Washburn R320SWR review and demo - Vintage Series all-solid parlour guitar - Video
PUBLISHED:  Jul 08, 2012
DESCRIPTION:
Seems my love affair with small-bodied guitars is continuing!

Edit 18/10/13, for Christine, below: Here's Kt Tunstall playing essentially the same guitar through a Baggs M1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW8CbG8bZzs

Latest flame (hmm, maybe not the best term for a wooden instrument...) is a rather lovely Washburn R320SWRk Vintage Series Parlour Guitar (or Parlor, if you either can't spell, or are American). There I was with an hour to spare, near Denmark Street...

Just like the Guild M120, (and Tanglewood TW133 and Taylor GS Mini, come to that) it may have a small body but it has a big heart. And a completely different character to the rest. Much grittier, dirtier, bluesier. In fact, the gentle picking at the beginning of the the video, over the photo, is not really its forte. It's much happier when it's driven a little harder. At least, to my ears.

It's brand new, but looks and feels 125 years old, being based on a 19th century instrument. It also comes in a really cool coffin-style hard case.

Here's the blurb from Washburn themselves:

The Vintage Series seeks to recreate or resemble some of the great Washburn instruments that were crafted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Included are parlor sized models as well as a southern jumbo and several mandolins. In order to create the "vibe" of a 100 year old instrument that has been well played but not abused, we have added a vintage finish and distressed hardware. Because these guitars are built using modern techniques and materials, the resulting instruments are more durable and in many cases better sounding than their century old counterparts.

So, there you go.

Enjoy.
follow us on Twitter      Contact      Privacy Policy      Terms of Service
Copyright © BANDMINE // All Right Reserved
Return to top