33
Washburn Guitars is pleased to add a new and unique parlor sized resonator to its line of resonator guitars, the R360K. With the current popularity of Folk and Americana music styles, the R360K brings a unique voice to the genre, thanks to its smaller body. Players looking to add new colors to their tonal palate via slide or fingerstyle will find the R360K to be the ideal instrument.
The R360K is a parlor guitar with a biscuit resonator cone. It has the look and feel of a guitar that would have been made in the early 20th century and played well since. It features a spruce top and Trembesi back and sides with a mahogany neck. The old style slotted headstock features distressed classical style tuners and classy pearl inlaid Washburn logo and design. The rosewood fingerboard showcases period correct traditional pearl inlays and has a 48mm nut width to facilitate fingerpick or slide styles. A custom cover plate with antique bronze finish matches the tailpiece and tuner hardware. Mirror image f holes adorn both sides of the fingerboard extension.
The R360K is equipped with D’Addario strings and includes a Washburn hardshell case. It retails for $1,069.90.
Washburn is pleased to announce the arrival of three new Idol models at this year’s NAMM in Anaheim, CA.
The flagship Idol, the USA Custom Shop WI68XVCG, makes its triumphant return in the stylish Cognac finish. It features a mahogany body with flame maple cap showcasing a reveal binding that lets the beauty of the flame show through. The mahogany neck sports a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard containing beautiful offset figured maple block inlays. Accented with classic gold hardware that includes Grover® 18:1 Rotomatic tuners, Tone Pros Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece and gold knobs. Gold covered coil tapped Seymour Duncan SH1N neck and SH11 bridge pickups complete this tonally versatile package.
The WI68XVCG is equipped with D’Addario strings and comes with a Washburn GC5 hardshell case. It retails for $3,999.90.
Continuing with our vintage finish inspired guitars comes the WI60V Idol. It features a solid mahogany spruce veneer capped body and a mahogany set neck with recessed heel for upper fret access. The 22 fret rosewood fingerboard accentuates the pearloid block inlays and the matte black capped headstock features pearloid Washburn logo and stylized inlay. The vintaged hardware compliments the finish and features a tune-o-matic bridge with stop tailpiece and Grover® 18:1 tuners with ebonite buttons to tie in with the ebony control knobs. Dual humbuckers give the guitar a warm, creamy tone.
The WI60V comes equipped with D’Addario EX-120 strings and retails for $890.90.
Originally introduced 15 years ago, the WI64 was the very first Idol model. The 2014 model WI64TRK reproduces every detail of the original right down to the revolutionary VCC tone controls. VCC varies the humbucker pickups from full humbucking mode to coil tapped mode and every tonal color in between. Go from thick crunchy tones to near single coil pristine tones by just rotating the knob. The WI64 features a thin mahogany body with set mahogany neck. The 22 fret rosewood fingerboard has dot inlays and the headstock features a gloss black cap with pearl Washburn logo and stylized W inlay. Hardware includes smooth operating chrome Grover 18:1 tuners, tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece.
The WI64TRK comes in Trans Red, is equipped with D’Addario strings and includes a Washburn GB4 gigbag. It retails for $890.90
Washburn Guitars introduces the WCG66SCE acoustic/electric guitar. The newest addition to the Comfort Series is highlighted by deluxe features and stunning visual appeal.
The WCG66SCE is a Grand Auditorium style acoustic/electric guitar with a venetian cutaway for superior upper fret access. A highlight of the Comfort Series is the beveled strip of mahogany at the lower bout which becomes part of the mahogany top binding. The guitar features a book matched solid Cedar top, spalted maple back and sides, mahogany/maple bound body and headstock. The satin finished mahogany neck has an ebony fingerboard devoid of inlays and in tandem with the mahogany bound ebony bridge adds an aura of understated elegance. A maple/mahogany/maple strip splits the book matched spalted maple back as well. The spalted maple capped headstock features a pearl inlaid Washburn logo and stylized W as well as Grover 18:1 tuners with ebonite buttons. The gorgeous rosette is made of alternating maple and mahogany.
The WCG66SCE is a fantastic sounding acoustic guitar in its own right but the addition of premium Fishman electronics makes for an outstanding stage performance guitar. The Fishman Presys+ is an integrated tuner/preamp system for versatile amplified tonal shaping.
The WCG66SCE is strung with D’Addario strings and is an amazing acoustic/electric guitar as well as an outstanding value. Suggested Retail Price is $1,247.90.
Washburn is proud to introduce the new Willie Kahaiali’I, “Willie K”, Signature Jumbo Acoustic Guitar model WJ55SCENS. Willie is known throughout Hawaii as a legendary vocalist/instrumentalist who excels at a plethora of instruments and styles from traditional Hawaiian music through Blues and Rock to Opera!
With a slightly wider than standard nut of 44mm, the WJ55SCENS is a 25.5” scale Jumbo Acoustic Guitar with a cutaway and Fishman Electronics. It features a solid spruce top with quarter sawn scalloped Sitka spruce bracing for strength without weight, Koa back and sides and maple neck. The beautiful abalone binding ties in nicely with the abalone rosette as does the rosewood fingerboard with the rosewood bridge. A satin finish brings out the beauty of the wood and adds to a smooth playing feel. A rosewood capped headstock showcases a pearl Washburn logo and stylized W inlay and features gold tuners with black ebonite buttons. Included is the Fishman Presys+ Tuner/Preamp system for superior live sound.
Says Uncle Willie, “This guitar was built for men with big hands and big fingers and you know what they say about men with big hands, they play better!”
Washburn is pleased to be associated with a musician of such high a caliber as Willie K who also chooses the Washburn HB36 for his electric performances.
The WJ55SCENS, with its player friendly wider nut, is the ideal performance acoustic guitar. The WJ55SCENS retails for $1,158.90
Long a staple in Jazz, Blues, and Rock circles, and loved for its fat, meaty tones, the hollowbody has been ubiquitous in 20th and 21st century music. Washburn has contributed to much of that music and is proud to introduce the HB45WH double cutaway hollowbody guitar which is based on our best-selling HB35 model.
The HB45WH features a double cutaway maple body and includes a solid maple block in the center, increasing sustain and reducing susceptibility to feedback in high volume situations. Additionally, we’ve removed the F holes traditionally found on guitars of this style to further reduce susceptibility to feedback and contributing to an overall cleaner look. It features a maple neck capped with a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard with split block inlays. The gold hardware includes a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece with Grover® 18:1 Rotomatic tuners for exceptionally smooth tuning and stability. Humbuckers in the neck and bridge are selected by a three-way switch and provides players with a wide range of tones.
The HB45WH comes in Gloss White and is equipped with D’Addario™ strings and a Washburn hardshell case and retails for $1,247.90.
For more information:
Washburn
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
The LR Baggs AEG-1 represents a highly versatile, forward-thinking approach to acoustic guitar luthierie. It sports a streamlined body shape with built-in electronics and pickup/microphone settings, providing a wide range of tones suitable for different playing environments and musical styles.
"The reason for AEG-1’s groundbreaking performance is its patent pending integrated neck support system that frees the guitar’s top and back from the need to support the neck. This allows Baggs unprecedented freedom to voice the top and back of each guitar to maximize the acoustic response, achieving a full-bodied sound from a slim and comfortable design. With greater structural integrity, more string energy is driven into the top, resulting in a wider dynamic range, greater tonal depth, enhanced low-frequency response, and improved tuning stability."
The AEG-1’s electronics feature an all-discrete studio grade preamp with a multi-pole crossover system that seamlessly blends the HiFi Pickups and Silo Mic for an inspiring feel and sound in any position – ranging between direct and natural to open and airy,and everywhere in between. As with all LR Baggs electronics, you can expect wonderful warmth, purity, low noise, and long battery life. The system’s three-knob side-mounted controls offer quick access to master volume, pickup/mic blend, tone shaping, phase inversion, and a battery life indicator.
Features
- Three different gloss-finished options for top wood: Torrefied Sitka Spruce, Natural Engelmann Spruce, or Sunburst Sitka Spruce
- Indian Rosewood back, with composite poplar frame body
- African Mahogany neck wood carved in a slim “C” shape
- Indian Rosewood fretboard with 16” radius, 25-5/8” (651mm) scale length and 20 frets
- Indian Rosewood bridge with composite saddle
- Nut width is 1.7” (43mm)made of composite material, with closed back tuners
- Onboard electronics/pickup system: Custom HiFi Duet with HiFi Pickups and Silo Microphone
- Full-sized body similar to a dreadnought-style guitar with scalloped X bracing, slim profile 2-1/2” body depth, and carved beveled armrest for extra comfort
- Utilizes single 9-volt with approximately 120-hour life
The Baggs AEG-1 Acoustic Electric Guitar is the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to high-performance acoustic amplification, all rooted in the craftsmanship of a luthier. Our founder and master luthier, Lloyd Baggs, began his journey as a guitar maker, creating instruments for artists like Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, and Janis Ian. His deep respect for the guitar evolved into a quest to faithfully amplify his own instruments for live performance.
After years of studying the physics of acoustic instruments and pioneering advancements in pickups and electronics, the Baggs AEG-1 is the realization of everything we’ve learned about acoustic sound and amplification. Lloyd’s dual expertise as a luthier and a pickup designer allowed us to craft a guitar and its electronics in harmony, finely tuning the system for this instrument.
Lloyd Baggs, founder of LR Baggs and Baggs Guitars, describes the journey that has led to his newest creation: “My desire to faithfully amplify the acoustic guitars I was building as a luthier led to the creation of our pickup company. It became my life’s work to eliminate every obstacle to playing live acoustic guitar easy, inspiring, and fun. The AEG-1 is the realization of this philosophy and I’m incredibly proud of this instrument. I hope it brings you inspiration and joy for years to come!”
Designed in California and manufactured in South Korea, the Baggs AEG-1 carries a street price of $1599.
For more information, please visit lrbaggs.com.
Trey Hensley | Baggs AEG-1 First Listen - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.LR Baggs AEG-1 Acoustic-electric Guitar - Torrefied Spruce Top
Loopers can be complex enough to make beginners cry. They are fun if you have time to venture for whole weeks down a rabbit hole. But a looper that bridges the functionality and ease-of-use gap between the simplest and most maniacal ones can be a sweet spot for newbies and seasoned performers both. The JamMan Solo HD lives squarely in that zone. It also offers super-high sound quality and storage options, and capacity that would fit the needs of most pros—all in a stomp just millimeters larger than a Boss pedal.
Fast Out of the Blocks
Assuming you’ve used some kind of rudimentary looper before, there’s pretty decent odds you’ll sort out the basic functionality of this one with a couple of exploratory clicks of the footswitch. That’s unless you’ve failed to turn down the rhythm-level knob, in which case you’ll be scrambling for the quick start guide to figure out why there is a drum machine blaring from your amp. The Solo HD comes loaded with rhythm tracks that are actually really fun to use and invaluable for practice. In the course of casually exploring these, I found them engaging and vibey enough to be lured into crafting expansive dub reggae jams, thrashing punk riffs, and lo-fi cumbias. Removing these tracks from a given loop is just a matter of turning the rhythm volume to zero. You can also create your own guide rhythms with various percussion sounds.
Backing tracks aside, creating loops on the Solo HD involves a common single-click-to-record, double-click-to-stop footswitch sequence. Recording an overdub takes another single click, and you hold the footswitch down to erase a loop. Storing a loop requires a simple press-and-hold of the store switch. The sizable latching footswitch, which looks and feels quite like those on Boss pedals, is forgiving and accurate. This has always been a strength of JamMan loopers, and though I’m not completely certain why, it means I screw up the timing of my loops a lot less.
Many players will be satisfied with how easy this functionality is and explore little more of the Solo HD’s capabilities. And why not? The storage capacity—up to 35 minutes of loops and 10 minutes for individual loops—is enough that you can craft a minor prog-rock suite from these humble beginnings. Depending on how economical your loops are, you can use all or most of the 200 available memory locations built into the Solo HD. But you can also add another 200 with an SD/SDHC card.Deeper into Dubs
Loopers have always been more than performance and practice tools for me. I have old multitrack demos that still live in the memory banks of my oldest loopers. And just as with any demos, the sounds you create with the Solo HD may be tough to top or duplicate, which can mean a loop becomes the foundation of a whole recorded song. The Solo HD’s tempo and reverse features, which can completely mutate a loop, make this situation even more likely. The tempo function raises or lowers the BPM without changing the pitch of the loop. As a practice tool, this is invaluable for learning a solo at a slower clip. But drastically altered tempos can also help create entirely new moods for a musical passage without altering a favorite key to sing or play in. Some of these alterations reveal riffs and hooks within riffs and hooks, from which I would happily build a whole finished work. The reverse function is similarly inspiring and a source of unusual textures that can be the foundation for a more complex piece.
HD, of course, stands for high definition. And the Solo HD’s capacity for accurate, dense, and detail-rich stacks of loops means you can build complex musical weaves highlighting the interaction between overtones or timbre differences among other effects in your chain. I can’t remember the last time I felt like a looper’s audio resolution was really lacking. But the improved quality here lends itself to using the Solo HD as a song-arranging tool—and, again, as a recording asset, if you want a looped idea to form the backbone of a recording.
The Verdict
With a looper, smooth workflow is everything. And though it takes practice and some concentration in the early going to extract the most from the Solo HD’s substantial feature set, it is, ultimately, a very intuitive instrument that will not just smooth the use of loops in performance, but extend and enhance its ability as a right-brain-oriented driver of composition and creation.
The Warm Bender dishes these sounds with ease and savage aplomb. Outwardly, it honors the original MkII—a good way to go given that the original Sola Sound unit is one the most stylish effects ever built. But the 3-transistor NOS 75 MkII is only one of the Warm Bender’s personalities. You can also switch to a 2-transistor NOS 76 circuit, aka the Tone Bender MkI. There’s also a silicon 3-transistor Tone Bender circuit, a twist explored by several modern boutique builders. Each of these three voices can be altered further by the crown-mounted sag switch, which starves the circuit of voltage, reducing power from 9 to 6 volts. From these three circuits, the Warm Bender conjures voices that are smooth, responsive, ragged, mean, mangled, clear, and positively fried.
The Compact Wedge Edge
Warm Audio, quite wisely, did not put the Warm Bender in an authentically, full-size Tone Bender enclosure, which would gobble a lot of floor space. But this smaller, approximately 2/3-scale version, complete with a Hammerite finish, looks nearly as hip. It’s sturdy, too. The footswitch and jacks are affixed directly to the substantial enclosure entirely apart from the independently mounted through-hole circuit board, which, for containing three circuits rather than one, is larger and more densely populated than the matchbox-sized circuit boards in a ’60s Tone Bender. Despite the more cramped quarters, there’s still room for a 9V battery if you choose to run it that way. Topside, there’s not much to the Warm Bender. There’s a chicken-head knob for output volume, another for gain, and a third that switches between the NOS 76, NOS 75, and silicon modes. Even the most boneheaded punk could figure this thing out.
A Fuzz Epic in Three Parts
Most Warm Bender customers will find their way to the pedal via MkII lust. If you arrive here by that route you won’t be disappointed. The Warm Bender’s NOS 75 setting delivers all the glam-y, proto-metal, heavy filth you could ask for. It sounded every bit as satisfying as my own favorite MkII clone save for a hint of extra compression that falls well within the bounds of normal vintage fuzz variation. My guess is that when you’re ripping through “Dazed and Confused” you won’t give a hoot.
“There’s more color and air in the NOS 76 mode.”
If the NOS 75 circuit suffers by comparison to anything, it’s the 2-transistor friend next door, the NOS 76. The lower-gain NOS 76 mode is, to my ears, the most appealing of the three. It’s the most dynamic in terms of touch response and guitar volume attenuation and delivers the clearest clean tones when you use either technique. There’s more color and air in the NOS 76 mode, too. Paired with a neck-position single-coil, it’s an excellent alternative for Hendrix and Eddie Hazel low-gain mellow fuzz that’s more like dirty overdrive. The silicon mode, meanwhile, lives on the modern borderlands of the ’60s-fuzz spectrum. It’s super-aggressive and focused, which can be really useful depending on the setting, but lo-fi, spitty, and weird when starved of voltage via the sag switch. It’s deviant-sounding stuff, but extends the Warm Bender’s performance envelope in useful ways, particularly if you hunt for unique fuzz tones in the studio.
There’s a widely accepted bit of wisdom that says most germanium fuzzes sound lousy unless you turn up everything all the way and use your guitar controls to tailor the tone. This is partly true, especially with a Fuzz Face. But in general, I respectfully disagree and present the Warm Bender as exhibit A in this defense. The gain and volume controls both have considerable range and fascinating shades of fuzz within that can still rise above the din of a raging band.
The Verdict
Some potential customers might balk at the notion of a $199 vintage-style fuzz made in China—no matter how cool it looks. But the Warm Bender looks and feels well made. The sound and tactile sensations in the three circuits are truly different enough to be three individual effects, and $199 for three fuzz pedals is a sweet deal—particularly when consolidated in a stompbox that looks this cool. There is a lot of variation in old Tone Benders, and how these takes on the circuits compare to your idea of true vintage Tone Bender sound will be subjective. But I heard the essence of both the MkI and MkII here very clearly and would have no qualms about using the Warm Bender in a session that called for an extra-authentic mid-’60s fuzz texture.
