Washburn N4

Infobox Guitar model


caption = Washburn N4 vintage
manufacturer = Washburn
period = 1990–present
bodytype = Solid
necktype = Stephen's Extended Cutaway (enhanced bolt-on)
scale = 25.5"
woodbody = Alder, Padauk, Swamp Ash (common); Korina, Mahogany, Maple (limited series)
woodneck = Maple (most), Padauk (rare)
woodfingerboard = Ebony (most), Padauk (rare)
bridge = Kahler (early), Floyd Rose Licensed or Original (most)
pickups = Seymour Duncan SH1N (neck) Bill Lawrence USA L500 (bridge)
colors = Natural oil finishThe Washburn N4 is an electric guitar model, developed in collaboration between Nuno Bettencourt, Washburn and the Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. Since its introduction in mid-late 1990, it became Nuno Bettencourt's main guitar and it is marketed by Washburn as Nuno Bettencourt's signature model. It's flagship of the Washburn N-series which, as of 2008, includes the N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6 and N8 (no N7 to this date, N8 being an "N4 times 2" since it's a double neck guitar).

The design was finalized during mid 1990 and released by Washburn in December 1990. Although it had "Washburn" stamped on the headstock and sold by Washburn guitars, the first models were actually hand made by Davies' workshop in Seattle from the end of 1990 to the beginning of 1992. After that, Washburn started producing it in its own custom shop in Chicago.

N4 features a distinctive superstrat form-factor, two humbucking pickups, floating tremolo system and enhanced bolt-on neck joint named Stephen's Extended Cutaway, a patented design [US patent reference|number=4856403|inventor=Davies|title=Stringed musical instrument] that allows easier player's access to higher frets. The guitar is primarily aimed at players that perform shredding music styles.

Since 1990, there have been numerous versions of this model using various woods and hardware parts.

Features

Body

Typical models have been made using Alder, Padauk (also known as Paduak or Padouk; "Pterocarpus") and Swamp Ash ("Fraxinus pennsylvanica"). Korina ("Terminalia superba"), Mahogany or Maple woods also have been used for some limited series.

While all regular N4s have an oil finish, only a few limited-editions (Korina, Sunburst & other limited edition models) have featured lacquered bodies.

Neck

All N4s have Maple necks (the N4 Vintage having Birdseye Maple). The only exception to this rule being Padauk models which feature Padauk necks.

The neck has 22 jumbo frets and dot inlays, with the exception of the N4E-MNM Mourning Widows model, which has a Mourning Widows logo-shaped inlays. That logo reproduces a tattoo Nuno Bettencourt has on his left arm.

The N4 Vintage model has a thinner neck than other Washburn-built N4s, thus being a closer match to the original Davies models.

Fingerboard

With the exception of the very rare all-padauk models (which have a padauk fingerboard), all N4s have Ebony fingerboards.

Neck Joint

N4's neck is bolt-on and uses a special mounting system called the Stephen's Extended Cutaway, which was invented by Seattle luthier Stephen Davies and then licensed by Washburn. It features a 5-bolt curved join allowing the player to access the higher frets while maintaining proper and comfortable hand position, due to its 'heel-less' design.

Pickups

All N4s come with a Seymour Duncan SH1N (also called the '59) neck pickup & a "Bill Lawrence USA" L500 bridge pickup (which is a mass produced version of the L500 originally made by Bill Lawrence (guitar maker)) .

It has been verified on several occasions that some of Nuno's main guitars actually have L500 from Bill Lawrence (guitar maker) (which, according to most users, have a richer tone) and that some other use L500s from Bill Lawrence USA.

Controls

All N4s have a 3-way pickup selector located on the lower horn as well as a single volume pot.Few models also feature a tone control (i.e. the Washburn sunburst as well as the Mourning Widows model).

Tremolo

While the very first N4s, so-called "Davies" had a Kahler tremolo, standard Washburn N4s feature a Washburn tremolo made by Schaller Guitarenparts (Schaller) in Germany. However "Vintage/Relic" models do have the Original Floyd Rose tremolo unit which is also used by Nuno himself.

Buzz Feiten Tuning System

In the mid-nineties, Washburn added the Buzz Feiten as a standard feature of the N4.The system, invented by Buzz Feiten drastically improves the guitar tuning accuracy over the fretboard, by using a modification in the guitar's setup (The guitar's nut is moved slightly forward and appropriate intonation formulas are used during intonation setup).

Model names

N4s are referenced using a letter code that indicate the woods that were used:

The first letter indicates the fingerboard wood (E for Ebony, most of the time). Remaining letters represent an acronym for the wood and the finish.

Examples:
* N4E-SA: Ebony fingerboard with Swamp Ash body
* N4P-PNM: Padauk fingerboard, with 'Padauk Natural Matte' body.
* N4E-MNM: Ebony fingerboard, with 'Mahogany Natural Matte' body.

Serial numbers

N4s all have a serial number on the back of the headstock using the following form:
* 2 digits for the year
* 2 digits for the month
* at least 3 digits for the actual serial number.

For instance, a 9512nnn would be the nnnth N4 produced in December 1995.

Very early Davies N4s have a different serial number system: 3 or 4 digits for the guitar's number followed by the production year's last two digits.

Evolution

Early models-Davies N4s

All early models (including Davies N4s) were made of Alder, using a Maple neck and an Ebony fingerboard.

The so-called Davies were made by Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. According to him, the total number of guitars he made were approximately 1200 to 1500, including 6 black N4s (a black N4 was shown in the 1990 Washburn catalog). The main differences between Davies and Washburn models are in the hardware and quality craftmanship and assembly, making these guitars the most sought-after between collectors and guitarists alike.

Davies N4s have a Kahler tremolo, a very big volume-control back cavity, a rounded-rectangle shaped pickup selector cavity, a sloped Stephen's Extended Cutaway front side, a barrel jack & a thinner neck ...

Washburn models have the Washburn/Schaller tremolo unit, smaller volume-control cavity, a rounded-triangle pickup selector cavity, a 90-degrees 'Stephen's Extended Cutaway' front side, a standard 1/4" jack & a thicker neck.

A very few Davies N4s were made using one-piece bodies (using large pieces of Alder). From his own words; Nuno got almost all of them.

"Transitional" models

In 1992 Grover Jackson started producing the N4 necks & bodies for Washburn, as Washburn still didn't have the full facility for executing the Stephens Extended Cutaway themselves & the demand for the instrument dictated the need for a quicker rate of production than can be offered with a fully hand-built instrument. The parts were then sent over to Stephen Davies himself for assembly, finishing & setup, giving birth to what are usually referred to as 'transitional models'. These models were the first to feature the cleaner looking cutaways with the front profile of the cutaway being flush to the edge of the fretboard, the smaller control cavities & Schaller trems (providing the template for the later Washburn produced models). However, they also had the advantages of being finished off properly by Davies himself, thus having that attention to detail that the true Washburn-built N4's have lacked ever since. These 'Transitional' models are relatively rare & often featured one-of-a-kind finishes executed at Davies' custom shop (such as various sunbursts, acid rain & iridescent finishes).

Padauk

In early 1993, Washburn released a new version of the N4 made from Padauk (as used by Nuno Bettencourt during the recording of Extreme's third album "III sides to Every Story"). Padauk, as a wood, is extremely dense and heavy (according to users) providing a deeper/darker tone than that of Alder, while still conserving good high end frequencies. Those models are considered as extremely valuable since they have the reputation of being exceptionally good sounding.

Swamp ash

Washburn guitars also produced a swamp ash version of the N4. Since swamp ash is known for its aggressive and trebly sound, that N4 has a very distinctive tone.

Also, since Washburn stopped producing Padauk N4s, they started producing 'Padouk stained swamp ash models' which can easily be recognized because of the typical swamp ash porous veins showing up behind the stain. Those models, of course, sound exactly like the non stained N4E-SA.

Limited editions

Since 1990, Washburn produced a few limited editions of the N4.

* Korinas (limba wood) : Body made of Korina wood, mapple neck, all signed by Nuno Bettencourt and numbered on the back of the head.
* Mourning Widows : Mahoganny body, maple neck, the Mourning Widow logo was used to design the neck inlays. This model came with two control pots : 1 volume + 1 tone, each of them being a push/pull pot allowing to coil-split each pickup independently.Washburn made 100 of them, all signed by Nuno Bettencourt and numbered on the back of the head.Those N4s were reserved for the Japan market.
* Various finishes : These fall into 2 categories: the Washburn ones (which feature various limited-run finishes such as White & Black Stains, solid-colour lacquers, sunbursts & sparkles). These guitars all feature different woods depending on the finish (Swamp Ash for the stained models, Alder for the solid coloured ones & either Alder, Maple/Mahogany or Solid Maple for the Sunbursts). Then there are the 1992 'Transitional' models, these were all made of Alder & could be found in various bursts & (to a lesser extent) acid rain finishes. In addition to this, there were also the 1-of-a-kind Iridescent models that are very rare indeed.
* Padauk re-edition models : in the early 2000s Washburn started producing new Padauk models. These tend to be lighter in weight than the original-run Padauk N4's, and also tend to be lighter in colour too (orange to red, as opposed to the red to purple colours of the original run).Two theories exist for that obvious change in production : quick-grown wood (therefore not giving the time for the wood to age naturally and achieve the full density that Padauk would naturally acquire over time) or a change in the wood species (African padauk for the first models, Indian padauk for the later ones).

These models don't feature in Washburn's catalogue, as they are only ever produced in limited supply.

* Asian production : While all N4s have been produced in the U.S.A., Specific N4s have been produced in Japan for the Japanese market exclusively (also known as Made in Japan "MIJ" N4s). Even though these models feature all the characteristics of the Davies N4s, they lack of any visible serial number and do not have the 'Made in USA' written on the back of the head. A red serial number is printed on the hidden part of the Stephen's Extended Cutaway.

Since MIJ N4s are made from Davies' blueprint, they resemble Nuno's own guitar in every detail. Quality and craftmanship of the MIJ N4s have given the guitars unsurpassed quality, matching their USA counterparts (maybe only with the exception of Davies N4s) and another Japanese high-end guitars like Caparison and Japanese-made Ibanez.

There is also controversy as a number of N4s were made in Asia during the mid-nineties [cite web|author=|date=|url=http://www.cbp.gov/custoday/nov2000/tye2.htm|title=Senior Special Agent Ronald J. Tye "The Million Dollar T-Man"|accessdate=] . Washburn tried to pass these guitars off as though they were built in the USA custom shop and therefore do feature the 'Made in the USA' tag line on the cutaway & the serial number on the back of the headstock. Washburn consequently faced legal action & had to close down Washburn Europe as a result of the heavy fines that they were dealt. The N4s from that period were significantly lower in quality — for this reason the N4 gained some bad reputation within the industry as this was the period when the N4 was seen in greatest supply. However, since Washburn started producing them back in the US custom shop, the guitar's overall quality has gone back up considerably (even though it still hasn't quite reached the heights of the original Davies & Transitional models).

Current editions

2007 Washburn Catalogue includes only 2 versions :

* ESA : The classic Swamp Ash model.
* Vintage (Also known as Relic) : a reproduction (more or less) of Nuno's 'Number One' N4. It's made of alder, has artificially aged body and hardware, an N4 holographic sticker on it, a true Original Floyd Rose tremolo, and have some similarities with Nuno's Davies (Big cavities on the back and a very thin neck).

References

External links

* [http://www.washburn.com/products/electrics/nseries/n4.aspx Official homepage of N4 at Washburn site]