Washburn Guitars is one of the most storied American brands, long favored by a number of prominent artists across many genres.
MMR recently had the pleasure of speaking with Gil Soucy, vice president and general manager of parent company U.S. Music Corporation, about Washburn’s history, evolution, and present-day developments.
Most MMR readers are probably fairly up to speed on the topic, but can you briefly discuss the history of Washburn Guitars, taking us from the late 19th century origins in Chicago through to the current ownership by U.S. Music?
Washburn is the second oldest guitar company in the country. Some of the most significant music has been played by the greatest musicians of their day with a Washburn in their hands.
Washburn began in Chicago over 130 years ago in 1883 as the result of a collaboration between George Washburn Lyon and Patrick Joseph Healy as an offshoot of the East Coast publishing house, Oliver Ditson. Throughout its early history, the Lyon & Healy group would expand to build guitars, mandolins, banjos, and zithers. As George Washburn Lyon was the guitar builder of the pair, Lyon & Healy chose Washburn as their brand name. Washburn’s focus was producing instruments for the common man and Washburn was sold through both dealers as well as its extensive Lyon & Healy catalog. Surviving numerous fires, Washburn would be played by musicians from coast to coast and eventually grow to eclipse all other U.S. manufacturers combined, becoming the largest manufacturer of stringed instruments in the world. In the 1940s, Washburn would have a role in creating resources to support the war effort.
Beginning in the 1970s, Rudy Schlacher, a luthier from Austria, reawakened the Washburn name and formed Washburn International in Chicago. Washburn would again build acoustic and electric guitars, basses, mandolins and banjos. In addition to its U.S. manufacturing and supply operations, Washburn would become one of the first brands to source instruments in Asia. By the 1990s Washburn had become one of the largest manufacturers of electric guitars, embraced by some of the most popular acts of the ‘80s. Its acoustic-electric models became a staple of MTV’s famed Unplugged series and the Washburn D10S would become known as the “Best selling acoustic guitar in the world.”
Crossing numerous genres, Washburn would be seen on stage in the hands of numerous artists along their path to stardom such as Sammy Hagar, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Robert Plant, Nancy Wilson, Howard Leese, Ace Frehley, Leslie West, Gregg Allman, and Clarence Gatemouth Brown, to name only a few. Be it heavy metal, rock, roots or Americana styles of music, Washburn has had a place in assisting artists to create some of the most significant music of today.
In 2003 Washburn and its associated brands were united under the moniker of U.S. Music Corp and in 2009, Washburn was purchased by JAM Industries, Washburn’s distributor in Canada and major supplier of musical instruments to the Canadian market. Washburn continues to provide high value instruments to the working musician. Notable products are the Comfort Series, the Parallaxe line of metal/shred guitars, Lakeside Jumbo, Solo Deluxe and Vintage Parlor reissues. The company continues to strive to create the best quality, innovation, and value for the working musician.
How many are currently employed by Washburn?
Washburn continues to be a division of U.S. Music Corp. and is a part of the JAM USA Music Group of companies that also include KMC Music and Davitt & Hanser. As such, we are an integrated team of hundreds of people with operations throughout the country. We manage all things Washburn in Chicago which includes marketing, design and development, and international sales. USA made custom Washburn guitars are built at our shop in Ohio. We have numerous folks working in our setup and repair facility located in our South Haven, Mississippi fulfillment center where we inspect and setup every Washburn. Sales and distribution is handled through KMC Music in Connecticut. Outside of the United States, we have a team specifically handling European sales as well as an Asia based Quality Assurance team.
Can you describe the present-day facilities?
Washburn’s product development and marketing teams are housed in U.S. Music Corp.’s Chicago area headquarters, which also serves as the headquarters for the international sales team. In addition we have a sales office located in the Netherlands that supports our business throughout Europe and Asia. Washburn is sold in the United States by our sister company, KMC Music, located in Connecticut. The Washburn sales team at KMC Music includes a blend of 10 highly skilled outside sales reps and more than 24 inside sales specialists. With KMC Music’s decades of experience in distribution, dealers can enjoy the benefit of all the programs KMC offers making it easier to buy Washburn, plus receive prompt support from KMC’s terrific customer service staff. Domestic shipping for Washburn is provided by JAM’s massive 300,000+ square foot warehouse in Southaven, Mississippi. Also located in the Southaven facility is our team of highly skilled QC technicians and luthiers. Every Washburn guitar goes through a complete inspection and setup before being shipped to our dealers. This is done in addition to the initial inspections conducted at the factory level. We have full time QC staff in our factories overseas that perform a rigorous QC process before the instruments are shipped to the United States or any other part of the world. All of this is done to ensure the best possible experience for consumers whether they are purchasing from their local music store or from an on-line retailer. Right out of the box, Washburn instruments play and sound as fantastic as they look.
Can you comment on the Lakeside Jumbo model and its significance to acoustic guitar making and playing, in general?
Prior to Washburn’s Lakeside Jumbo, most guitars made by competitors were smaller, quieter parlor- style instruments. The Lakeside Jumbo was first introduced by Lyon & Healy in 1912. Its body dimensions, 16-1/4” across the lower bout, 20-1/2” in overall length and 5-1/4” deep were largely similar to the instrument that would eventually become known as a “Dreadnought.” It was designed to have more volume and have a bold voice. Perhaps being a manufacturer of mandolins and banjos too, Washburn was intimately aware of the challenges guitars faced in competing volume-wise.
Interestingly, Washburn was sold by the Oliver Ditson company who also had their own Ditson line of guitars made by Martin. In 1916 Oliver Ditson had a larger guitar similarly dimensioned to Washburn’s Lakeside built for them by Martin; however, it was not named a Dreadnought at this time. When Ditson went out of business in the 1930s Martin introduced their own D–1 and named it the Dreadnought after the great battleships of its time. So, one can openly wonder where the original inspiration for the modern dreadnought came from. Without the Lakeside Jumbo, perhaps Oliver Ditson would have copied one of our Monster Bass models and the modern guitar would look totally different. An interesting side note is that in the 1930s Washburn also had its Super Auditorium and Solo DeLuxe body shapes, both of which are quite similar to the Auditorium shapes of today.
Washburn has been responsible for a number of design innovations – VCC, Buzz Feiten tuning, the Festival series of acoustic/electrics, et cetera. Can you talk about which have had the most lasting effect, which have been most significant?
Washburn has been on stage for many of the musical revolutions throughout the development of American music. Of course when one thinks of the acoustic-electric revival of the ‘70s and ‘80s, the Festival comes to mind. At that time, many of the most famous musicians played Washburn. Later into the ‘90s and the next millennium, Washburn was adopted by hard rocking musicians.
As you already mentioned, plenty of notable musicians have embraced Washburn guitars over the years. In your mind, who are – or were – the players associated with the brand that you feel had the greatest impact on Washburn’s image and sales?
We have been fortunate to work with so many great and iconic players over the past 130+ years we have been in business that it’s hard to pin the success to any individual or small group of artists. Washburn was one of the first brands ever to feature artists in their marketing efforts dating back to the early part of the 1900s, so we have always recognized that artist relations is an important part of building your brand, and we continue today with that same philosophy. We have had a terrific longtime relationship with virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt who has been playing our guitars since 1989. His N Series of signature electric guitars and signature acoustic guitars are among the longest running models of our lineup. A few years ago we were fortunate to partner with metal guitarist and YouTube sensation Ola Englund. Ola has been great partner and a big part of the success of our new Parallaxe line of electric guitars. Ola’s SOLAR series guitars sell-through incredibly well. With the launch of Parallaxe we also have joined forces with Jennifer Batten, Trevor Rabin, Michael Sweet, Marc Rizzo, and Marzi Montazeri to name a few. In addition to signature artists, we are also seeing an increase in the numbers of artists approaching us to play our core models on tour. For example, the upcoming Kenny Rogers tour will feature acoustic guitars and Americana instruments that are part of Washburn’s core line up. Working with many various artists over the years has helped guide us with product design. We feel our current lineup has some of the best playing and sounding guitars Washburn has ever produced. With input from our artists, we have developed great feeling necks that are easy to play, and compliment them with the premium tone woods and other meaningful features that the artists have shared with us from their years of recording and playing live. Our goal is to provide instruments across our lineup that are truly performance ready regardless of price point – guitars that are truly a working man’s guitar… and listening to the needs of our artists have really paid off in this regard. We see the results of partnering with our artists extending beyond the sales of their signature models, and create a halo effect and overall lift to sales across the brand.
In broad stroke terms, can you break down current Washburn sales, by instrument type?
Washburn acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars make up most of our sales, with the second largest segment being electric guitars, which would also include our hollow body and jazz instruments as well as electric basses. The rest of our sales are in the bluegrass-Americana segment, which would include mandolins, banjos, and resonators.
Currently, what are the absolutely top sellers for Washburn?
Washburn’s Comfort Series consistently performs well. All models in this series focus on ergonomic solutions that reduce right hand fatigue and shoulder and forearm pain. They all have features such as a “Drop Top” soundboard similar to what’s seen on electric guitars, a “binding relief” which is a dramatic rollover of the edge right under the player’s arm, or the deluxe Ergonomic Armrest Bevel where the lower bout is fully beveled; a feature most commonly found on handmade, luthier built instruments and costing thousands of dollars.
The D10S has been one of the top selling solid top guitars in history. The latest iteration of this guitar is represented in our Heritage and Woodline Series, where the Heritage HD10S is created for the strummer, roots or country artist, and the Woodline Series, a WLD10S for example, imagined for the finger-style player, singer-songwriter, and church musician. Models in these series focus on affordability, tonal excellence, structural stability and compelling cosmetics. In addition to the Dreadnought, various other body shapes are available including Grand Auditorium, Orchestra, the
larger Jumbo and the intimate Folk. Really, the Heritage and Woodline Series comprise Washburn’s “meat and potatoes,” there’s something for everyone, and there’s simply not a better features-for- benefits option out there.
What are some recent or upcoming instrument introductions from the brand?
A notable recent introduction is the Comfort Series WCG20SCE. This solid Sitka spruce top- rosewood back and side acoustic-electric is a more affordable version than our popular Comfort Deluxe WCG25SCE and has been very well received by dealers and players.
We’re excited to broaden our all-solid line of instruments beyond the all-solid Dreadnoughts and Vintage Parlor that we offer. This might include deepening our offerings in all-solid mandolins. Much is in the planning stages but what we might see are vintage reissues of historically significant instruments, luthier inspired designs priced for the lay-person, and some cool projects we’re working on related to sourcing some real special materials – stay tuned!
What’s your outlook – both for Washburn and the industry, in general – for the coming months?
For Washburn, 2016 will prove to be our best year ever. Despite the general economic challenges we are seeing in some foreign markets, we continue to see respectable growth for the brand. Domestically, we are seeing similar results as well. Our new Woodline, Heritage, and Comfort Series have already exceeded our initial expectations, and refinements we have made to our lineup are making it easier for dealers and consumers alike to find the Washburn that’s right for them. The addition of KMC Music has been a huge win for the brand, and we are truly seeing huge upside potential we hadn’t experienced in the past.
As for the industry in general, I hear a lot of mixed reviews about the current business climate from our dealers and have to keep in mind while some businesses may be seeing challenges from the traditional peaks and valleys of seasonality, things always come back around. The market, and the ways in which we sell, is changing all the time, but there is always a tremendous amount of opportunity for those willing to think creatively and passionately push for success. This year is no different. I believe staying focused on the things that are meaningful to your profitability and the overall health of your business along with careful planning for back to school and Q4 will really pay off throughout the remainder of the year. I’m confident the industry will see an increase year over year as we head into 2017!
