Washburn D47S Reviews 4

I got this guitar as a trade, straight up, for a Guild Songbird. Seemed very risky for me as the whole deal was over the internet. I did a lot of feeling the guy out and checked a few references over Ebay about him. It was totally nerve racking until I got the guitar into my hands.

I was looking for an acoustic with a big sound. The Guild was nice amped up, but lacked the beef all by itself. After looking up this Washburn, it was totally not what I expected. US made in the Tacoma guitar plant, EXACTLY like the DM10, 'cept with the Washburn headstock. It has a nice satin finish, not the "dripping with laquer" finish of Korean guitars. An added attraction was that the guy had a Fishman seven band EQ and P/U installed. This guitar sounds beautiful hooked up.

As with all my guitars, I have to be real picky to find a real fault, 'cause why would I keep it if I don't like it. For some reason the second string doesn't sound as bright as the rest when it is hooked up. It could also use a second strap button, but as I said, that's really scaping for faults.

The front and back are solid sycamore, and the sides might be solid, but I don't know. It gives it a very similar sound as maple. As I said before, the satin finish is very light, which lends itself to a bight sound. It has the old style Washburn headstock, not the current Korean one, kind of big and gaudy, but a cool retro. Slim line satin neck gives it an easy reach for some barre chords, since I have big hands as it is.

For what I had for the guitar, a Guild Songbird I had trouble getting $500 for, I thought it was a good deal. It's not the die-for kind of dread, but a great one to take out to gig or jam. My stay at home guitar is also a Washburn, J61 Jumbo, so this one sees a lot of play on the road. I've talked to guitar shop's guys who sell Washburn's, and they tell me this one is one of the best for the buck around, and I totally agree.

Steve Kull rated this unit 4 on 2001-06-25.

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