My New Washburn Idol Prototype

[bigoldron]

I found this baby on Ebay and NOBODY bid on it. When I got to checking on her, the seller was only 35 miles away, so I rode there last week to check it out.



Long story short, I picked her up yesterday. For what I paid for it, I practically STOLE it.

What is she? From what I can tell, it's a prototype for a WI66PROB. The WI66 series has a nice arched top with binding on the top and neck. Most of the 66's have standard humbuckers, but one model (WI66PROG) has the P90's, plus it's a gold top. My baby has the black finish with cream colored binding and the P90's. There's no model number on it, but I'm convinced that's what I've got.

The dealer got it from her former Washburn sales rep. He would go to the trade shows and buy up the prototypes and one-offs and sell them to this particular dealer.

Now the good part. The guitar had a price tag hanging on it of $999.99, which normally would probably go for around $600-700. But, they've had it for over a year, with no buyers. Nobody around here (besides me) appreciates Washburns and what good quality they are. So, I was able to get it for a steal!

Needless to say, I QUICKLY wrote her a check and walked out before she changed her mind. Put some new strings on her and MAN OH MAN is she sweet! She plays GREAT as is, but it probably wouldn't hurt give her a good setup. This is my first experience with P90's and they really a nice raunchiness to them that I really like. Overall, I'm stoked! :

[mrmudcat]

That is sweet ill email you when I get a chance brother.

[Kodiak3D]

Seems like there's a lot of Idol protos on eBay. I see them fairly often.

Very nice axe! Gratz, Bigoldron!

[wingsdad]

Ron-
You must really be diggin' it, cuz you got 2 threads goin' on 'bout it ...I copied this reply from the other one, since this one is 'bout 'Other Brands', and if this be one of Washburn's Idol Pro's, a definite contender for LP Clone/alternatives.

You did steal that guitar.:

I had a WI66PROG a couple of years ago...great axe. With the dot position markers and bell knobs, yours does look like a prototype of it.



But I sold it to a friend...the P-90 type pups on it have 'dummy coils' under them that (as I 'understand it') work like a treble bleed and fatten them up. The tone pots for each pup were push-pull, with speed knobs. Pulling them up taps the dummy coil and 'thins' the pups, like a treble boost. Does yours have this feature?

[just strum]

I don't recall which web store had them, but there was a big sale of Washburn prototypes a year or two ago that one of the stores had. It was simply advertised as Washburn Prototypes and selling for $100. Ended up that they were probably from the WI66 series (not positive). By the time I checked it out, they were gone. It was basically a grab bag thing, so if you didn't know anyone that bought one, you didn't know until it arrived at the house. People were buying several of them once word got out, so it's no surprise they are showing up on e-bay.

[bigoldron]

Ron-
You must really be diggin' it, cuz you got 2 threads goin' on 'bout it ...I copied this reply from the other one, since this one is 'bout 'Other Brands', and if this be one of Washburn's Idol Pro's, a definite contender for LP Clone/alternatives.

You did steal that guitar.:

Yeah, I couldn't stand it. I had to tell EVERYBODY about this deal. I'm still pinching myself to see if it's a dream. I even posted it on the Washburn forum.