11-11-2011, 03:17 AM
That's What She Said
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: here
Posts: 24,000
NGD!
So I've been thinking about getting a new a/e and decided on a Washburn WD12sce dreadnaught after testing one out at GC after work. I had a $30 off coupon for purchases for anything over $199. It has a pretty full sound, and here are the specs:
WD 10SCE
I spent about an hour playing it, both unamplified, and amplified. Unamped, it has a full (but probably not as full as a dread without the cut) sound. Bright, but not overly so; good balance 'tween bottom and high end. Amped, it sounded really good through an acoustic amp I was able to use. The bass, mid, and treble controls tweak the sound really well, as well as the presence control. I compared it to an Ibanez in the same price range (no go), and a Fender @ twice the cost. The Fender sounded really dull, and the action was terrible. I didn't bother to try any Ovations, and intend to list my Ovation POS on craigslist or something.
12-53 gauge strings are on it, and it isn't killing my fingers. The price tag on it was $239, and when I asked for a NIB, they couldn't find one, but found another on the wall they claimed was just put out. I tried that one, but it just didn't feel the same- possibly because of newer strings, but I seem to have bonded with the one I took home. The price tag on the "new" one was $299, so there was some confusion over the price, but the salesman said it was $239. The action is pretty low, no buzz, and the intonation is pretty spot-on. On the upper frets, it pulls sharp by a few cents if you listen really well, but overall not so much that I think it's an issue.
The finish, binding, everything, seems real quality. There was a guy trying out high priced guitars (and a good player from the sounds of it), so I asked his opinion of it. He tried it out, and said he was really impressed with the sound for the price. The bracing is horizontal, as opposed to X bracing that I'm used to seeing in acoustics. I've since played it through my MicroCube on the acoustic setting, and it sounds damn good. Overall, I'm really happy with this, and glad I took the time to play it at length, instead of making a knee-jerk decision.
Washburn seems to make quality acoustics. (You were right, G). Oh- my $30 coupon didn't apply (fricken GC!). I bought a soft gig bag, and a set of D'Addario EXP strings, so all told, I came home $300 lighter. A HSC would have cost $100, and I really didn't want to spend more than I did. Still, I think I did good.
WD 10SCE
- Dreadnought cutaway style
- Solid Alaskan Sitka Spruce top
- Quarter sawn scalloped bracing
- Mahogany sides and back
- Satin finished mahogany neck with two-way truss rod
- Rosewood fingerboard and bridge with bone nut and saddle.
- Rosewood capped headstock with MOP Washburn logo & stylized W inlay
- Die cast chrome tuners
- Fishman Isys+ Tuner/Preamp System
- Comes equipped with D'Addario strings
- List Price: $444.90
- List Price WD10SCE Black: $479.90
- Colors: Natural, Black, Natural Satin This is taken from the Washburn website for their WD10- for some strange reason, I can't find anything on the WD12, but the specs seem to be exactly the same. I wanted the black one, but they only had the natural.
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I spent about an hour playing it, both unamplified, and amplified. Unamped, it has a full (but probably not as full as a dread without the cut) sound. Bright, but not overly so; good balance 'tween bottom and high end. Amped, it sounded really good through an acoustic amp I was able to use. The bass, mid, and treble controls tweak the sound really well, as well as the presence control. I compared it to an Ibanez in the same price range (no go), and a Fender @ twice the cost. The Fender sounded really dull, and the action was terrible. I didn't bother to try any Ovations, and intend to list my Ovation POS on craigslist or something.
12-53 gauge strings are on it, and it isn't killing my fingers. The price tag on it was $239, and when I asked for a NIB, they couldn't find one, but found another on the wall they claimed was just put out. I tried that one, but it just didn't feel the same- possibly because of newer strings, but I seem to have bonded with the one I took home. The price tag on the "new" one was $299, so there was some confusion over the price, but the salesman said it was $239. The action is pretty low, no buzz, and the intonation is pretty spot-on. On the upper frets, it pulls sharp by a few cents if you listen really well, but overall not so much that I think it's an issue.
The finish, binding, everything, seems real quality. There was a guy trying out high priced guitars (and a good player from the sounds of it), so I asked his opinion of it. He tried it out, and said he was really impressed with the sound for the price. The bracing is horizontal, as opposed to X bracing that I'm used to seeing in acoustics. I've since played it through my MicroCube on the acoustic setting, and it sounds damn good. Overall, I'm really happy with this, and glad I took the time to play it at length, instead of making a knee-jerk decision.
Washburn seems to make quality acoustics. (You were right, G). Oh- my $30 coupon didn't apply (fricken GC!). I bought a soft gig bag, and a set of D'Addario EXP strings, so all told, I came home $300 lighter. A HSC would have cost $100, and I really didn't want to spend more than I did. Still, I think I did good.
__________________
Instant Karma's gonna get you......
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves. - Thoreau
Works of art make rules but rules do not make works of art. - Debussy.
Instant Karma's gonna get you......
Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves. - Thoreau
Works of art make rules but rules do not make works of art. - Debussy.
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