Америкалық гитара өндірушісі және импортері Washburn

American manufacturer and importer of string instruments

Washburn Guitars is an American brand and importer of guitars, mandolins, and other string instruments, originally established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. The Washburn name is controlled by U. S. Music Corp., a subsidiary of Canadian corporate group Exertis|JAM.

Lyon & Healy began in 1864 as a partnership of businessmen George W. Lyon and Patrick J. Healy, acting as the Chicago outlet for Boston sheet music publisher Oliver Ditson and Company. By 1865, Lyon & Healy had expanded into reed organs and some small instruments. The company achieved independence by 1880, and around 1888 the company launched fully into fretted and plucked instruments (guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and zithers)
under the "George Washburn" brand, which was Lyon's first and middle name. Lyon & Healy 1898 catalog listed 28 different styles of "Washburn" guitars, ranging from $15 to $145. It bridged the gap between smaller bodied "parlor" guitars of the late 19th and early 20th century and modern day dreadnought and jumbo acoustic guitars. George Lyon retired from the company in 1889 (died 1894). Patrick Healy then led the company into a period of major expansion, beginning with a larger new factory and improved mass production techniques, and soon dominated the domestic market. Their 1892 catalog claimed to manufacture 100,000 instruments annually. Healy died 1905. By the 1920s, Lyon & Healy faced growing competition from other instrument manufacturers as well as from the rise of other forms of entertainment, particularly film and the gramophone. Lyon & Healy gradually shifted manufacturing chores onto wholesaler Tonk Brothers, to whom they sold the guitar portion of the business in 1928, continuing to produce their own lines of harps, pianos, and organs. Tonk Brothers turned to manufacturer J. R. Stewart Company to purchase and operate the massive factory, but this transition proved problematic and Stewart went bankrupt in 1930. Some of the Stewart assets were acquired by the Regal Musical Instrument Company, which had purchased the "Regal" brand name in 1908 from Lyon & Healy (who acquired it in 1905). Regal was chosen to reopen the Washburn factory (producing Regal instruments as well). Though the Washburn brand was preserved, it never regained its preeminence, and by the early 1940s had declined to nothing.

Very few modern Washburn instruments have been built by the company itself. It has relied on outside factories and luthiers to fulfill their designs and meet public demand. The first modern Washburn instruments were full size acoustic guitars imported from Japan by Beckmen Music. The 1974 range included one folk style guitar (W 200) and eight dreadnoughts of increasing quality and decoration: W 240 12, W 250, W 260, W 280, W 300, W 300 12, W 500, W 600. Under Rudy Schlacher, most Washburn models were ordered in runs of 200 units, rather than ongoing production; if sales went well, further runs might be ordered. This application of just in time manufacturing (or lean manufacturing) kept the company from needing to warehouse and liquidate overproduction, improving profitability. As a result, Washburn models (acoustic or electric) sometimes became difficult to locate between production runs. The first Washburn electric guitars were the Wing Series models, offered 1978–1984. These instruments featured innovative push pull split humbuckers, brass hardware and inlays, and neck through construction. Some early Wing Series were produced by Yamaki, one Japanese manufacturer of Washburn acoustic guitars. By 1991, production of Washburn instruments had shifted almost entirely to Korea, built by Samick. When Samick opened their Cileungsi, Indonesia, facility in 1992, this factory also began to produce Washburn branded instruments, generally identifiable by an "SI " serial number prefix. From 1992 to 2000 Washburn housed the USA Custom Shop in a factory at Elston and Springfield avenues. Grover Jackson ran production for the first half of the 1990s and Larry English ran production for the second half of the 1990s. Between 1994 and 2001, ten models of acoustic guitar were built for Washburn in the United States, five by Tacoma Guitars (Tacoma, Washington) and five by Bourgeois Guitars (Lewiston, Maine). Washburn brought out a line of four USA made dreadnoughts, available from 2002 to 2008. These were the D 78, D 80, D 82, and D 84. (All had the " SW" suffix, for "solid wood," indicating that no laminate wood was employed.) In 2012, when JAM Industries declined to renew the lease on the Mundelein facility, the Washburn luthiery closed. At the time, the Washburn facility was the ninth largest employer in the village (the third largest business), providing 180 jobs. The stated intent was to reopen at a smaller building in Buffalo Grove (1000 Corporate Grove Drive) but this did not materialize. A few Washburn models (particularly the N4) are produced in Cincinnati. As of 2017, primary production has largely shifted from Korea to factories in Indonesia and China.

Any given series may have as few as only one model.

prefix Series a. k. a. type duration comments J Jazz hollowbody archtop 1989 date HB Hollow Body semihollow archtop 1981 date B Bantam headless bass 1984 1986 no connection to 1990s Bantams GB Bantam headless bass/guitar 1984 1986 no connection to 1990s Bantams G Bantam headless guitar 1984 1986 no connection to 1990s Bantams CT Centurian carved top 1997 2002 P Centurian carved top 1997 2002 E Centurian carved top 2001 2002 CP Culprit 1998 2000 Dime Dimebag Darrell ML style 1995 2004 signature line G Force 1983 1988 CS Hard Rock 2000 2002 NX Nextar 2002 2003 Stephen's Extended Cutaway PT Poptop 2000 2002 RS Hard Rock Rogue Star 2000 2002 WG Hard Rock 2000 2002 WR Hard Rock 2000 2002 HM 2008 2010 Series, not prefix WI Idol 1999 2010 WM HM 2008 2010 no connection to 1990s WM WV Wavepoint; Vee 2008 2010 WIN Idol 2010 2014 JB Jennifer Batten 2000 2004 signature line KC Chicago 1989 1991 LS Laredo Legacy; Silverado S copy 1992 1994 LT Laredo Legacy; Silverado T copy 1993 1994 MR Magnum 1997 2000 BT Maverick BillyT; Bantam 1995 2002 all 24.75" scale WM Maverick 1997 2002 USA build; no connection to 2008 WM DD Maya Dan Donegan 2005 2010 signature line MG Mercury 1992 1996 NC Nick Catanese 2005 2009 signature line N Nuno Bettencourt 1990 date Stephen's Extended Cutaway PS Paul Stanley 1998 2016 signature line RX RX 2011 date SI Scott Ian 2005 2010 signature line A Stage 1980 1986 EC Extended Cutaway 1988 1991 Stephen's Extended Cutaway SS Steve Stevens 1993 1994 AF Tour Ace Frehley 1987 1988 signature line FV Tour Flying Vee 1984 1985 HM Tour 1985 1987 RR Tour 1985 1987 RS Tour 1987 1988 WP Tour Paul copy 1987 1991 WT Tour 1984 1994 Wing 1978 1985 SB Wing Reissue 1991 1995 X X 2002 2010 XM XM 2011 date S Sonamaster 2016 date PX Parallaxe 2013 date PXM Parallaxe 2013 date PXS Parallaxe 2013 date PXL Parallaxe LP shape 2013 date TB Tabu 2009 WB Lyon S copy 1994 1995

prefix Series a. k. a. type duration comments B 1983 1985 B 1992 Wing Scavenger 1980 1981 B Stage 1981 1984 B Stage 1981 1984 B Force P copy 1983 1986 B ABT 1987 1989 XS Axxess 1990 1991 BB Bantam 2006 2010 XB Bantam 1994 2006 MB Mercury 1992 1993 MB Mercury 2002 2006 RB RB 1999 2003 WP Shadow P copy 1997 1999 WJ Shadow J copy 1997 1999 S Status 1000 1988 1993 SHB Stu Hamm 2012 2016 signature T Taurus 2002 date AB 2004 2006 Bootsy Collins Space Bass 2002 2006 CB 2007 2010 DB 2000 Force 2002 2010 M 2002 2003 WB Idol 2007 2010 SB Sonamaster 2016 date AB Festival Acoustic 1988 date

Nuno Bettencourt models are flagshipped by the American hand made N4. The N4 is a small reverse headstock "super strat" that features the Stephen's Extended Cutaway neck joint for easy access to the higher frets. It is outfitted with a Bill Lawrence and a Seymour Duncan pickup, and a licensed Floyd Rose type tremolo. The N1 and N2 are production (budget) models of this line, factory built in Korea, and feature standard bolt on necks and lower grade pickups and tremolo systems. The N3 (discontinued) was also produced in Korea and sported the Stephen's Extended Cutaway but used lower grade pickups. Bettencourt has endorsed several Washburn acoustic models as well. There is the N7 7 string model, and an acoustic/electric based on the Festival Series, the EA20SNB. Ola Englund Solar (2013/2014): Signature model announced by Washburn in 2013 for Swedish guitarist Ola Englund of Six Feet Under, Feared, and The Haunted. Warren Haynes vocalist and guitarist, Gov't Mule, The Allman Brothers, and the Warren Haynes Band. The Washburn WSD5249 acoustic guitar is based on the original Washburn Solo Deluxe from 1937, which is similar in size to the popular OM shaped guitars on the market today. Adirondack Spruce top with period correct vintage sunburst finish. Hand shaped scalloped Adirondack Spruce bracing, solid rosewood sides, 2 piece back with vintage inspired 1930s zipper style inlaid herringbone stripe. The top has 3 ply ivoroid binding and the sound hole is finished by a ringed herringbone rosette.

"Dimebag Darrell" Abbott Washburn's Dean ML style Dime 333 and radical Explorer like Dime Culprit models were the most popular. The Dime 333 had a Floyd Rose double locking tremolo; the 332 variant featured a stop tail bridge. The Culprit, with its sliced up Explorer style body, featured a Floyd Rose tremolo, a mirror pickguard and a pair of hot ceramic humbucking pickups with chrome cover. Paul Stanley Models for 2014 were the PS2014, PS2012, PS 12 and PS10. Previous models have been the PS600 and PS800 (extensively used while touring with KISS), as well as the "Preacher" PS7000/PS7200/PS9000/PS9200 (used during the 2006 2007 tour to promote his solo album Live to Win). Stanley's line also includes the PS9 and PS11E acoustic guitars that feature his image on the front and come bundled with a custom gig bag. Jennifer Batten — three guitars based on the WM (the USA version of the Maverick BT Series guitars). All had three single coil pickups: JB 80 (Korea), JB 100 (USA), JB 100 MIDI (USA) with installed Roland GK 2A divided pickup system. Steve Stevens Signature Model (1993) — SS80 and SS100 models made at Washburn's Chicago custom shop, the SS40 mass produced in Korea. The SS80 was produced in black with gold hardware, a Schaller licensed Floyd Rose tremolo, and Seymour Duncan JB humbucking pickups. The SS100 featured black hardware and Frankenstein monster graphics. George Washburn / Stephens Extended Cutaway electric models — introduced in 1987, designed entirely by Stephen Davies. The series comprised the EC 26 Atlantis, the EC 29 Challenger, and the EC 36 Spitfire. The EC 29 and EC 36 were the first mass produced guitars that had over 27 frets. The 26 fret EC 26 was made in the United States and is a very rare model. Nick Catanese Signature Model (1999) — Idol Series (WI) models for Nick Catanese. Stu Hamm signature electric basses designed with Stu Hamm. Dan Donegan Signature Model/Maya Series (2003) — six string electric guitar series for Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan and named after his daughter Maya: the Maya Standard (DD 70) and the Maya Pro (DD 75). Both use Seymour Duncan pickups. Bootsy Collins Space Bass (2006): model for Bootsy Collins. Features Fender Jazz Bass pickups.