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I picked up a trashed Washburn A20 for $20 on FB marketplace a few moths ago. It had a crack running halfway down neck, big chunk missing from the neck, holes sloppily drilled for controls and switches, and some big gouges on the corners. I thought it would be a fun winter project, and wouldn't be a big loss it it wasn't salvageable.
After stripping the paint, I plugged the various holes, leveled the fretboard and installed new frets. I took it from 4 knobs to 2 and moved the switch to the lower body. It's not perfect, but this thing sounds and plays wonderfully.
With all that said, I have questions about the pickups. I didn't want to buy a new bridge pickup (neck was swapped post-pic to a DD HB103n with an A4. Perfection!) and I didn't have any complete SDs on hand, but I had a Custom and a JB that each had a bad coil. No idea why I didn't think of this year's ago, but I combined the two and used the JBs A5. It sounds gnarly. It's quite a bit more pronounced in the high end and has tight lows. I'm trying to tame the highs a bit and am not sure what's contributing most to the sound. The guitar has a maple neck-through and ash sides.
I'm guessing the maple plays a big factor, but hoping that maybe a magnet swap will help. I have an RCA5, UOA5 and A4 on hand. I can also use the longer screws from the JBs dead coil. Hoping to tame the highs a bit, add a little low end and keep it powerful. It'll mostly be used for melodic death metal, I love some low-mid thump on palm muted chugs.
After stripping the paint, I plugged the various holes, leveled the fretboard and installed new frets. I took it from 4 knobs to 2 and moved the switch to the lower body. It's not perfect, but this thing sounds and plays wonderfully.
With all that said, I have questions about the pickups. I didn't want to buy a new bridge pickup (neck was swapped post-pic to a DD HB103n with an A4. Perfection!) and I didn't have any complete SDs on hand, but I had a Custom and a JB that each had a bad coil. No idea why I didn't think of this year's ago, but I combined the two and used the JBs A5. It sounds gnarly. It's quite a bit more pronounced in the high end and has tight lows. I'm trying to tame the highs a bit and am not sure what's contributing most to the sound. The guitar has a maple neck-through and ash sides.
I'm guessing the maple plays a big factor, but hoping that maybe a magnet swap will help. I have an RCA5, UOA5 and A4 on hand. I can also use the longer screws from the JBs dead coil. Hoping to tame the highs a bit, add a little low end and keep it powerful. It'll mostly be used for melodic death metal, I love some low-mid thump on palm muted chugs.
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