Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Mar 12, 2022 17:55:14 GMT -6
Washburn Guitars, particularly about 1994 to 2004 (which I consider their peak) would occasionally slip in little jokes. For instance, after they turned their "Billy T" line of electrics into the BT Series, the subsequent U.S.-made models were dubbed WM, with "Wm." being short for "William."
When I saw this guitar pop up on Reverb, I was puzzled for a day --
If there's a serial number, the seller doesn't offer it, but does claim not only that it's a short-run USA HB-155, but "similar to Washburn J7".
That last claim got my attention. Washburn's J-series guitars are all big jazzboxes; here's an actual J7 --
So, really, I was not seeing any family resemblance.
Furthermore, Washburn's model number is weird: the HB's are all semi-hollow, some nice takes on various Gibson ES models (particularly the 335), while the J are all full-hollow -- it'd only make sense if it's a center-bar style rather than an actual hollowbody. And, for good measure: this beast is clearly influenced by the Gretsch design philosophy (specifically the Falcon), and not noticeably by the ES line, so a poor thematic fit as an HB.
Well, I can place its approximate date, anyway, at roughly 1999-2010; likely toward the middle, so call it 2005. I arrived at that range because of the popularity of these:
The cutaway of Washburn's Idol Series guitars is (to my eye) highly distinctive; I've described it as "halfway between a Tele and a Paul."
To be honest, I may only have noticed this because I was already aware of the WB-66 bass --
The Idol was one of Washburn's most endorsed models, and they thought it was popular enough that they used the body style with their Lyon and Oscar Schmidt sub-lines, hence the LI and OI guitars respectively. (They may have floated it once as a flat-top acoustic, but that memory is foggy.)
When I saw this guitar pop up on Reverb, I was puzzled for a day --
If there's a serial number, the seller doesn't offer it, but does claim not only that it's a short-run USA HB-155, but "similar to Washburn J7".
That last claim got my attention. Washburn's J-series guitars are all big jazzboxes; here's an actual J7 --
So, really, I was not seeing any family resemblance.
Furthermore, Washburn's model number is weird: the HB's are all semi-hollow, some nice takes on various Gibson ES models (particularly the 335), while the J are all full-hollow -- it'd only make sense if it's a center-bar style rather than an actual hollowbody. And, for good measure: this beast is clearly influenced by the Gretsch design philosophy (specifically the Falcon), and not noticeably by the ES line, so a poor thematic fit as an HB.Well, I can place its approximate date, anyway, at roughly 1999-2010; likely toward the middle, so call it 2005. I arrived at that range because of the popularity of these:
The cutaway of Washburn's Idol Series guitars is (to my eye) highly distinctive; I've described it as "halfway between a Tele and a Paul."
To be honest, I may only have noticed this because I was already aware of the WB-66 bass --
The Idol was one of Washburn's most endorsed models, and they thought it was popular enough that they used the body style with their Lyon and Oscar Schmidt sub-lines, hence the LI and OI guitars respectively. (They may have floated it once as a flat-top acoustic, but that memory is foggy.)
