# Which Guitar to keep - Washburn X50 or PRS Trremonti SE?



## z0z0 (Feb 19, 2009)

My friend is a beginner and I have found two guitars for her on Craigslist. Now it is time for her to choose which to keep and while each guitar has it strengths and weaknesses maybe the pros over here can help out.

Here are the choices

1. PRS Tremonti SE - black + light in weight

2. Washburn X50 - quilted maple top + a bit heavier

Both guitars are made in Korea and both appear to have pretty good build quality.

The Wasburn has Washburn 621 and 623 pickups with coil tap gizmo. It also has a bit of a thinner neck which might be better for a girl with smaller hands.

I bought both guitars on CL for about the same price but I think the Washburn is a more expensive guitar but I might be wrong. Hard to find places to price out Washburns online. Also the modern X50 comes in just black which 5 years ago the X50 came with fancy tops. Today only the X50 Pro comes with fancy tops.

Which guitar would you keep?
The other guitar goes back on CL.

Thanks guys


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

So you bought both guitars for her and you're going to let her choose which one she can keep? Why didn't you just try to suss out what she wanted (or thought she wanted) and then go get a single guitar?

Anyway, I don't know anything about the PRS guitar. Lots of people speak highly of them and they look pretty nice.

I've owned and messed around with a few Washburn X series guitars. One of my favourite cheap axes is a MIC Washburn X-10. The higher you go up the line the better the hardware gets but past a certain point you're really mostly paying for the bling factor - nicer finishes, binding, quilted stuff, etc.

She really has to handle them both and take the time to find out which one feels most comfortable. The slender neck of the Washie might be nice. But she might go for the lighter weight of the Tremonti. In any case, it's tough to make a recommendation without knowing what kind of music she wants to play. The Washburn is pretty versatile but I doubt the SE would be any less so.

I would have recommended a used Godin of some sort off of Craigslist. Unbelievably, I saw a Godin LG listed on CL Toronto the other day - for $275! That's crazy good.


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## z0z0 (Feb 19, 2009)

Yeah - I bought the two guitars off Craigslist.

I bought the PRS Tremonti SE about three months ago but I noticed that with her smaller hands she was having a hard time pressing the strings so I thought maybe a different neck would be easier for her.

I then found the Washburn X-50 on Craigslist and I checked it out and the neck was a bit thinner and it looked nicer and so I bought it. I also liked the coil tap on the Washburn and thought it might give her more flexibility for future styles she might want to play.

She now has both guitars to try playing and the one she does not want I will "return" to Craigslist. Someone will buy it so I am not worried. I got good deals on the guitars and so it is not like I will lose any money.

I was hoping to hear more from the pros over here. I see that right now the Tremonti is winning out. Too bad people did not post why they voted that way. This is educational for me as well.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

Well, have you given your friend the option of making the choice herself, or are you choosing for her? She's a newbie and let's face it, what features a pro looks for are not necessarily the same as what will attract a newcomer to guitar. Hell, the pros can't even agree on what are the best guitars, amps, etc. This is highly subjective stuff.

If you haven't done this yet, I recommend showing her the two guitars and asked her to pick one taking a few days to do so, of course. Better that she at least attempt to bond with one of them before taking it further.

Either one of them is, after all, an excellent guitar to start with. It's not as if she's going to be working which a shoddy axe she'll be fighting all the way.


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## z0z0 (Feb 19, 2009)

Yes - she has both guitars right now and I told her to play with both. On Friday she will take both guitars with her to her guitar lesson to get her guitar teacher's input. I am hoping to get insights from the experts here as to which guitar is the better one.

Right now the Tremonti SE is pulling ahead and that surprises me since the Washburn X50s are more expensive guitars when I check store prices.

Any comments as to why people are voting for the Tremonti SE would be appreciated.


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## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

I think that you're probably going to find that a lot of us would prefer the Tremonti because of the bigger neck, and the solid "PRS certified" build. I've owned an SE singlecut, and it was a great guitar for the money... Oh ya, and I hate quilt tops... So, if *I* had to choose, *I* would almost certainly choose the Tremonti... 

*BUT*

...this isn't about me, it's about your friend, and as Maxer has already noted, what I'm looking for in a guitar will not be the same as what your friend wants in a guitar. I bought my daughter a Hello Kitty Strat, not because I wanted a pink guitar with pink inlays and an anime cat's face for a pickguard, but because that's what she wanted and I reasoned that if she gets the guitar she likes, she's more likely to play it, and the more she plays it, the more she gets out of it... If your friend finds the Tremonti neck too big for her hands, then she should choose the guitar that's more comfortable to play, and if she prefers the aesthetics of the Washburn as well, so much the better. 

Realistically - and I'm again echoing what Maxer has already said here - either guitar will likely serve as well from a utilitarian perspective; there are no great gaps in quality here. Let her pick the one she wants to play, dump or store the other one, and don't worry about it...


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

tell her to get the guitar that feels best to her - everything else is 2nd to feel, as i'm being reminded.


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## z0z0 (Feb 19, 2009)

She kept the Tremonti SE.

My cousin took the Washburn and he likes it.


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## breakfast (Jun 16, 2009)

I know you've already made your decision, but I reccomend to all beginners to play an acoustic because they are generally harder to finger and players will develop muscles/muscle-memory faster as well as the nasty callouses.


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## elindso (Aug 29, 2006)

I would disagree from the point of view that if it's easier to play it's easier to learn.


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## z0z0 (Feb 19, 2009)

Electric is more fun


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## Peter (Mar 25, 2008)

Oops didn't see she'd made her decision. :O


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## nutter (Aug 29, 2009)

i haven't played either but i've never met an SE that i liked.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

A few months ago I traded away an Agile for an SE Soapbar, the original one. I was glad to finally be able to check out at length a PRS of any sort. The neck felt quite wide but it was also extremely comfortable. The fit and finish of the guitar was very, very good. I just don't think I'm a P-90s guy, so I traded that away in turn for an old Vantage from 1980. Really happy with the trade. I would love to try out a PRS Mira, but unless I can get one used I'll be moving on.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Those Mira's are fun guitars. I have a tremonti SE and a custom 24 SE. The custom 24 SE I expected to be my 2nd in command, but I actually like playing it over the tremonti. When it comes to singlecuts I like a les paul first, and variations on the design 2nd (I gotta try a LTD ECxxxx in A/B to confirm). I'll probably be selling the tremonti for a friend's Orville, as it's a nice LP. The tremonti is a fantastic guitar, sounds good and plays well; I'm just an LP guy first, as I said.

the SE's are nice because they pay attention to detail, and you get a fair bit of guitar for your money. If you look at the features of the michael akerfeldt (opeth) signature SE singlecut, and then look at what it costs, you're getting pretty good bang for your buck.

I'm going to upgrade the hardware on the SE Cu24 to more "pro" specs (sperzels, graphite nut, J S Moores) and it will be a good time; it's fine as is, I just want to improve it.


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## Bobby (May 27, 2010)

you are one generous mf'er  i cant imagine buying TWO guitars for someone,then after their choice just handing the other one of them over to a family member. id keep both,and tell my girlfriend to take up the drums,or nintendo, or something. but thats just me.

if you ever buy a couple of guitars again. you never know,we COULD be long lost half-third cousins,stranger things have happened. im jus sayin....

Bobby


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