N4 Vintage ?

[guitars'r'us]

Anyone got or tried out a Washburn N4 Vintage?

[cocobig]

I tried it, and I think if I have money, I would buy the regular N4. I think they are just cosmetics. I can relic my guitar myself. :-)

[lloop9]

I had a Vintage N4 but sold it because the axe I got had problems. But it was a very good model nonetheless, in fact, I would rate it in the top 5 axe I've tried (including the JS and JEM). OK, here are the specs:

The vintage N4 is alder while the regular is swamp ash. Also its the only N4 that comes wif the orig. floyd rose while the rest are schallers. Tone wise its unbelievable; extremely resonant and f*%king "toneful"! I guess it is because its natural mate finish, which also means you sweat and grim WILL get into the body. Will you sacrifice protection over tone?

Its cutaway neck join is THE best in the market. Period. Not even a neck-thru' can touch it IMO. However, if you get up to the high frets and still wanna maintain the thumb-over position, it may be difficult since it joins the body at the 14th fret, but if you do use a classical method, then you're in heaven! But the neck is 12" radius and its quite thick & beefy, very unlike the wizard profile. Also, the neck isn't finsihed as well.

The body size is also very small and narrow. If you're like 7' gaint or something it may look like a toy, but on my 5'7" frame it is wonderful and very light.

Hope this helps.

[rguser]

speaking of N4,
has anyone tried washburn x40 pro?
http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/x/x40.aspx#
the look and the specs are quite good to me. how is the schaller floyd?

[lloop9]

Originally Posted by rguser

speaking of N4,
has anyone tried washburn x40 pro?
http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/x/x40.aspx#
the look and the specs are quite good to me. how is the schaller floyd?

I have not tried the X40 Pro, But in my research on floyds, some pple claim that they've stripped the base plate while locking down the saddles too hard. Unlike the orig. floyds, schaller has a cast metal base plate with steel inserts so that could be the problem.

[rgr]

Originally Posted by lloop9

I have not tried the X40 Pro, But in my research on floyds, some pple claim that they've stripped the base plate while locking down the saddles too hard. Unlike the orig. floyds, schaller has a cast metal base plate with steel inserts so that could be the problem.

The Edge is also cast, quality-wise the Schaller is on par with the Edge. Tone-wise, the cast trems are going to sound warmer and the OFR hardened steel will be a little brighter, but as always, your mileage may vary. I've had all of the above, I've never had a problem with stripping the baseplates, I did have a saddle break in half when I was locking down a string once, can't remember what bridge it was on though, as a rule, cast pieces won't hold up as long as hardened steel.

The N4 Vintage looks cool, I've been thinking of checking out a N4 (been digging Nuno's playing alot lately), but I wouldn't go for the "vintage" model, that makes it way too artist specific, I like earning my own scars FWIW. I also just bought a J-Custom, so no new guitar for me for a while...

Roger

$0.02,
Roger

[LLL777]

Has this model been in production for years now or did Washburn screw over collectors with a reissue?? I remember checking out what was supposed to be a limited edition (maybe only 100) N4 relic years ago which was almost double the current price.

[wallopwallop]

Originally Posted by rgr

The Edge is also cast, quality-wise the Schaller is on par with the Edge.

True, but the saddle screws on the Edge actually screw into a harder milled metal plate beneath the baseplate itself. On the Schaller they screw directly into the cast metal!

I'm one of the guys that stripped a screw on mine!!! Expensive mistake!

[jallen]

Originally Posted by LLL777

Has this model been in production for years now or did Washburn screw over collectors with a reissue?? I remember checking out what was supposed to be a limited edition (maybe only 100) N4 relic years ago which was almost double the current price.

The "relic" you may be thinking about was the model Washbuirn put out using 500 year-old wood found at the bottom of a lake...seriously. (Anyone else remember this?) The spin here was that if vintage guitars sound good because they are aged, then this old wood stock must make the best guitars ever! They must be right. So I'm going over to my grandma's house tomorrow and turning her kitchen table into a Paul.

[lloop9]

Guys. The "Vintage" actually means that Washburn is replicating Nuno's original N4. Kinda like Fender doing SRV's orig. axe.

The N4 Vintage comes wif those prismatic "N4" sticker and the guitar is given a "dirty looks" makeover wif some "dirt" applied on the body of the guitar. The trem, trem nuts, and knobs also have sone rust on them to make it look old and worn.

The 500 yr old wood is actually maple trees/logs submerged in the lake for that period of time, until Washburn harvest them. Whether true or not I have no idea, but I wld take it with a pinch of salt.

Therefore:

N4 Vintage: Replication of Nuno's axe - alder body only
500 yr old verison - maple body only
Normal N4 - swamp ash only as I know of, maybe there's an alder model?
Padauk N4 - padauk body & neck
other special models - limba wif maple cap, mahogany, etc.

Check out this site: http://www.geocities.co.jp/Milano-Killer/4192/

[NeglectedField]

Some guy at my gig the other day had the un-vintaged version. Bastard!