Washburn J9VG Washington
Dangerous Beauty
by Michael Ross

Recent years have seen the decline in popularity of dive bombing whammy effects. In fact, the digital whammy pedal seems to have supplanted the bar in the hearts of hard rockers. Concurrent with this decline we have witnessed the comeback of the Bigsby-style vibrato arm. A random perusal of pop bands on MTV will reveal a bevy of Bigsbys, often mounted on hollow or semi-hollow electric guitars (though the occasional vibrato-equipped Les Paul can be spotted). In fact, it is likely that the trend toward hollow and semi-hollow guitars among rockers is what sparked the Bigsby revival, since it is hard to mount a Strat-style or Floyd Rose-type whammy on such instruments.

The Bigsby-style vibrato doesn't lend itself to dive-bombing tricks, but is more than adequate for gently rocking chords to add extra shimmer, simulating a pedal steel-style vibrato (see the musical example below), or even some nasty shaking to spice up solos. In addition, it can add a look of retro cool to any instrument. With its J9VG Washington model, Washburn has entered the vibrato equipped semi-hollow sweepstakes.

Looking Presidential
If looks alone were a reason to buy an instrument (and sometimes they are) the Washington would certainly be a "must have." With its black paint and gold hardware it presents a dignified yet dangerous demeanor, sort of like James Bond. The detailing is extensive: From the broken rectangle, pearloid neck, and abalone headstock inlays to the double pinstriping on the fretboard, headstock and binding, this baby is a classy looker. The ivoroid binding was already starting to yellow in spots on the test model, but whether this is a plus or a minus depends on your vintage leanings.

The rosewood of the almost flat radius fingerboard was dark and fine grained. A single cutaway gives the instrument a jazzy look but limits access to the upper reaches of the 20 frets. The top, neck, and sides are all maple. The top is only mildly arched, which combines with the thin body to give the instrument an almost solidbody feel.

The vibrato arm assembly on the J9VG works in the usual manner. Pushing down the arm depresses a large spring as it loosens the string tension across the bridge. The spring then theoretically returns the string tension to normal when the arm is released. In reality, the system is subject to some of the same potential tuning problems as any non-locking whammy setup. This particular guitar stayed in tune pretty well. After some initial stiffness, the arm action became smooth, though the spring tension remained high.

The Washington comes equipped with two Washburn humbuckers: a 621 in the neck and a 622 in the bridge. They are wired in the time-honored tradition, with a three-way toggle and separate tone and volume controls for each. The Washburn, however, departed from the usual version of this wiring. When both pickups are on, turning the volume all the way down on one pickup does not automatically shut off the other. This can prevent accidentally shutting yourself off when you are lowering a single pickup's volume; on the other hand it does not allow you to kill your volume quickly and completely by just turning down one
volume when both pickups are selected.

On a purely positive note, the volume pot's taper allows you to truly vary the tone by adjusting either the bridge or neck volume when both are on. I have found that when adjusting relative pickup volumes on most dual-pickup guitars, there are a limited number of tonal possibilities you can create before the lowering of one pickup sounds just like having the other one on alone. Not so here: A much larger-than-usual range of tones was available.

Backroom Brawler
Don't let the elegant looks of the J9VG fool you: It is equally at home at a White House dinner or in a cigar smoke-filled bar. The test instrument came set up with heavy strings and a wound third. This combined nicely with medium rounded frets and low action to offer a guitar that begged to play jazz. The shallow, wide neck and flat radius made be-bopping a breeze. This setup responded equally well to Chet Atkins-style fingerpicking or rock rhythm strumming.

Switching to a set of .011's brought out more of the Washington's rock potential. Here the thin body came in handy in keeping feedback under control. One of the reasons for the popularity of this type of guitar is that it allows you to ride the edge of feedback at a very ear-friendly volume.

The neck pickup had a warm jazz tone with plenty of bite left over, but the bridge pickup sounded a little anemic even after raising it toward the strings. Though this Washburn model can offer appropriate rock and blues tones, between the vibrato and the low frets, extreme bending can be difficult with the heavier strings favored by some players.

Vote Getter
Has there been a sea change in the politics of the semi-hollowbody? Once upon a time, only Ted Nugent was playing rock on a hollow guitar and no self-respecting jazzer would go near a whammy bar. Now we see Oasis with semi-hollows and John McLaughlin with a vibrato on his archtop box.

Any player should be happy to be in that company, and any politician would be ecstatic to have the broad-based appeal of the Washington. Whether you are a member of the Jazz, Country, Pop, or Rock party, you'll be well represented by the J9VG.

Features
Neck scale: 25 1/2"

Neck joins body at the 14th fret

Gotoh tuners

Gold tune-o-matic bridge