Washburn Review: C64CE Electric Nylon

History:

Purchase: I bought this for $219 (Including hardshell Case) From Warpdrive Music (this is not a factory second, blemish, etc. It is a factory first guitar & case). I purchased it because of my previous experiences with Washburn, & the fantastic price. I shopped around for a long time before deciding.

What I Like About This Washburn C64CE Electric Nylon: I would have to say first & foremost that the feature I like best about this guitar is the price, and the value I got for the money I spent!I love the comfortable feel & playability of this guitar. It is very well balanced when holding & playing. The tone of the instrument is very balanced, it amplifys beautifully. It also sounds very well without an amplifier. The solid spruce top projects very well, & this will only get better with time. The neck is very comfortable to play, it is the same size as a standard classical. I also like the location of the electronics on the top of the guitar. This is a very handy location for making adjustments, but the smaller knobs Washburn incorporated also avoids accidental contact with the knobs while playing (a problem I've encountered quite often on electric acoustics I've previously owned). The finish & appearance of the instrument is quite nice, it's a very pleasant instrument to look at. The hardshell case that came with it is of good quality. The cut away is proportioned very nicely for upper fret playing. The volume of the guitar when amplified is quite strong, but I've not encountered any feedback problems with it yet. The jack input for the amplifier cord seems very well constructed, & it is in a good location at the back of the guitar & doubles as a strap key if needed. The B band electronics project very well, it also has a low battery indicator that informs you when to change batteries. Incidently, the battery compartment is also in a very nice loacation near the EQ knobs.

What I Do NOT Like About The Washburn C64CE Electric Nylon: I believe the machine heads may be of lesser quality than I would prefer. Of course, I wouldn't expect any better for the price I paid. The guitar holds tune well, but I plan on replacing the machine heads later with some Grover heads, a minimal cost. The action set up at the factory was a bit high (most factory sets are), but the bridge/saddle has plenty of room for shimming. I'll get a Washburn dealer to set this up for me. The action is not terrible by no means, but a little bit of "personalizing" is in order to meet my standards. As I mentioned earlier, I love the small knobs used for the bass/treble/mid/volume controls, but I do not like the fact that Washburn omitted putting some type of indicator (a white dot, a white line, etc.) on the knobs for quick identification on exactly where the particular knob is set. This is something I can probably do myself, but I believe it to be a fragile oversight on Washburn's part.

Washburn C64CE Electric Nylon Quality Rating: The construction & quality of this guitar seems quite sturdy. The finish & details are excellent. The overall construction seems quite solid, everything seems to corelate quite well in this area.

Review Summary: I've played the guitar for years, & I've had the privelige of owning various brands and types of instruments over that time. I can say that I earnestly believe Washburn makes the finest guitars in the world at the $500 & under price range, you simply can't beat them. Add the lifetime warranty (which they do honor) with the price & you have a killer combination. I played on several brands before deciding on this one, & I'm quite happy with my purchase. I firmly believe I got a professional quality guitar at a dynamite price, what more could you want? I would strongly recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a nice electic nylon. You can buy this, AND a very nice amplifer to go with it for the price of some of those more expensive guitars alone (perhaps even have some change left over). I really can't tell much difference in this guitar & an electric nylon costing $1,000 more that I've played on when plugged into the same amplifer. The amplifer, the performer's nails and technique, and acoustics of the room play a far more dominant role than the electric nylon guitar itself. Now, don't get me wrong, an acoustic classical is a far different story, but we're talking electric nylon here. This is a very nice instrument at a very nice price.

Rating of this Washburn product: 5

This Washburn C64CE Electric Nylon Classical Guitars Review Submitted By: MSC

Review Date: 2004-03-22