Washburn R320SWRK 6-string Vintage Parlor Acoustic Guitar with Hardshell Case

It arrived in tune! Played until the original strings were dead and then changed over to Thomastik Plectrum 12-59 mediums. Instantly got rid of the jangling sound and really pumped up the base. This is one helluva guitar. I have a 1980 martin D28 to compare it with and I have to say this Washburn is the axe of choice. Love the neck, size and now with the new strings the tone. I flat pick and am trying to learn finger picking but either way the volume and tone of this instrument is A1.Love it.

Features:· All solid-wood construction· Solid Spruce top· Solid Rosewood Back & Sides· Aged Finish· Mahogany neck· Sharp "V"-neck profile· Ebony fingerboard· Beautiful "Tree of Life" fretboard inlay· Joined at the 12th Fret· Distressed Classical Tuners· Nut Width: 48mm· All-acoustic instrument. No electronics.This is a very well-made instrument: Handsome, unique, distinctive, with character to spare. SERIOUS mojo. It is an instrument that BEGS you to pick it up. You could fall in love with this guitar based on looks alone. Personally, I was attracted to this guitar primarily for its wide neck (48mm). I play a classical as my main guitar, and was looking for a steel-string acoustic that would be as comfortable for my fingers to get around on as that. I play fingerstyle exclusively, and have always had a hard time playing standard steel-string necks, which are typically 1-11/16" at the nut. When I heard that this guitar had 48mm nut width, I became seriously interested. The looks were secondary (but they are certainly nothing to complain about).Sound:Unfortunately, this is where this guitar doesn't work for me. It is my first parlor guitar, and perhaps I needed to acquaint myself with the "typical" parlor sound (if there is one). But the sound this guitar produces is a bit thin, raw, hollow & lacking bass for my taste. I obviously can't expect it to produce as much bass as a dreadnought or other larger-bodied guitar, but I think the sound could be sweeter; warmer; rounder. I played a Blueridge parlor in my local music store sometime after getting my Washburn, just to get a comparison on the sound, and the Blueridge parlor had all the characteristics of sound that my Washburn lacks. The Blueridge was warm, sweet & full-sounding, despite its small size. I'd have loved to have played the Washburn before buying it, but as no dealers in my area carry Washburn, I had to buy this guitar, sight unseen, in order to get my hands on it. I've read a lot of the forums, and I know a lot of the people who own the Washburn parlors really love the tone. And to be fair, it IS unique in its tone. I just don't think it's as appealing to MY ears, and not particularly appropriate for the type of music I play. In its defense, this little guitar does have incredible sustain.Action, Fit & Finish:Guitar was pretty well set-up, right from the factory. Action was comfortably low (not TOO low), leaving adequate room to be taken down further if that's your preference. No flaws (apart for the designed "flaws" built right into the finish). It certainly looks like an aged guitar, but in a good way. There was one little piece on the fretboard, which I couldn't tell was a real or designed imperfection: it looked like a tiny little piece was chipped under one of the upper frets. With a piece like this, it's hard to tell whether or not it was meant to be there. In any case, it didn't interfere with playability at all. The only real disappointment was that the bridge pins & endpin are clearly just standard cheapo plastic ones, with brown paint sloppily applied on top, to make them look "vintage". Not a good job on those, I'm afraid. From far away & in photos, they look fine. But up close, it leaves you wondering why they didn't opt to include wooden ones instead, for a true vintage (and more upscale) look.Reliability/Durability:She certainly feels sturdy enough. Still, I don't think it's the kind of guitar that someone is going to take out on the road to perform live with very much, particularly given the fact that it has no built-in electronics. I think this is a guitar is meant to be played in small rooms: at home, at parties, etc. The finish will not wear off at all. This guitar will look good many years later.Customer Support:I've only had to deal with Washburn support PRIOR to getting my guitar (asking them questions about it), but they were great. Very attentive, and quick to respond. Very cool. Nice to know that there's a HUMAN on the other side who can answer your questions for you.Overall Rating:I am actually a keyboard player by trade, but have been playing guitar casually for something like 20 years. I have only gotten more serious recently. I own a variety of guitars (mostly acoustic), synthesizers, sound modules, audio recording setups, etc. What I wanted from this guitar was a steel-string acoustic with a wide neck. And I got that. That it is also so beautiful (...in its way. Sort of in the same way that Pug dogs are beautiful) is a bonus. I have come to love this little guitar in the short time that I've been trying her out. She's really got a lot of character. Ultimately, though, I don't think I'm going to keep her, as the sound is just not right for me, and that is really the crucial criteria (along with the nut width). It's a lot better suited to an old-time blues or ragtime player. It is genuinely difficult to give her up, but I think my search must continue for my perfect wide-neck steel string acoustic. But if you play the styles I mentioned above, this could very well be the guitar for you. I suggest it over all the lower models (the 314K & 318S 125th Anniversary model), as this one is all solid wood, and more unique & distinct with that beautiful Tree of Life fretboard inlay. Though this is not the 125th Anniversary model, it's actually better-made, and more rare (NO-ONE has this guitar. I am one of only a few who have bought one), so you will certainly stand out with this guitar, if that's important to you.

I have several guitars : all of which are Taylor's or Martin's. I wanted a Parlor Guitar & looked at several. I ordered this Washburn and, for the money , it is great. Love the greater width at the nut and it really looks sharp with that Vintage look. glad I bought it.

Lot of fun to play

I'll admit that I grew up in the '60's, during the folk revival, and like many of my generation, I remember seeing all my idols playing dreadnaught sized guitars. As a result, I've always felt that anything smaller was a "toy" and not worthy of consideration. Then I saw this guitar in my favorite music store. It looked beat up and hopelessly od-fashioned, but I was drawn to it for some reason, so I picked it up and tried it (thinking in the back of my mind that, at least, it would look cool hanging on the wall). I started playing it and was shocked! This thing sounded great! Loud and strident (in a good way). Also, I instantly felt right at home with the sharp "V" neck, short scale and wide nut and string spacing. Needless to say, it followed me home.The guitar is not a recreation of any specific Washburn model, but appears to be patterned after several Washburn guitars from the 1880's and 1890's. The guitar is finished in an "antiqued" finish (I hesitate to use the term "relic"), designed to make the guitar look 100 years old. It may be a bit cheesy, but I like it. It's nice to have a guitar I can take around without obsessing over every scratch or nick.Unlike the reviewer above, I feel the guitar has pretty decent bass response. Of course, it won't "boom" like a dreadnaught, but then you can't expect it to, given its size. A couple of things that might help: I prefer 80/20 bronze strings over phosphor bronze on this guitar, and, if you are going to flat pick it, try a bit heavier pick than you are used to. It also helps to develop a light touch with the pick. the guitar can become shrill if forced out of its "comfort zone" with a heavy right hand. As it is, the guitar is surprisingly loud for such a small guitar. I've played it with friends playing Martin dreads, and I had no trouble hearing it. It's emphasis on the midrange allows it to cut through other guitars better than you might imagine. Does it sound as good as a Martin 0? Don't be silly! Then again, I can buy five of these for the price of a Martin 028VS.Dislikes? Sure, there are a few. The "tree of life" inlay in the striped ebony fretboard looks pretty, but it's pretty much useless for finding your way on the board. I'd have preferred more conventional position markers. The bridge pins and end pin are cheap plastic smeared with brown paint to make them look old. I replaced the bridge pins with bone pins, and replaced the end pin with a nicer pin from my parts stash. The end pin was glued in, so I had to cut it off flush then carefully drill and ream a new hole. The action was decent as is, but the bone saddle doesn't match the fretboard radius, so I replaced the saddle with a new one, matched to the 12" fretboard radius. The tuners are serviceable, but pretty cheap. I replaced them with some "aged" tuners from Stewart MacDonald. I suppose I didn't NEED to do any of this, but I can't help tinkering with my guitars, especially if I like them. I like this guitar. I own other guitars, mostly Martins and Gibsons, but I find that this is the one I play around the house. Its small size makes it comfortable to hold while sitting on the couch or in the computer chair. In fact, I'm holding it on my lap as I write this.