Washburn has made a name for itself in the past couple of decades as a quality import brand, but let's not forget the company's origins in the early 20th century as one of our nation's finest guitar manufacturers. In recent years, Washburn has focused on reclaiming its reputation for domestic lutherie bliss by building some impressive guitars at its headquarters in Illinois. The NX6 is one of them.

WHAT REALLY COUNTS
The NX6 is a businesslike axe that shows maximum attention to the features that matter: quality wood, components, and construction. The padauk used for the body and neck is subtly beautiful. Similar to a ruddy mahogany, it has the weight and sonic properties of rosewood, which is to say it is a moderately heavy guitar (almost 8 pounds) with a bright, snappy response and excellent acoustic sustain. The NX6 is also available in alder and "Timeless Maple." The latter is wood from 500-year-old logs that sank in the frigid waters of Lake Superior while being floated to the mills. Washburn is recovering these logs, then millingand slow drying them to maintain their natural round cellular structure.

The neck of the NX6 is shaped with a rounded "D" contour, becoming almost imperceptibly thicker as one moves into the higher positions. In conjunction with the stevens extended cutaway- a flared five-bolt design that extends the joint sideways rather than along the length of the neck-the sensation is that of a full, traditional neck in the lower positions and a thin, modern shredder's delight above the 12th fret. The figure you see below was a cinch to execute on the NX6. The wide, medium jumbo frets and tight-grained ebony fingerboard created a silky smooth feel beneath the fingers. Also, the Buzz Feiten Tuning SystemT makes for an impressively in-tune instrument.

NICE VOICE
The Seymour Duncan pickups were both predictably accurate and nicely flavored. The '59 in the neck sounded warm with clear highs, while the Custom Custom in the bridge had a nice, low-treble edge and a touch of throaty growl. The pickups can be switched to single-coil mode by pulling up on the control knobs (volume up=single-coil neck, tone up=single coil bridge). The resulting tones are snappy and taut, yet the superior wood and tight construction of the NX6 gives them plenty of body and sustain. The assembly work inside the cavity, including nickel shielding paint, was flawless. In a departure from the otherwise impeccable workmanship, the volume and tone knobs came loose from their plastic bushings-a subsequent dab of white glue held them just fine (Washburn assures us that it is looking into this). Despite this one quibble, the NX6 is an instrument that overall is an instrument that is worthy of Washburn's fine tradition.