If you’ve ever considered purchasing one of Gibson’s jazz guitars, but balked at the exorbitant price tag (yep, you could put a down-payment on a car for that kind of money!) you might take a look at the plethora of more reasonably priced archtops that have become available in the last few years.
Sure, it’s far from a $2,000 Gibson, but Washburn makes some really affordable, and from what I’ve read fairly decently-built hollowbodies, including they’re stylish Washburn J3 — a fat jazz guitar — which sells for around $300 or less.
While I haven’t had the chance to put one of these through its paces yet, the J3 looks to be a pretty good deal: among other things it sports a pair of chrome humbuckers, body, neck & f-hole binding, and a real maple body & top.
The Washburn J3 Features—
- Maple Top & Body
- Rosewood Fingerboard With 20 Frets
- Block Inlays
- Dual Humbucker Pickups
- Two Tone & Two Volume Controls
- 3-Way Pickup Switching
- Washburn “W” Tailpiece
- Raised Pickguard
- Multi-laminate Body, Neck & F-Hole Binding
- Chrome Hardware
- Rosewood Bridge
The Washburn J3 also comes with a case [surprising at this price-point,] and is available in both Natural & Tobacco Sunburst finishes.
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June 16th, 2006 at 5:26 am
That sure is a pretty Guitar, I am going to go back to the Guitar Shop this weekend and see if I can play one of these. I always wanted another hollowbody.
January 18th, 2008 at 6:13 am
I just recently purchased a washburn j6 on ebay.What a great guitar! I’ve played/owned L-5s ,Super 400’s and all the rest.While this is not quite up there with my old super 400 ,it IS a great guitar for the money! I refuse to pay the prices these days for custom made instruments or high end gibsons.With just a little bit of tweaking ,these guitars can be just as enjoyable to play.