What's special about Washburns?

[sunvalleylaw]

So in essence, they can be the equivalent of an Agile or SX, Epi, etc. in the electric world, or like you say, a Samick. I suppose then once you figure you are buying a guitar out of the Samick, or similar, factory (Does Cort (sp?) make Acoustic?), then the next question is what styling do you want. Spanish mustache like an Iabanez, the gibsonish look of an Epiphone, etc. You guys like the looks of Washburns at that price point. Is that about right? :-)

[luvmyshiner]

I guess for me it's an issue of bang for the buck. Two years ago when I decided to pick the guitar back up, CB asked one of her co-workers (a Martin snob) what guitar he would recommend in the price range we were looking for. His response was that you couldn't find a decent guitar in that price range, and I'd be better off saving my money for a real guitar.

When I started researching the issue I found the Washburn D10S. It had been named by Acoustic Guitar Magazine as the best acoustic guitar under $500, so I thought I'd give it a try (at that time they were going for $200 new, though the price has gone up this year to about $275). I fell in love with it.

Since then I've done a few things to improve her, specifically a bone nut and saddle, and the improvement they made was well worth the coin. I now have five Washburns for the price of less then I could have spent on one Martin or Taylor.

Now, I'm not going to try to tell you that my little D10S sounds just as good as a Martin or Taylor. It doesn't. But I will tell you that she sounds just as good (and plays as well) as guitars costing three or four times as much. I can also say that when you compare the D10S to other guitars in the same price range, the difference in terms of craftsmanship, quality and sound is immediately evident.

[wingsdad]

.. (Does Cort (sp?) make Acoustic?)...

They do make acoustics, too. Besides marketing their own brand name guitars, Cort's factory in Korea has made some electrics for Ibanez for years, notably some of their 'jazz boxes'.

Hoshino, Japan is the parent corporation to Ibanez and Cort. My local music store carries them both, ordered through the same sales rep, and the bill comes from Hoshino.

[Spudman***]

(Does Cort (sp?) make Acoustic?),

Cort makes some really nice acoustics and so does Samick. But as with Washburns, Cort and Samick acoustics I don't have a clue as to what the really nice models are.

Speaking of Cort reminded me of the Larry Coryell model that Cort makes. Larry let me play his signature guitar...and then put it away for him. Lazy bum.