![Quote](images/misc/quote_icon.png)
Originally Posted by
magoo
... For the price washburn has some real nice Guitars and Mandolins, you get good quality Instruments for the price of cheaper guitars.
![Beer](images/smilies/beer.gif)
+1, magoo
: I've had a number of Washburn & Oscar Schmidt acoustics & electrics. At this point, these 3 diverse instruments fill roles in my bag o' tricks:
Simply-put, a great Korean-made chambered semi-solid mahogany body/solid spruce top nylon string acoustic/electric, the NV100C is meant to be a plug n' play for direct recording or live apps. With sealed gear/adjustable tension tuners you don't often find on a classical, a bolt-on adjustable pitch neck, contoured back & heel and a B-Band A3.2 preamp/UST, with surprising unplugged volume & tone, essentially because of the bridge design, similar to a Tacoma. I A-B'd it against an Ibanez Exotic Wood (Bubinga body) thin-bodied classical last week, & the Chinese Ibanez failed miserably. This was under $500 new:
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/TheFretNet%20Pix/FretNet%20Acoustics/NV100Cfrnt.jpg)
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/NV100Cbk1x4.jpg)
I'd had an Oscar Schmidt A-style a/e mando that ran about $150, but moved up to this superb all-solid wood (maple & spruce) Korean-made F-style Mando, the M6SW "Jethro Burns" model. Less than $700 new. I've A-B'd it against a Gibson at 3X the price, and the Gibson loses in volume and tone:
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/TheFretNet%20Pix/FretNet%20Misc%20Instros/M6SWMandofrnt.jpg)
Oscar Schmidt, the 'economy' brand of the Washburn/US Music family, makes great Ukuleles. If anyone is thinking of plinking one of these little guys, this Indonesian all Koa (laminate) OU-6 Tenor model replaced a smaller Koa/spruce (laminate) Chinese model I'd had, the OU-3. Less than $250 new, the longer scale of the tenor is easier to handle and gives more range:
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/TheFretNet%20Pix/FretNet%20Misc%20Instros/OU-65532c.jpg)
These 3 quality instruments for a total of around $1,400 pack a tremendous bang for the buck.
^^
AXES: Fender '81 The STRAT, '12 Standard Tele, '78 Musicmaster Bass, '13 CN-240SCE Thinline; Rickenbacker '82 360-12BWB; Epiphone '05 Casino, '08 John Lennon EJ-160E; Guild '70 D-40NT; Ovation '99 Celebrity CS-257; Yamaha '96 FG411CE-12; Washburn '05 M6SW Mando, '08 Oscar Schmidt OU250Bell Uke; Johnson '96 JR-200-SB Squareneck Reso; Hofner '07 Icon B-Bass; Ibanez '12 AR-325. AMPS: Tech 21 Trademark 10; Peavey ValveKing Royal 8; Fender Acoustonic 90, Passport Mini, Mini Tonemaster; Marshall MS-2 Micro Stack; Behringer BX-108 Thunderbird; Tom Scholz Rockman. PEDALS/FX: Boss ME-50; Yamaha EMP100; Stage DE-1; Samson C-Com 16 L.R. Baggs ParaAcoustic D.I; MXR EQ-10.