See the video review of the Washburn WB400SWK

Playing the Washburn WB400SWK Baby Jumbo is a little like taking a whirlwind tour of Chicago guitar-building history. The Washburn brand is one of the legendary names in American guitar history and was a fixture on the Chicago instrument-manufacturing scene from the late 19th century until production ceased during World War II. The company was resurrected in 1974 and headquartered in Chicago again by 1980—building a line of modern flattops that were favored by players including Bob Dylan and U2’s The Edge. The WB400SWK’s styling is also inspired by the Prairie State guitars built by legendary Chicago luthiers the Larson Brothers, whose guitars fetch enormous sums on the vintage guitar market.

While the WB400SWK builds a bridge between these two Chicago guitar legends, it is much more than a styling curiosity. Like the Prairie State jumbos of old, this Washburn stakes out its own distinct tonal turf with a voice that stands out in a crowded jam. But it’s also unmistakably contemporary, offering the same easy playability that makes more modern Washburns appealing.

RADICAL STYLING

The WB400SWK invites comment just about any time you take it out of the case. Its pinched waist, wide bass bouts, and diminutive treble bouts are inspired by the enormous, 19-inch-wide Larson Brothers’ Prairie State jumbos of the ’30s, but might suggest a combination of Picasso and Jetsons aesthetics to the un-indoctrinated. The odd shape serves a practical purpose, however: the guitar has the body volume of a concert-size instrument with a more substantial vibrating surface in the area of the bridge, yielding bigger bass tones from a smaller body.

Once you move past the styling shock, close investigation reveals a very well-built guitar. The flawless top is crafted from beautiful, straight, tight-grained cedar. And the bat-shaped ebony bridge cleverly provides styling counterpoint to the ovoid shapes that inform most of the guitar’s design. The rosewood back and sides, meanwhile, have a rich, chocolaty hue that’s highlighted by the high-quality glossy finish.

Fit and finish on the inside are excellent. Detail work on the binding, frets, and oval abalone inlay are all flawless. And the oval soundhole, beautifully ringed by a thin abalone rosette, is a nod to Washburn’s popular Festival acoustics of the ’80s and ’90s.

UNEXPECTED TONES

Tonal differences between the Washburn and other concert-size and mini-jumbo guitars to which it’s likely to draw comparison are apparent from the first strum of a first-position chord. And interestingly, the shape of the guitar seems to inform its sonic properties in a very literal way—producing a substantial bottom end with a tight midrange that gets rather woolly when the guitar is played aggressively.

Strumming a few Creedence Clearwater Revival tunes revealed a mostly balanced tonal palate that would work well for any vocal-oriented strummer, though the less pronounced midrange may put off players accustomed to more contemporary flattop flavors. Soft fingerpicking played to the strengths of the guitar’s cedar-top construction, highlighting a rich dynamic range under a light touch. But the Washburn’s tone became most interesting when I began to toy with some flatpicking moves and simple jazz shapes, which the Washburn colored with a dry, barky quality reminiscent of an acoustic archtop. These same attributes result in a fast decay that became apparent while jamming along with a couple of dreadnoughts but also enabled me to carve out a distinct space amid the clamor of heavy strumming.

While many of the Washburn’s tones may seem a little foreign to ears conditioned to traditionally bodied flattops, the guitar will feel familiar to players who favor slimmer, modern necks. The body itself is also quite comfortable to hold, despite its unusual shape—calling to mind the comfortable dimensions of OM and 00 bodies I prefer these days.

THE WRAP

Washburn’s WB400SWK pulls off the interesting feat of transforming an antique body shape into something that feels, looks, and sounds unique amid a sea of conventional body shapes and tones. Its distinct sonic signature will likely grab the attention of players who are less bound by tradition—after all, it’s a rare modern guitar that packs the dry tones of an archtop in what’s more or less an orchestra-size guitar. This is a great guitar for folk and blues players who are unafraid of the road less trodden or a studio player seeking to stake out fresh territory in a mix. And given such a unique tone signature and head-turning looks, the WB400SWK is likely to have lasting appeal for off-the-beaten-path collectors, style-minded stage performers, and players with a taste for the adventurous.