Guitar
guitarz.blogspot.com:
This Washburn SBT-21 is a Tele-style guitar with a pointy 1980s-style headstock and looks like it is a relation to the Washburn Tour 24 Tele.
At first glance it would appear to be an electric guitar with no pickups, but the acoustic style bridge is a dead giveaway as to its true function - of course it has piezo pickups under the bridge saddle.
I guess this was designed for (hair) metal bands who just couldn't bring themselves to use a proper acoustic guitar for live shows (which wouldn't look "metal" enough, or some such nonsense).
These days a guitar such as this is more of a curiosity than a practical versatile guitar. As a "solidbody acoustic", it's neither one thing or the other. Electric players will want a guitar with magnetic pickups, whilst those wanting an acoustic sound would be better served with a genuine acoustic or - if they must - electro-acoustic guitar. Now, if this guitar had magnetic pickups in addition to the piezos, then it could be a truly useful hybrid instrument. Having said that, the pickup-less solidbody look is quite cool, and thank goodness Washburn didn't stick a faux soundhole on it and place slider volume and tone controls on the upper rim.
This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of £180 and a Buy It Now price of £300, which seems quite reasonable for a not too common 1980s-era Japanese made guitar. Alas, as explained already, it is an instrument of limited appeal; unless. that is, you are the occasional guitar strumming singer of a hair metal band wanting a guitar for those cheesy power ballads.
G L Wilson
© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!
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Guitar
Late 1980s Washburn SBT-21 piezo-powered Tele
This Washburn SBT-21 is a Tele-style guitar with a pointy 1980s-style headstock and looks like it is a relation to the Washburn Tour 24 Tele.
At first glance it would appear to be an electric guitar with no pickups, but the acoustic style bridge is a dead giveaway as to its true function - of course it has piezo pickups under the bridge saddle.
I guess this was designed for (hair) metal bands who just couldn't bring themselves to use a proper acoustic guitar for live shows (which wouldn't look "metal" enough, or some such nonsense).
These days a guitar such as this is more of a curiosity than a practical versatile guitar. As a "solidbody acoustic", it's neither one thing or the other. Electric players will want a guitar with magnetic pickups, whilst those wanting an acoustic sound would be better served with a genuine acoustic or - if they must - electro-acoustic guitar. Now, if this guitar had magnetic pickups in addition to the piezos, then it could be a truly useful hybrid instrument. Having said that, the pickup-less solidbody look is quite cool, and thank goodness Washburn didn't stick a faux soundhole on it and place slider volume and tone controls on the upper rim.
This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of £180 and a Buy It Now price of £300, which seems quite reasonable for a not too common 1980s-era Japanese made guitar. Alas, as explained already, it is an instrument of limited appeal; unless. that is, you are the occasional guitar strumming singer of a hair metal band wanting a guitar for those cheesy power ballads.
G L Wilson
© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!
- Have You Ever Seen A More Out-of-place Headstock On A Guitar?
guitarz.blogspot.com: I take one look at this 1980s B.C. Rich acoustic guitar and can't help but demand "What were they thinking?" A pointy headstock? On a dreadnaught? Madness! I'm not averse to 6-in-a-line headstocks on acoustic guitars. Fender,...
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guitarz.blogspot.com: This ESP Hybrid I guitar from the 1980s is a Strat/Tele hybrid. It's essentially Tele parts on a Strat body, plus a Strat-like tremolo with a David Gilmore-sized arm. (Not that Gilmore is short, I'm talking about his preference...
- Ibanez Prestige Saber 2020xav With Piezo And Floyd Rose Trem
guitarz.blogspot.com This Ibanez Prestige Saber 2020XAV has two jack outputs - one for the regular magnetic pickups and one for the piezo pickup, something that allows a quick change from electric to acoustic sound (don't know...
- Gibson Explorer Shadow Bass From 1986 - But Where Are The Pickups?
guitarz.blogspot.com: Graphics like these appeared on a number of mid-1980s Gibson Explorer guitars and basses, but more unusually this 1986 Gibson Explorer Shadow Bass appears to have no pickups. Of course, it does have pickups but not of the magnetic...
- Fender Pbac-100 Made In Japan Thinline Acoustic/electric Fretless Precision Bass
guitarz.blogspot.com: Ah, you don't see these too often. It's a relation of the Fender FMT Bass we looked at in January although, obviously, fretless, with a natural finish and a classic Fender P-Bass style headstock. (In fact, this is the bass,...