Washburn N4
Encyclopedia
The Washburn N4 is an electric guitar
model, developed in collaboration between Nuno Bettencourt
, Washburn
and the Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. Since its introduction in mid-late 1990, it became Nuno Bettencourt's main guitar and it is marketed by Washburn as Nuno Bettencourt's signature model. The N4 is the flagship of the Washburn N-series which, , includes the N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7 and N8 (N7 being a 7-string N4, N8 being an "N4 times 2" since it's a double neck guitar
).
N4 features a distinctive superstrat form-factor, two humbucking pickups, floating tremolo system and enhanced bolt-on neck joint
named Stephen's Extended Cutaway, a patented design that allows easier player's access to higher frets.
Since 1990, there have been numerous versions of this model using various woods and hardware parts.
, Padauk (also known as Paduak or Padouk; Pterocarpus
) and Swamp Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). Korina (Terminalia superba
), Mahogany
, Sapele
or Maple
woods also have been used for some limited series.
While all regular N4s have an oil finish, only a few limited-editions (Korina, Sunburst & other limited edition models) have featured lacquered bodies.
The neck has 22 jumbo frets and dot inlays, with the exception of the N4E-MNM Mourning Widows model and the XX model, which
have Mourning Widows
logo-shaped inlays. That logo reproduces a tattoo Nuno Bettencourt
has on his left arm.
With the exception of the very rare all-padauk models (which have a padauk fingerboard), all N4s have Ebony
fingerboards. Recent special editions, as well as the derived N5/N6 models may have maple
finderboards.
N4's neck is bolt-on and uses a special mounting system called the Stephen's Extended Cutaway, which was invented by Seattle luthier Stephen Davies and then licensed by Washburn. It features a 5-bolt curved join allowing the player to access the higher frets while maintaining proper and comfortable hand position, due to its 'heel-less' design.
SH1N (also called the '59) neck pickup & a Bill Lawrence L500 bridge pickup. As stated on Bill Lawrence's website, Washburn order pickups from both him, (Wilde Pickups), and the "Bill Lawrence USA" company owned by Jzchak Wajcman. Depending on whether a "Bill Lawrence USA" logo appears on the bridge pickup, there is only way other easy way to tell as to the origin of the pickup's manufacturer. If the spaces of the pickup's chrome case have been filled to the top with Epoxy resin, this would elude to a Bill Lawrence USA pickup over a Wilde L500 which forgoes using epoxy in their design. Although similar in appearance, there is great controversy over which pickup company is truly genuine in sound to the original pickups Nuno used.
Nuno's main alder N4 uses an old L500XL Bill Lawrence USA pickup that was made before Bill Lawrence, Anglocised from Will Stich in the early 60's, left the company. As stated by Bill Lawrence himself, Nuno thought he was using an L500 but was actually using what is now known as the L500XL famously used by both him and Dimebag Darrell.
Few models also feature a tone control (i.e. the Washburn sunburst as well as the Mourning Widows model).
Note that most N4s have their volume pots wired so that they don't offer a progressive volume change.. Re-wiring the pot, by putting the output jack wire on the center pin (inverting that wire with the one coming from the pickup selector), allows to obtain a lot more progressive control over the volume / gain.
, standard Washburn N4s feature a Washburn tremolo made by Schaller Guitarenparts
(Schaller) in Germany. However "Vintage/Relic" models as well as the "2.0 models" do have the Original Floyd Rose
tremolo unit which is also used by Nuno himself.
The system, invented by Buzz Feiten
drastically improves the guitar tuning accuracy over the fretboard, by using a modification in the guitar's setup (The guitar's nut is moved slightly forward and appropriate intonation formulas are used during intonation setup).
The first letter indicates the fingerboard wood (E for Ebony, most of the time). Remaining letters represent an acronym for the wood and the finish.
Examples:
using the following form:
For instance, a 9512nnn would be the nnnth N4 produced in December 1995.
Very early N4s have a different serial number system: 3 or 4 digits for the guitar's number followed by the production year's last two digits.
All early models were made of Alder, using a Maple neck and an Ebony fingerboard.
Early N4s have a Kahler tremolo, a very big volume-control back cavity, a rounded-rectangle shaped pickup selector cavity, a sloped Stephen's Extended Cutaway front side, a barrel jack, and a thinner neck.
(Note that the sloped Stephen's Extended Cutaway has been reproduced on the 2.0 models).
Washburn models have the Washburn/Schaller tremolo unit, smaller volume-control cavity, a rounded-triangle pickup selector cavity, a 90-degrees 'Stephen's Extended Cutaway' front side, a standard 1/4" jack, and a thicker neck.
From a recent testimony by Terry Atkins, who was in charge of the early Washburn N4 production, some of these early N4s were not (entirely) made by Stephen Davies :
Starting from July '91, some bodies were also produced in La Jolla (California), while necks were produced in a cabinet factory in Chicago. Those parts were then sent to either Washburn or Stephen Davies for assembly.
A rough estimation based on the preceding production pace has been made stating that N4s whose serial numbers are over 060091 (after that date) may not have been entirely made by Stephen Davies.
during the tour following Extreme's third album III sides to every story and during the next album (Waiting for the punchline) recording. Padauk, as a wood, is extremely dense and heavy (according to users) providing a deeper/darker tone than that of Alder, while still conserving good high end frequencies.
Those models are considered as extremely valuable since they have the reputation of being exceptionally good sounding.
Also, since Washburn stopped producing Padauk N4s, they started producing 'Padouk stained swamp ash models' which can easily be recognized because of the typical swamp ash porous veins showing up behind the stain. Those models, of course, sound exactly like the non stained N4E-SA.
This model came with two control pots : 1 volume + 1 tone, each of them being a push/pull pot allowing to coil-split each pickup independently.
Washburn made 100 of them, all signed by Nuno Bettencourt
and numbered on the back of the head.
Those N4s were reserved for the Japan market.
Two theories exist for that obvious change in production : quick-grown wood (therefore not giving the time for the wood to age naturally and achieve the full density that Padauk would naturally acquire over time) or a change in the wood species (African padauk for the first models, Indian padauk for the later ones). Another reason for the difference in color is the oxidation of the reddish pigments in padouk wood by UV light over time. All padouk darkens with age from a red/orange to a deep purplish brown, and the time between runs likely contributes to the differentiation in color.
These models don't feature in Washburn's catalogue, as they are only ever produced in limited supply.
Even though these models feature all the characteristics of early N4s, they lack of any visible serial number and do not have the 'Made in USA' written on the back of the head. A red serial number is printed on the hidden part of the Stephen's Extended Cutaway.
Since MIJ N4s are made from an early blueprint, they resemble Nuno's own guitar in many details.
There is also controversy as a number of N4s were made in Asia during the mid-nineties. Washburn tried to pass these guitars off as though they were built in the USA custom shop and therefore do feature the 'Made in the USA' tag line on the cutaway & the serial number on the back of the headstock. Washburn consequently faced legal action & had to close down Washburn Europe as a result of the heavy fines that they were dealt.
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
model, developed in collaboration between Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
, Washburn
Washburn Guitars
Washburn Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer. It was established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Washburn is a part of U.S. Music Corporation.- History :...
and the Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. Since its introduction in mid-late 1990, it became Nuno Bettencourt's main guitar and it is marketed by Washburn as Nuno Bettencourt's signature model. The N4 is the flagship of the Washburn N-series which, , includes the N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7 and N8 (N7 being a 7-string N4, N8 being an "N4 times 2" since it's a double neck guitar
Double neck guitar
A multi-neck guitar is a guitar that has multiple fingerboard necks. They exist in both electric and acoustic versions. Although multi-neck guitars are quite common today, they are not by any means a modern invention...
).
N4 features a distinctive superstrat form-factor, two humbucking pickups, floating tremolo system and enhanced bolt-on neck joint
Bolt-on neck
Bolt-on neck is a method of guitar construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using screws as opposed to glue as with set-in neck joints. The term is a misnomer, introduced mostly by Fender whose guitars traditionally had "bolt-on necks". Real bolted joints are uncommon in guitar...
named Stephen's Extended Cutaway, a patented design that allows easier player's access to higher frets.
Since 1990, there have been numerous versions of this model using various woods and hardware parts.
Body
Typical models have been made using AlderAlder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, Padauk (also known as Paduak or Padouk; Pterocarpus
Pterocarpus
Pterocarpus is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae, most of which yield valuable timber traded as padauk ; other common names are mukwa or narra...
) and Swamp Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). Korina (Terminalia superba
Terminalia superba
Terminalia superba is a large tree in the family Combretaceae, native to tropical western Africa....
), Mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
, Sapele
Sapele
Sapele , also known as Sapelli or Aboudikro, is a large tree, Entandrophragma cylindricum, up to 45 m high and native to tropical Africa. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long...
or Maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
woods also have been used for some limited series.
While all regular N4s have an oil finish, only a few limited-editions (Korina, Sunburst & other limited edition models) have featured lacquered bodies.
Neck
All N4s have Maple necks (the N4 Vintage having Birdseye Maple). The only exception to this rule being Padauk models which feature Padauk necks, and Sapele models which feature Sapele necks.The neck has 22 jumbo frets and dot inlays, with the exception of the N4E-MNM Mourning Widows model and the XX model, which
have Mourning Widows
Mourning Widows
Mourning Widows was a musical project led by former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The band was formed in 1997, and they released two albums during their career. Despite not being widely released in the US, both albums were successful in Japan...
logo-shaped inlays. That logo reproduces a tattoo Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
has on his left arm.
Fingerboard
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
fingerboards. Recent special editions, as well as the derived N5/N6 models may have maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
finderboards.
Neck Joint
Pickups
All N4s come with a Seymour DuncanSeymour Duncan
Seymour Duncan is a company that is best known for manufacturing of guitar pickups, and currently has a line of effects pedals. The company was founded in 1976 by guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and his then-wife Cathy Carter Duncan in Goleta, California, USA...
SH1N (also called the '59) neck pickup & a Bill Lawrence L500 bridge pickup. As stated on Bill Lawrence's website, Washburn order pickups from both him, (Wilde Pickups), and the "Bill Lawrence USA" company owned by Jzchak Wajcman. Depending on whether a "Bill Lawrence USA" logo appears on the bridge pickup, there is only way other easy way to tell as to the origin of the pickup's manufacturer. If the spaces of the pickup's chrome case have been filled to the top with Epoxy resin, this would elude to a Bill Lawrence USA pickup over a Wilde L500 which forgoes using epoxy in their design. Although similar in appearance, there is great controversy over which pickup company is truly genuine in sound to the original pickups Nuno used.
Nuno's main alder N4 uses an old L500XL Bill Lawrence USA pickup that was made before Bill Lawrence, Anglocised from Will Stich in the early 60's, left the company. As stated by Bill Lawrence himself, Nuno thought he was using an L500 but was actually using what is now known as the L500XL famously used by both him and Dimebag Darrell.
Controls
All N4s have a 3-way pickup selector located on the lower horn as well as a single volume pot.Few models also feature a tone control (i.e. the Washburn sunburst as well as the Mourning Widows model).
Note that most N4s have their volume pots wired so that they don't offer a progressive volume change.. Re-wiring the pot, by putting the output jack wire on the center pin (inverting that wire with the one coming from the pickup selector), allows to obtain a lot more progressive control over the volume / gain.
Tremolo
While the very first N4s had a Kahler tremoloKahler Tremolo System
The Kahler Tremolo System is an electric guitar bridge with a cam operated vibrato arm system. It was invented in 1979 by Gary Kahler and Dave Storey...
, standard Washburn N4s feature a Washburn tremolo made by Schaller Guitarenparts
Schaller Guitarenparts
Schaller Electronic GmbH, generally known as Schaller, is a high-end German manufacturer of components for musical instruments, most famous for their fully enclosed machine heads which are standard on many top-of-the-line guitars and available as an extra cost option on many others.The company was...
(Schaller) in Germany. However "Vintage/Relic" models as well as the "2.0 models" do have the Original Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
tremolo unit which is also used by Nuno himself.
Buzz Feiten Tuning System
In the mid-nineties, Washburn added the Buzz Feiten as a standard feature of the N4.The system, invented by Buzz Feiten
Buzz Feiten
Howard "Buzz" Feiten is a North American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and session musician.He is best known as a lead and rhythm electric guitarist, and for having patented a unique, scientifically designed tuning system which re-configures its stringboard / neck for more accurate tonality...
drastically improves the guitar tuning accuracy over the fretboard, by using a modification in the guitar's setup (The guitar's nut is moved slightly forward and appropriate intonation formulas are used during intonation setup).
Model names
N4s are referenced using a letter code that indicate the woods that were used:The first letter indicates the fingerboard wood (E for Ebony, most of the time). Remaining letters represent an acronym for the wood and the finish.
Examples:
- N4E-SA: Ebony fingerboard with Swamp Ash body
- N4P-PNM: Padauk fingerboard, with 'Padauk Natural Matte' body.
- N4E-MNM: Ebony fingerboard, with 'Mahogany Natural Matte' body.
Serial numbers
N4s all have a serial number on the back of the headstockHeadstock
Headstock or peghead is a part of guitar or similar stringed instrument. The main function of a headstock is holding the instrument's strings. Strings go from the bridge past the nut and are usually fixed on machine heads on headstock...
using the following form:
- 2 digits for the year
- 2 digits for the month
- at least 3 digits for the actual serial number.
For instance, a 9512nnn would be the nnnth N4 produced in December 1995.
Very early N4s have a different serial number system: 3 or 4 digits for the guitar's number followed by the production year's last two digits.
Early models-Davies/Lahoya N4s
Early N4s have a Kahler tremolo, a very big volume-control back cavity, a rounded-rectangle shaped pickup selector cavity, a sloped Stephen's Extended Cutaway front side, a barrel jack, and a thinner neck.
(Note that the sloped Stephen's Extended Cutaway has been reproduced on the 2.0 models).
Washburn models have the Washburn/Schaller tremolo unit, smaller volume-control cavity, a rounded-triangle pickup selector cavity, a 90-degrees 'Stephen's Extended Cutaway' front side, a standard 1/4" jack, and a thicker neck.
From a recent testimony by Terry Atkins, who was in charge of the early Washburn N4 production, some of these early N4s were not (entirely) made by Stephen Davies :
Starting from July '91, some bodies were also produced in La Jolla (California), while necks were produced in a cabinet factory in Chicago. Those parts were then sent to either Washburn or Stephen Davies for assembly.
A rough estimation based on the preceding production pace has been made stating that N4s whose serial numbers are over 060091 (after that date) may not have been entirely made by Stephen Davies.
Padauk
In early 1993, Washburn released a new version of the N4 made from Padauk that was used by Nuno BettencourtNuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
during the tour following Extreme's third album III sides to every story and during the next album (Waiting for the punchline) recording. Padauk, as a wood, is extremely dense and heavy (according to users) providing a deeper/darker tone than that of Alder, while still conserving good high end frequencies.
Those models are considered as extremely valuable since they have the reputation of being exceptionally good sounding.
Swamp ash
Washburn guitars also produced a swamp ash version of the N4. Since swamp ash is known for its aggressive and trebly sound, that N4 has a very distinctive tone.Also, since Washburn stopped producing Padauk N4s, they started producing 'Padouk stained swamp ash models' which can easily be recognized because of the typical swamp ash porous veins showing up behind the stain. Those models, of course, sound exactly like the non stained N4E-SA.
Limited editions
Since 1990, Washburn produced a few limited editions of the N4.- Korinas (limba wood) : Body made of Korina wood, maple neck, all signed by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
and numbered on the back of the head.
- Mourning Widows : One piece Mahoganny body, maple neck, the Mourning Widow logo was used to design the neck inlays.
This model came with two control pots : 1 volume + 1 tone, each of them being a push/pull pot allowing to coil-split each pickup independently.
Washburn made 100 of them, all signed by Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
and numbered on the back of the head.
Those N4s were reserved for the Japan market.
- Various finishes : These fall into 2 categories: the Washburn ones (which feature various limited-run finishes such as White & Black Stains, solid-colour lacquers, sunbursts & sparkles). These guitars all feature different woods depending on the finish (Swamp Ash for the stained models, Alder for the solid coloured ones & either Alder, Maple/Mahogany or Solid Maple for the Sunbursts). Then there are the 1992 'Transitional' models, these were all made of Alder & could be found in various bursts & (to a lesser extent) acid rain finishes. In addition to this, there were also the 1-of-a-kind Iridescent models that are very rare indeed.
- Padauk re-edition models : in the early 2000s Washburn started producing new Padauk models. These tend to be lighter in weight than the original-run Padauk N4's, and also tend to be lighter in colour too (orange to red, as opposed to the red to purple colours of the original run).
Two theories exist for that obvious change in production : quick-grown wood (therefore not giving the time for the wood to age naturally and achieve the full density that Padauk would naturally acquire over time) or a change in the wood species (African padauk for the first models, Indian padauk for the later ones). Another reason for the difference in color is the oxidation of the reddish pigments in padouk wood by UV light over time. All padouk darkens with age from a red/orange to a deep purplish brown, and the time between runs likely contributes to the differentiation in color.
These models don't feature in Washburn's catalogue, as they are only ever produced in limited supply.
- Asian production : While all N4s have been produced in the U.S.A., Specific N4s have been produced in Japan for the Japanese market exclusively (also known as Made in Japan "MIJ" N4s).
Even though these models feature all the characteristics of early N4s, they lack of any visible serial number and do not have the 'Made in USA' written on the back of the head. A red serial number is printed on the hidden part of the Stephen's Extended Cutaway.
Since MIJ N4s are made from an early blueprint, they resemble Nuno's own guitar in many details.
There is also controversy as a number of N4s were made in Asia during the mid-nineties. Washburn tried to pass these guitars off as though they were built in the USA custom shop and therefore do feature the 'Made in the USA' tag line on the cutaway & the serial number on the back of the headstock. Washburn consequently faced legal action & had to close down Washburn Europe as a result of the heavy fines that they were dealt.
- Special N3-like custom production : There's been a special custom run inspired by Nuno's 1990 N3 model.
- the 2.0 (Davies-spec) : Mid 2009, Washburn created a new model, using Nuno's main Davies N4 as a model. They moulded Nuno'N4 neck to reproduce its profile exactly. They added a curved Stephen's extended cutaway, and changed the output jack to a barrel one. They also increased the tremolo back routing to give more headspace to the tremolo to be used. These 2.0 specifications will be used on the XX-Anniversary and some other Davies Reissue models.
- the 8 Specials : Built with one-piece padauk bodies, 8 guitars were done as a test run for the 2.0 specification...
- the XX Anniversary model : This is the deluxe anniversary limited run (100 pieces). Using the 2.0 model specification, with a black limba (Korina) body, a flame Koa top, Mourning Widow inlays, deluxe hard case.
- Various Maple tops on Mahogany bodies: Body made out of Mahogany, with a top layer of Flame Maple or Quilted Maple. Neck made out of Birdseye Maple with either a Birdseye Maple or Ebony fingerboard. These were custom built, sometimes one-of-a kind, mostly in 2009, continued in 2010.
- Sapele: Body and neck both made out of Sapele wood with Ebony fingerboard. There were roughly 15 or so made. Sapele is close to Mahogany in tone. These were produced in 2009.
Current editions
2009 Washburn Catalogue includes only 3 versions :- SA : The classic Swamp Ash model.
- Vintage (Also known as Relic) : a reproduction (more or less) of Nuno's 'Number One' N4. It's made of alder, has artificially aged body and hardware, an N4 holographic sticker on it, and an Original Floyd Rose tremolo.
- Lefty Vintage : In 2008, Washburn introduced the left-handed version of the N4 for the first time. It's now been featured in Washburn's 2009 catalog. Some lefty padauk were also made.