Back on the guitar

I've recently been getting re-familiarised with my guitar after a bit of a break. This is not an unusual happening, over the course of the last 28 years I've been playing, there have been long periods of dust gathering - but for now: I'm a guitarist again.

I was just having a bit of a spring clean of my main guitar, a 16 year old Washburn Chicago Series KC90 and was pretty amazed how well it was shaping up - despite the fact I don't look after it very well. I bought it new with my first student grant cheque (as you do) when it was going cheap in a closing-down sale. I say cheap, these things were over £500 back in 1990 so even on sale I think I paid £350. It was expensive, yes, but the fact it's still in fine fettle (more than can be said for my playing) speaks volumes.

If I remember rightly, the 90 was pretty much the top-spec Washburn at the time. It's made up of the following:

• Contoured ash body
• 24 jumbo-fret, flat rosewood fretboard
• Maple neck
• Black hardware
• Tone and volume + coil tap
• Floyd-Rose licensed Washburn 600S trem system
• Two Seymour Duncan ALINCO singles
• One Jeff Beck Seymour Duncan hummer
• 5 way pickup selector
• Finished in natural gold

I have to admit, the only reason I went for that colour at the time was the price, but now, 16 years down the line, I love the way it looks. It was always a very elegant piece of design, but the colour has really grown on me.

I remember trying out only 2 guitars before I decided on the Washburn. The other was the Fender Stratocaster HM model: one of the worst guitars I've ever played. I've played proper Strats and they're lovely, but the HM version was just awful, the neck felt so wide and uncomfortable. Picking up the KC90 afterwards therefore, was a joy.
I'm looking at playing properly again now, and perhaps buying a new electric (once I've got myself an electro-acoustic). The Ibanez JS appeals, but I know It is going to be difficult to find something that looks, feels and plays as well as my old Washburn.

Final note... it feels very good to be playing again!

Update (8 Oct 2018)

Ok, so I recently came across the Washburn guitar brochure from 1990, the year I bought this thing, and I noticed I had a couple of things wrong: namely the body is actually solid ash, not American basswood and the colour is called Natural Gold, not Transparent Gold. So I've updated the post. I had also made mention of the 'elusive KC100', which wasn;'t really that elusive, it just used to be the top spec electric until it was discontinued in (I think) 1989.

As an aside, the original post was published 12 years ago. I have to be honest, I didn't make much progress back then... but I am really going to town on the theory and various exercises now. Better late than never I suppose.