Thanks! Owner of the original '4N' here. That brings me back and now I have a pretty good understanding why playing other production N4s never felt quite right to me.

@THEVATICANTS

4 жыл бұрын

Joe King well said, Joe! I too have to go thru several to find the “right one”.

Great job bro. I needed a demo like this.

Another great video! Thanks man 🎸👍

Thanks for the video. You guys have a great sound btw.

Great review brother! keep up the good work

Thank you for posting such an informative and well thought out video. As an owner of the N4 it's great to see fellow dedicated fans of Nuno and his guitars.

Thanks for the video. Appreciate you taking the time to do a casual, yet in depth comparison of the two models since the WaSHITburn won’t lift a finger to make this info available to their customers. Also, thanks to Joe King for his video. It was very cool to hear the history of his N4...learn about the road it traveled, ending up in Nuno’s hands and subsequently birthing the 4N. I must say, I am really confused right now. After watching Joe’s video, one of the key takeaways was that Joe spent a fair amount of time sanding down the neck of his N4, i.e. I assumed that by the time it ended up in Nuno’s hands, and eventually back at Washburn, the neck was significantly (or at least noticeably) thinner than a stock N4’s. I assumed that was one of the things Nuno liked about it...thinner, faster neck. But, watching your video, particularly when you had the two guitars sandwiched together, it looked to me like the fingerboard on the 4N was thinner but the neck was significantly THICKER. WTF?!? Am I missing something? Of course, it goes without saying, if you had a company that had the slightest interest in sharing information with its customers, I would know exactly WTF is going on here. Thanks Washburn. When I first heard about and started researching the 4N, I thought it was a great opportunity to finally take the plunge and buy an N4...with an even thinner neck, which I prefer. Seems to me this is not the case. BTW...RE: your comment when you were first getting the 4N out of the case...I couldn’t agree more. FUCKING CASE CANDY WASHBURN!!! All you have to do is crack open the case of a new Ernie Ball, Suhr, Kiesel, or G&L and you’ll see what it means to buy something from a company that has class and goes the extra mile. Washburn couldn’t even spring for a fucking ziploc bag for that shit. Fantastic.

The only artist guitar I've ever wanted to own. It'll happen eventually.

Thanks for the comparison. I have a 91 davies that just has mind blowing sound. I can’t even shred but the guitar is surprisingly really good for fingerstyle.

The N2 was my first real guitar. I played the heck outta that thing and It's been everywhere with me from my teen years to college etc. I retired it after I got Nuno to sign it back in 2000 at a Mourning Widows signing. I love my N2, total work horse for me and it still sounds great after getting so worn out from playing and a re-fret, volume and toggle replacements, fixed the body to the bridge as it started to pull from the body. I had also changed the neck pickup to a '59. Anyway, Cheers.

Great video, thanks. I have the Nuno acoustic that I love.

Yes! Thank you for taking the time to share this with us! I don't understand why Washburn doesn't have a stronger presence or promotion of their guitars? These guitars are classic & back in the late 80's when Nuno hit the scene ALL OF US were wanting what he was playing! I've never seen anyone do a side by side comparison & you've really helped clear up the questions I have. Thanks again dude!!! Keep doing the good stuff!!!!!!! 🤘😁🤘 I really dig your material man! Ripping guitar & the violin always sound good! I was a fan of Mark Wood back in the day & saw him with Trans-Siberian Orchestra for the first few years. I always loved the guitar with the violin, viola & cello. They just go together & complement each other like nothing else can. Definitely got a new sub here man!!! Shred it up brother!

great playing and great video

That's a Kahler Steeler nut not Schaller. The first N4's in production had the Steeler trem.

This is a great video thank you

Cool video man!

I fully agree with U ,when u pay that kind of money they should make it really feel special

Great review I love these guitars even the cheap imports, also your band is fucking phenomenal I'm headed to your page now!

Nice video, I enjoyed watching it :-) It’s always bugged me that Nuno and Washburn never demo or promote the N4 / 4N. The only video I’ve seen was a very quick promo for the PN4, although he didn’t actually play it during that video, just talked about it. Anyway... I bet both of those N’s sound awesome through your new EVH EL34 combo. Now that’s a demo I’d like to see as I have 2 N4’s myself (Authentic and PN4), and have the 1x12 EVH EL34 on order!

What are the Pickups in the first one vs the newer ones? Is the old one having the Wilde L500L or L500XL pickup? Or is it the Bill Lawrence USA pickups in the old ones as well?

how do you adjust the pick up height in the N4- the screws are on the back

loved the violin players red dress!

The 4N is warmer but in the right way in my opinion. Have you tried the Steve Stevens model? Just curious if the neck profile are the same, SS has a les Paul thickness

Great video!!!! N4 authentic does seem better quality judging by this video. Especially with the darker and thicker ebony fretboard. Your right when you say Washburn stated the 4n to have a thinner neck but doesn’t. Agree that for 2500k they could have chosen a higher grain maple neck and really promo the differences in detail. Also what about pickup height? Can that change whether it has more body or not?

Great vid. 4N definitely has a broader, juicier tone.

You going to get one of the new Nuno Nele models? Be interested to see / hear how it compares to the N4 / 4N.

The dude who owned the original 4N mentioned that the neck covers the truss rod slot. Don't know if this was changed when Nuno bought it. Great vid man! Sucks to hear about Washburn tho

Very informative

Thanks for this. Great comparison. For fast playing do you think the 4N neck would be a little trickier due to it being a little thicker? Or both similar as far as speed, licks and playability? Ps joe King. Your vid was awesome aswell.... I checked it out a few weeks ago whenever it was you posted it.

@THEVATICANTS

4 жыл бұрын

CJB CJB I believe the 4N it’s just overall a better guitar and even though the neck is slightly thicker it does not affect playability at all. I think they’re slightly doing a better job on this guitar because they are going the extra mile on it and it’s more dialed in. Still super easy to shred on it. :-) Definitely try one when you can.

@EYECOMEINPEACE

4 жыл бұрын

@@THEVATICANTS thanks brother.

I'm looking to find an N4 for me. This was a helpful video. I'm leaning more towards a 4N than one of the others. I'm primarily a EVH Wolfgang player, and have a bunch of those.

I am a shredder, which one is better? I have small hands too, I play Strats modern c

I just got a 4n are frets lower in height than the 4n?

ive never seen that kind of tremstopper. how does it work?

I have an original 91 Davies. Great guitar. Had it from new. I never play it much anymore-play Les Pauls, but like all nice guitars they are great to have around

How does the term stop work on these guitars?

I use to own a padauk wood Nuno Betancourt guitar back in the late 90s. They pretty good guitars.

I bought mine in '92 it came autographed. It cost some where around $1,100.00 US. I got it autographed personally in 94. I'll never part with it. Mine also didn't come with that N4 decal(thank goodness). It's also wasn't reliced either. It didn't come with the Buzz tuning thing either.

My N4 is dated on the headstock 380292 so i guess a feb 92 model no.38. a tranistion guitar from the original davies models i think, but kahler trem, 2 peice body though. is this what the 4N is based on?

@THEVATICANTS

3 жыл бұрын

Kind of. Also having talked to Richard, Davies’ partner, there really were never any transition models. Once Davies was done he was done. Btw-wanna sell your N4?

@b500l8

3 жыл бұрын

Hmmm maybe it was made in 91 and assembled in the new factory when he stopped, who knows.. ah sorry id never sell it, and ive had les pauls, 335s, teles, best £600 ive ever spent, thanks ebay!

thanks

Where can I buy a Washburn 4N currently?...I'm in Europe and Washburn has practically disappeared here.

As Washburn was located in Mundelein Chicago they answered to all my questions. Now they reply to none of my E-Mails :-( I really like the USA made guitars they were made till 2009

The 4N is like a roadworn relic of Nuno's actual N4 he plays on tour. Pickups vould be different

Loved the video, I had a few N4s, and now only have one left, but they will have to rip it from my cold dead hand, that and my PGM300. Ebony, is an extremely endangered wood, and as such, there is so little of it left, guitar makers go for the pure darkwood, but the amount of waste from a tree with good wood is astonishing, so now most guitar makers are using Ebony that's not so A+ grade, in an attempt to make sure the world doesn't use them all up. It's not just this guitar, many makers and luthiers are doing it, and i can understand why. It would annoy me, but then again, it would annoy me more if there was no more ebony trees left, it doesn't detract from what it still a beautiful guitar. thanks for sharin.

Great Review! Regarding the lack of case candy and such: Same thing with Charvel. I bought a Guthrie Govan Sig model, and, dooky. You don't get dooky. Wonderful guitar: best one I've ever had, but, it's just disappointing.

Love your honesty about Washburn. I bought an N4 Authentic and didn't get any case candy whatsoever. They ignored all my emails. Useless.

@dadude7

4 жыл бұрын

Also, one of the N4 guys on the FB page who really knows his stuff told me I got one of the very last Authentics from the old Chicago store. I almost sold it this year but glad I kept hold of it. Would love paddy.

I regret the older guitar cases from the 90’s... i have one for my Custom made N4 ;)

I like your akcent and voice.

Awesome video. I would love to chat with you sometime. I own the 1990 model number 901

Is the Floyd on the N4 floating with the d- tuna . Can you pull it up as well as dive bomb.

@THEVATICANTS

4 жыл бұрын

Yes both guitars are free floating ;)

@HellcatAlley1

4 жыл бұрын

@@THEVATICANTS Thanks!!!

@davekiddie4467

4 жыл бұрын

You can't use the dtuna when bridge is set to float

I've had my 1992 Davies for 29 years now .. I'd love to know how the 4N feels in your hands versus a Davies model. Thanks!

@roba1899

2 жыл бұрын

I completely agree that considering the Washburn N4 is probably solely responsible for keeping this company afloat, Washburn absolutely sucks at marketing it's own brand! I wish like hell I could bring you my guitar so we could have a 'sit down' and compare notes over some Whiskey. Just to let you know, I also replaced my pickups (sacrilege?) with a John Suhr DSH+ in the bridge and a Steve Vai Gravity Storm in the neck. The Gravity Storm is also high output like the SD59er but mas much more in the way of gooey mids and darker treble, great for pseudo-Jazz tones.

@roba1899

2 жыл бұрын

"Way more Les Paul - ish versus way more Ibanez - ish" .. great analogy! I swear, the acoustic, unplugged tone of my Davies is so sweet and musical

@roba1899

2 жыл бұрын

In fact, I'd still love to replace the machine heads with something better than what my Davies N4 came with .. still curious what you think of how the 4N plays compared to a Davies!

That’s why my next guitar will be a Suhr

@71guitarsmith

3 жыл бұрын

That is exactly what I did. Purchased a sight-unseen custom Suhr with the tonal specs I requested. They emailed me back and said - what you want is so close the the Reb-Beach signature you should consider one of those or hang with the 1 year wait time for a custom build. I purchased a RB Signature model and the only complaint I have is the middle single coil gets in the way of my playing style. Sounds amazing and the Customer service is amazing, they will email you back within a day with your questions answered and even offer in-house repair services for $75 an hour which is actually a really good price. The price for the Suhr is about 1k more than the 4N so there is that to consider.

Way I see it, if Washburn had got there shit together early on and made the guitar a lot more affordable than it is, it could have been a huge seller.

@DLR1976

3 жыл бұрын

They used to be better priced ten years ago... and it was easy to get good deals ;) All felt appart when they change ownership... I bet they don't sell as much as before... And maybe Nuno wants more income from sales that could be a reason too...

In regards to the Ebony on the fingerboard, it was not uncommon for guitar manufacturers to use black stain on the fingerboards, so the color would be an even black. in the past 10 years, many companies have stopped doing it. it was an un-needed step, that increased the cost of the guitar un-necessarily.

@jamesbradley264

4 жыл бұрын

spot on. as a matter of fact, most were stained black to even out the color. even gibson and others did that back in the day.

Yes, 4N is way much better! I love the tone of it. 🤘🏼🍻

I have an N2, I'm happy with it....

@davekiddie4467

4 жыл бұрын

Same here with SS frets

@smedleybutler8787

4 жыл бұрын

Me too.

The wood on 4N got scratches and look worn but other stuffs like pickups, bridge, neck or even the screws look completely new? That just doesn't seems right. If the previous owner has beat up that guitar, it just can't be only the wood are worn.

They used to be better priced ten years ago... and it was easy to get good deals ;) All felt appart when they change ownership... I bet they don't sell as much as before... And maybe Nuno wants more income from sales that could be a reason too...

Guitars are OVER HYPED products...a good guitar can be simple, the way this guitar is, and all manufacturers hype everything so much.... and in reality a modern cheap guitar can be as good as the "high end version" just with better hardware and nicer looks, paint and other bling bling

@dariocrocetta9026

4 жыл бұрын

Completely agree!I would say that some features such as the N4 cutaway, for example, help the player to play "better", in a more comfortable way, but mostly, at least for me, is just a metter of finding a decent instrument and feel "free" with it. Something that doesn't make think "oh, I can't do that because I feel uncomfortable with this neck". I've seen 5.000 Euro worth guitars,such as PRS and Suhr, that are as beautiful as you can imagine, but at the end is always just a matter of wires and wood!!I always end up playing my old Fender Strat not because it sounds "that" good, but because I feel "home" with it.

I prefer the 4N over the N4 too.

Nice to know the neck is thicker on the 4N, that has kept me away from the N4. Sounds very nice. Trying to find one to test is almost impossible.

Kahler nut.???

I can 100% vouch for what he says about Washburn, they are horrible how they treat customers. Just as he said if I wasn't a huge Nuno fan I would never ever buy another guitar from them.

That is one lucky violin...

Man that Mahogany N4 review didn’t stay up for long - Did you get heat from Washburn?!

@THEVATICANTS

3 жыл бұрын

Haha I wish, if Washburn gave me heat I’d promote it even more lol. No, I removed cause I’m working on a comparison video ;)

@guitardave

3 жыл бұрын

THE VATICANTS lol! Awesome, I’ll look forward to that 😃

I used to know the luthier that made Nuno’s first few personal Washburn’s. He was a master builder for Ibanez, BC Rich, as well other companies that had custom shops in the L.A. area. He lived in El Monte CA did some side work out of his garage. One night I go over to pick up a guitar he was working on. We walk back to the garage where he did all his work (routers, drill presses, etc) He shows me a few one piece Nuno bodies and Stevens necks and says he’s building some protos for Nuno, right there in his garage! Will never forget that. That guy also designed and built Paul Stanley’s personal Silvertone model. I believe he may be back with BC Rich, making their top of line guitars.

I love the original N4. I would not spend my money on the crazy differences onthier guitars

To think these guitars were fairly cheap when they first came out.

For $2600 I would at least like the guitar to come custom fit into an SKB i-series waterproof injection-molded case instead of that typical Washburn-branded plywood job.

I think just difference is sticker's sequence. The sound is made by Nuno.

Ebony isn't ever black. It is stained black by the manufacturers. For this much money I would want a black board. Sometimes you get very dark natural ebony and other times it can be dark with a blonde or golden steak in it..beautiful yes, however the 4N looks rather disappointing for a large price tag geez!

Yeah , I'm starting to think you're right . I'm restoring a KC-20V , nothing special just good woods , great maple neck and garbage hardware. Tried to ask Washburn infos about , 2 months and NO answer. I'm guessing I'll go for Bare Knuckle pickups , a decent bridge and decent tuners.

Yea Washburn company sucks in many ways ! I hope your video will caught their attention ;)

I bought one the N4 and it feels like JUNK compared to any older USA made guitar. It's sad you are correct about the crappy job they did. the volume pot had no friction, felt cheap I would only recommend this guitar to a person who doesn't know what quality is.. The Stephens extended cutaway is nice..but no way in hell is this guitar worth 1500.00 let alone 3300.00. the Bill Lawrence Pick up sounds like shit and you cannot adjust it , way to many issues for 3300.00 My Korean RG 350DX plays better. my JCS from 2005 is so much better...WASHBURN isn't very good IMO.. I already returned it..

Haha washburn took get the funk out literally

Gotta loose the stickers !!! So lame for a decent guitar. Why would they cover the wood with a .20 cent sticker ! ?? Do they all come like that ?

bigger hips on the body shape on N4 4N looks more strat like as N4 really has its own shape on that big difference

RJWGUITARREPAIR.COM IS HAND MAKING THEM.

Yes Washburn customer service SUCKS