DDate: Thu, 27 May 2004 02:55:38 -0600
Subject: Washburn Mystic Banjo

Hi!

Greetings Steve,

I'm an Aussie with a real love of bluegrass (that's rare in this country). I particularly like listening to the banjo and I've finally plucked up enough courage to try to learn how to play the banjo. A friend of a friend has a banjo to sell - a Washburn Mystic DL. He wants $1500 Australian for it - that would be roughly about $1100 US and he says it's worth a lot more than that. It looks pretty impressive - well kept, nice looking frets, neck, resonator,  nice sound, heavy, with a bronze tone ring  etc etc.

I found of these that didn't sell on eBay as follows:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10177&item=3723587308&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

It appears to be a real beaut! However, the highest bid on it was only 355.00 with the reserve not being met. Evidently, there isn't a strong market for these...and, the 1100.00 value may be hard to meet. Even so, if you're thrilled with it, and it speaks to you, then buy it...only, be prepared to keep it or you may find it difficult to recoup your investment.

I don't know much about banjo prices and there's nothing out in my neck of the woods that I can use to compare the prices against. I mean there are some light cheap banjos around but nothing as solid or quality looking  like this banjo.

So the question I would like to ask - what sort of bargain (if any) am I getting - is this an OK price or am I being had ?

See above...sorry, I've never seen one of these in person, hence, I cannot give you a quality assessment on one...I'm sure it's a nice quality banjo...and if set up properly, should serve you for many years...only, I'm not too sure what one would be worth today.

Mickey

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Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 17:09:16 -0500 (EST)
Subject: thankyou

i just recieved a new washburn b-16 5 string banjo as a gift. i'm
absolutely new to this instrument and so far have found your website
extremely helpfull. can you give me some info about this particular
model, playabilty, tone, etc. of course the washburn site raves about
their product i'd like to hear from more "objective" people. any info
would be great and once again thank you for providing an accessible
website which i plan to visit very often.
Todd
Block Island, Rhode Island

Greetings Todd,

The B-16 appears to be a fully featured banjo...with many pro features you'd expect to find on more expensive banjos, such as the reverse tuners, maple resonator and tone ring...apparently, the highest end banjo Washburn currently makes. Many imports seem somewhat comparable...and, even though we currently do not carry Washburn, it appears to me that they are as good as most all of the imports we do carry...in its own right. Now, keep in mind, no import I've seen to date compares with current domestic makes, in quality nor price, such as Deering, Gibson, Crafters or Stelling...fortunately, the import, such as the Washburn, fills the void for decent quality instruments at an affordable price.

Hope something here helps...Keep on Pickin', Mickey

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Subject: Washburn short necked banjo
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 18:34:37 -0600

Could you suggest where I go to find out the value of an old short necked
banjo I have acquired. It has four strings, says George Washburn on the
back and list two numbers (also on the back) 9230 and 1885. The body is
silver in color the neck has a few mother of pearl inlay details. It has an
open back.

Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! Turia L. Knez

Greetings Turia,

This sounds like a Washburn Tenor banjo...Washburn has been around for about a century now...currently, they're representing mostly imported instruments...there's a great book titled: "WASHBURN 100 Years History"

It's currently out of print...even so, you might want to find a copy on eBay...especially if you're contemplating keeping your banjo...

Here's a short history of Washburn available on the Washburn site www.washburn.com:
For over one hundred years, Washburn has built more than just great guitars, we've built a history. The Washburn tradition of craftsmanship and innovation has withstood the tests of economics, brand competition and fashion. Since our birth in Chicago in 1883, the name Washburn has been branded into the world's finest stringed instruments. If your interest in guitars borders on passion, you will settle for nothing less than a Washburn.

As proof of our distinguished place in guitar history, Washburn has been honored with the publication of a book: Washburn: 100 Years of Fine Stringed Instruments by John Teagle. Published by 20th Century Guitars and distributed by Music Sales Corp., the book chronicles Washburn's varied and exciting legacy.

The book reveals Washburn as an aggressive innovator and standard setter throughout our history. Early history documents Washburn as the first guitar manufacturer to use artist endorsements and as the originator of the large-bodied acoustic guitar. In more recent years, Washburn has gained recognition as a creator of imaginative solidbody electrics and as a pioneer in electric-acoustic guitar design. 100 Years tells the story of Washburn's origin and follows our growth right up to modern day.

Where our history book ends is where this catalog begins. This decade has marked incredible growth for Washburn. It also has seen the inclusion of some outstanding guitar innovators in the Washburn family: Nuno Bettencourt, Dimebag Darrell, Paul Stanley and Jennifer Batten have the distinction of being some of the few artists ever to be honored with a Washburn signature model guitar, as shown on the signature series pages.

As we approach the twenty-first century, Washburn is continuing to build its history. Now more than ever, an investment in a Washburn guitar is a special gift for yourself or someone you know. It is with great pride that we present to you our guitar line for 2001.

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