Very Obscure ‘80s Washburn Guitar

Attachment 36591

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000...archweb201603_

A Chinese stripped down replica of an Ace Frehley Washburn AF-40v “Artist Model” Guitar! The original was made in Japan. It had little to do with Ace Frehley as he only had it for a video and a few photo shoots in the ‘80s. I bought one for $700.00 in 1987 and played it hard for years.

I sold mine, regretted it, and thought about ordering a custom replica from Ed Roman’s Shop but the cost stopped me.

Finally, somebody made another one!! Here’s the dilemma....I don’t want to get scammed. AliExpress?!? The possibility of LOSING about $500.00 is a gamble I can’t take.

I love that guitar, though. It sits in your lap comfortably in any position, stays in tune, and you have access to the 24 frets. There’s nothing else like it....the closest I could ever hope to get is an EX kit with a 24 fret neck and cut away the body enough to be able to play it and have it look good.

I want this guitar! I also don’t want to get ripped off so I’m in limbo for a while....A $500.00 gamble....how bad do I want it?

If it shows up on eBay and I can pay via PayPal....Done!

It is actually $638.89 AU dollars once you work it out. I've had a good response with getting AliExpress to intervene and provide a refund when I received something sub-standard (granted it was only $25 worth of goods). Just upload proof and they should come to the party. If it doesn't get delivered, you also have insurance with the tracking number, which no one can argue with.

There are a few options if you are dead-set on this guitar.

Make contact with the seller and get a general feel for how honest and responsive to you they are. Ask them if it would be possible to pay through PayPal. Or if they can setup a specific eBay listing for you. There are other guitar sellers on AliExpress and DHGate etc. And if you have good rapport with a genuine seller, who is responsive to you and you gain trust, then you can also show them the link and ask them to organise that guitar for you.

There are heaps of sellers on these sites that engage only a few factories that produce the guitars. They are kind of the dealer i guess, if you look at it in those terms. So chances are all these dealers are having their guitars made at the same few factories setup to do so.

using eBay will push the price up though.

Forget Frehley...this is the one I'd be after.

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cheers, Mark.

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Originally Posted by king casey

Forget Frehley...this is the one I'd be after.

Attachment 36603

cheers, Mark.

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We would have to change your username to “Prince Casey”. Does that guitar come with a case?

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Originally Posted by DarkMark

We would have to change your username to “Prince Casey”.

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Ha! :D

Nice one.

If you pay via credit card, you always have their buyer's protection, too. So if you have trouble with AliExpress (which I have never had and I made over 100 orders in the last 4 years), you can still have your credit card company chime in.

I've been kind of mulling the same thing ... different guitar, though. Found it recently on DHGate, but not sure I want to pull the trigger. I've always had trust issues with buying things online from an overseas seller. It's the main reason it took me so long to order a kit from PBG.

With just the one pickup, what was the selector switch for on the original guitar? Series/parallel or coil split?

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Originally Posted by ThatCluelessGerman

If you pay via credit card, you always have their buyer's protection, too. So if you have trouble with AliExpress (which I have never had and I made over 100 orders in the last 4 years), you can still have your credit card company chime in.

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Thanks for the input, everybody. I’m going to ponder it for a couple of weeks because I am irrationally excited about finding this guitar. ...like a kid who just found saw something in a toy store and has to have it. If it still seems like a good idea then - I’m willing to take a gamble on it.

I didn’t know about credit card protection and such - I’ll do a little research. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

With just the one pickup, what was the selector switch for on the original guitar? Series/parallel or coil split?

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Short answer: coil split.

The switch was a 3 way toggle, just like you’d find on a Les Paul. On this guitar, the rhythm pickup position would be a kill switch - no sound/off, the middle (both pickups position) would be humbucking, the treble position would be a single coil sound.

The original passive Washburn “Eliminator“ pickup was disappointing and I replaced it with an EMG ‘81. - that was dumb because it was a collectible guitar but hey....I was 22 then. I replicated a single coil sound on the active EMG with a capacitor and the whole guitar was improved. I played it for years, dinged it up a bit and sold it about 17 years ago. I really regret it.

I actually saw my old guitar on a Chinese website for sale about 10 years ago. I knew it was mine because the photo had the EMG ‘81 and every ding I made was mentioned, I even saw a fingerboard chip I made with my pick in the photo.

I wonder if my old guitar was the basis for this replica! I know it ended up in China. Why would they put an “EMG” logo on the pickup? Originally, the guitar had “Washburn” in white on the pickup, not “EMG”. To my knowledge, I’m the only one who did an EMG upgrade to one of these!

I could be wrong...FWIW if you like “pointy” metal guitars, this was the only one with complete unhindered access to 24 frets. The BC Rich Ironbird was similar but you couldn’t reach the frets. The Explorer type guitars that do have 24 frets have that lower Horn in the way....that’s why I wanted to find this thing again...

Thanks for listening to me blab on and on...lol!

Thanks for the switch info.

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Originally Posted by MusicStudent1

FWIW if you like “pointy” metal guitars, this was the only one with complete unhindered access to 24 frets.

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If you count a pointy headstock, then the Washburn EC36 trumps it on the upper fret access.

Attachment 36605

I almost bought one of those at the time just for the looks. Never tried one out though. Apparently they weren't that great.

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Originally Posted by DarkMark

We would have to change your username to “Prince Casey”. Does that guitar come with a case?

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"The ten-thumbed-tone-deaf-talentless-noise-polluter-previously-known-as-prince"

It has an option for a hard case but the price is bumped up to AU $909.24

So I think I'll remain one of the great unwashed for now

cheers, Mark

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

Thanks for the switch info.
I almost bought one of those at the time just for the looks. Never tried one out though. Apparently they weren't that great.

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That guitar is beautiful and I remember seeing that guitar in magazines! I’ll never get over the ‘80s! Guitars got very advanced back then with extended fretboards, locking tremolo systems and then poof - it was over. The grunge thing happened, no more guitar solos...WTF happened?

I used to participate in the vintage Washburn forum. I learned most of those 80s Washburns were made at the Matsumoko factory in Japan. I think that’s where they said all the Aria guitars came from as well. They weren’t that great quality-wise - Mine had the 1st string slipping off the fretboard but I repositioned the bridge, pushed a bridge piece over with part of a pick as a shim to fix it and played it for hours.

Strings not lined up right and slipping off the fretboard is the first thing I zero in on when looking at a guitar or bass nowadays.

Speaking of quality flaws - check out the E string near the 20th fret on this Dean! The photo is straight off their website, too!
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Originally Posted by king casey

"The ten-thumbed-tone-deaf-talentless-noise-polluter-previously-known-as-prince"

It has an option for a hard case but the price is bumped up to AU $909.24

So I think I'll remain one of the great unwashed for now

cheers, Mark

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I don’t know if Prince even knew how to play guitar, but his “Batdance” video is always amusing after a few beers...especially the Vicki Vale part!!! - yeah, I usually have to rewind and closely examine that part a few times, lol!


https://youtu.be/ulOLYnOthIw

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Originally Posted by MusicStudent1

I don’t know if Prince even knew how to play guitar

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He definitely knew how to play guitar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y

Just skip to around 3:36

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Originally Posted by jugglindan

He definitely knew how to play guitar:

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They even supply that one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000...7df31920qWOirY

cheers, Mark.

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Originally Posted by king casey

They even supply that one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000...7df31920qWOirY

cheers, Mark.

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Man, there are clones of everything it seems. Even the clones have clones (at least with pedals).

Prince was a fantastic musician. Can't say I care for his style of music, but definitely respected his musicianship.

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Originally Posted by PJSprog

Prince was a fantastic musician. Can't say I care for his style of music, but definitely respected his musicianship.

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I agree. The guy was an artist, I can’t take that away from him. I think the majority of people on this forum are true artists...I’m not sure I am one - I just want to shred a guitar to pieces like Steve Vai, or better yet, Vinnie Vincent, lol!

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Originally Posted by MusicStudent1

I agree. The guy was an artist, I can’t take that away from him. I think the majority of people on this forum are true artists...I’m not sure I am one - I just want to shred a guitar to pieces like Steve Vai, or better yet, Vinnie Vincent, lol!

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I am definitely not a shredder. I think I currently max out on picked 16th notes at 70bpm, fast enough for what I play, but quite pedestrian by most standards. Mostly I am happy to string a few coherent notes together in some vaguely bluesy way :)

Ditto, I can play a few things fast. And I can do a lot of the chugging and double picking you hear in punk, but as far as soloing goes I'm way more Joey Santiago/Kurt Cobain than Steve Vai et al. I don't really care. I do strive for continuous improvement, but it has to be fun or I'm not doing it.

What I was getting at was “true” artists write songs, poetry, make videos, use different instruments for the sake of the song. They try to get some point or message across....

That’s in sharp contrast to what I want to do which is power chords, shredding, and metal as hard as it gets!! (Not that I claim to be good at it or anything, lol)

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Originally Posted by MusicStudent1

What I was getting at was “true” artists write songs, poetry, make videos, use different instruments for the sake of the song. They try to get some point or message across....

That’s in sharp contrast to what I want to do which is power chords, shredding, and metal as hard as it gets!! (Not that I claim to be good at it or anything, lol)

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I don't underestimate the artistry in playing metal. I listen to metal sometimes but have neither the technical chops or the desire to play it (which is odd given that my main guitar is a Floyd-equipped 90s shredder - but I really didn't know what I was doing when I bought it). Art takes many forms and it's not for me to decide what makes the cut. And really it doesn't matter anyway how we label stuff.

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Originally Posted by jugglindan

I don't underestimate the artistry in playing metal. I listen to metal sometimes but have neither the technical chops or the desire to play it (which is odd given that my main guitar is a Floyd-equipped 90s shredder - but I really didn't know what I was doing when I bought it). Art takes many forms and it's not for me to decide what makes the cut. And really it doesn't matter anyway how we label stuff.

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I can’t communicate a thought correctly - I respect Metal. Metal and hard rock are my favorite genres of music. Actually, if you can get past the vocals, Cannibal Corpse is at another level. Metallica, too - I’ll probably never catch up to bassists Robert Trujillo or Cliff Burton. All those guys are true artists.

Prince was a true artist. Frehley is a true artist... I guess what I was trying to say was - I’m not! I’ll never write lyrics or sing, but I can attack a guitar or bass with fury, lol! That’s really all I want to do.

Back to the subject - it’s been almost a week....I still want the silly lightning bolt guitar!! Original (with switch and signature) vs Replica (plain) - pics below.

As a prior owner of one of these, I can say already that the paint and neck joint both look better on the replica than on my old one.

Attachment 36695
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Originally Posted by MusicStudent1

I can’t communicate a thought correctly

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No all good, I think we get what you are saying, just throwing in our two cents as well.

It's rare to get straight up argument on this board, which is one of its best features.

I do like a good Washburn, I'm sure it's already been pointed out that this is such a KISS looking guitar....

EDIT: Ok yeah I'm a dummy.. I just saw who's name is the signature for this...derrrr

The guitar brings back memories for me. I became a diehard Ace Frehley fan when his solo album came out in ‘78. At that time, it was the best I’d ever heard. The sound of the guitars on that album...I can’t put it into words.

When the pictures for the Washburn guitar came out in the magazines, I bought a black and silver one and was really thrilled with it. At that time, nobody had ever seen Ace without the KISS makeup. In the summer of ‘87, I saw Ace’s group, “Frehley’s Comet”, in Dallas, TX. I briefly met him at that concert.

The 1980s!...good times! I was there!! I’m ready to go back!

Attachment 36698

https://youtu.be/0fsHlOarp7A

I think I’m obsessed with this subject, lol! Just for the record - Ace Frehley never liked the Washburn guitar. However, I loved it. I think I’m gonna take the $500.00 gamble on it soon...

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Oh yeah, I mean I was only a kid in the 80's, but all those guitars have a soft spot for me. I did have an awesome Hondo BC Rich copy for a while, but I've since sold it on.

I really want a hot pink, reverse pointy headstock, floyd rose, super strat with black hardware at some point. But it's a fairly long way down an extensive list :P.

But you're already wearing the Spandex outfit! ;)

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

But you're already wearing the Spandex outfit! ;)

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Sure, but I've always been told to dress for the job I want not the one I have.

Ha! :D

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