Washburn Festival Series EA17 Electro Acoustic Guitar

Top - Quilted Ash
Body - Quilted Ash, 3 ply binding
Neck - Mahogany
Fingerboard - Rosewood
Machines - Grover style , Chrome
Bridge - Rosewood
Pickup - Washburn exclusive BBand™ designed EQ system 
Controls - 3 band EQ, Volume

The first thing you will notice when you see the Washburn EA17 is the amazing wood grain on the deep red body.
A quilted Ash finish though is just the start, fully bound to the front and back, snowflake position markers, an exclusive BBand pickup system and controls all add up to a very nice electro acoustic guitar.
The EA17 has a long and slim headstock, finished in thru red, with the quilted Ash finish to a veneer visible on the front, and the Washburn logo on the top in gold script.
The back of the headstock is deep red, Mahogany this time though, with the George Washburn rosette in black and 2 rows of 3-a-side Chrome die-cast tuners.
The glossy Mahogany neck feels fairly slim, a D profile, nut width is 43mm.
The EA17 has a Rosewood fingerboard, fully bound in cream plastic, with attractive Abalone snowflake position markers. The board itself is good quality, the wood is dark, hard and smooth with a good tight grain and the fretwork is well finished. Action as supplied from the Washburn factory is about 3mm across the range at the 12th fret.
The neck joins the Ash body at the 14th fret on the bass side, 17th on the treble, the deep Florentine cutaway here giving access to about the 19th fret only.
The large round body is a gorgeous deep thru red, with the superb looking quilted Ash wood grain showing through. The back of the EA17 is completely plain, the back of the heel joint though has a 'W' logo in gold script.
The back and front are both fully bound in cream plastic, 3 ply on the front, and the oval shaped soundhole has a thin rosette, and there is a long square Rosewood bridge, rather classical guitar looking.
Unplugged the EA17 has a dark and deep tone, the Ash body is not as resonant as Spruce, so sounds are more moody with plenty of body and depth.
Plugged in, the guitar is a different animal. The EQ is controlled by 3 small black knobs on the top shoulder, bass treble and presence all give an excellent range of lively tones, and the volume control is conveniently situated on the front of the body.
A beautiful looking guitar, the EA17 has a lovely sound and performers in particular will be mighty impressed with the BBand EQ system.

£219