Acoustic Electric Guitars Reviews

By Adam Perlmutter

For those who haven’t gotten the memo that sensibly priced contemporary guitars tend to be means superior to the budget choices of past decades, invest one minute with Washburn’s brand new Woodline 10 Series (model WLO10SCE), selling for really under 500 bucks. This 14-fret Orchestra cutaway model—a complete winner for the price—has a simple playability and a strong, centered sound that lends it self similarly really to strumming and fingerpicking.

Once I very first strum an open-E chord regarding Woodline Orchestra cutaway, I’m satisfied because of the guitar’s warmth, likely owing to its spruce-and-mahogany build, the cathedral-peaked advanced level scalloped-X bracing (Washburn features switched to scalloped X bracing in 2010), and its own stability. No sign-up crowds of people out another—the bass is company, the mids barking, additionally the trebles sparkling. The guitar appears neat and clear, and contains adequate projection and maintain.

I place the Woodline Orchestra through its paces. For Tommy Emmanuel’s “Ruby’s Eyes, ” along with its moving arpeggios, the ringing notes cascade collectively beautifully, and, due to the guitar’s modern C-profile neck and a tip-top setup, it is simple to execute the piece’s numerous slides and slurs.

Playing the Carter Family’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”—a great test for the strumming potential of every acoustic guitar—reveals that the Woodline Orchestra compares well to
the boom-chuck school of rhythm, even though some will dsicover the bass only a tad with a lack of this context.

To observe it fares in a nonstandard tuning, I try Orville Johnson’s reading of “God’s Gonna Ease the Troublin’ Mind, ” in available D minor (D A D F A D). Practicing the guitar doesn’t drop some of its luster inside slackened tuning, and Johnson’s group chords, heard more commonly in contemporary traditional than fingerstyle blues, have actually impressive definition and note split.

Whenever I plug into a Fender Acoustasonic amp and play the exact same three tunes, the Woodline Orchestra’s onboard Fishman 301T preamp does a beneficial task of conveying the guitar’s natural sound. As a bonus, the preamp’s electronic tuner is intuitive to utilize and simple to learn, in a darkened space.

Then there’s the Woodline Orchestra’s smart design and execution. The ornamentation is minimal but classy, with rosewood binding and a wooden mosaic rosette. From the body,

the gloss finish is smoothly and thinly applied, and inside box, things are since clean as a hound’s enamel.

With a road cost of just $369 without instance, the Woodline 10 Orchestra design is obviously pitched at burgeoning songwriters and fingerstylists.

But offered its exemplary overall performance all over, your guitar wouldn’t disappoint a far more experienced player.

HUMAN ANATOMY
14-fret orchestra cutaway
Solid spruce top with quarter-sawn scalloped spruce bracing
Mahogany as well as sides X-bracing
Cathedral-peaked advanced level scalloped-X bracing
Rosewood bridge
All-natural high-gloss finish

THROAT
Mahogany
Rosewood fingerboard
25 5/16-inch scale
43mm (1 11/16-inch) fan
Chrome die-cast tuners
Satin finish

ELECTRONICS
Fishman 301T preamp with tuner

EXTRAS
Graph Tech NuBone