Washburn Idol WI-64

GUITARS - ELECTRIC

PRICE:	$600 with hardshell case, new
KEY FEATURES:	mahogany body and neck, rosewood fretboard,
	quilted maple top, Buzz Feiten tuning system, 2 humbuckers
CUSTOMIZATION?	Seymour Duncan “Custom Custom” bridge pickup, Schaller strap locks, Ernie Ball .011 strings
SOUND SAMPLE:	N/A
HIGHS:	great playability, lots of sustain
	clear, punchy tone
LOWS:	some tuning problems, muddy pickups,
	"Voice Contour Control" is frustrating
SHORT TAKE	A joy to play if you're willing to put some time and money into it.

The Washburn WI-64, part of the "Idol" series, is a true underdog. Having received this as a gift, this was the only guitar I could afford for several years. This forced me to get creative, slowly coaxing good tones from the instrument instead of just buying something that played better out of the box.

This guitar was not set up properly at the factory. At first, I noticed the guitar going out of tune after playing the it for more than 30 minutes (or more than five minutes if the strings were old). I set up the Idol's action, inonation and truss rod as well as possible, but tuning problems persisted. I first tried larger strings; I now play the guitar with .011 gauge instead of the default .009. Equally as important, I filed the guitar's nut slots, widening them for the bigger strings. The Washburn now holds tune effortlessly, and thanks to the Buzz Feiten tuning system it intonates well across the fretboard.

Guitars in the Idol series have VCC knobs - that's "Voice Contour Control" - instead of tone knobs. According to Washburn, VCC is a "coil tapping system that allows players to incrementally blend between a humbucking sound and a single coil sound without the hum normally associated with single coils." In other words, you turn the knob down, the pickup sounds more like a single coil; you turn the knob up, it sounds more like a humbucker.

All of this VCC business allows for great tonal range, but there is a side effect. For some reason, the guitar's signal sounds muffled when the volume knob (not necessarily the VCC knob) is at less than 10. Sometimes this effect is desirable, but in general, most will want the volume at full. This lack of dynamics limits some of said tonal range.

Most importantly, though, the Washburn Idol plays very well. The guitar has a 14" fingerboard radius; this is flatter than most Strats and Les Pauls but less so than Jacksons. This makes the Idol somewhat lead-oriented, though chords are no problem to play. I've used this guitar both in the rhythm section of a jazz band and for lead in many rock projects.

Anyone willing to spend another $50-$150 on new pickups and many hours setting up their instrument should consider the WI-64. Once the guitar is set up to tune properly and the muddy stock pickups have been replaced, the Idol is a bright (thanks, quilted maple top), punchy tone machine.