Washburn EC29 Electric Guitar w/Case (Pre-Owned) (Glen Quan Private Collection)

Washburn EC29 Electric Guitar w/Case (Pre-Owned) (Glen Quan Private Collection).

The Washburn EC29 model (also called the Spitfire II or Challenger II model depending on which catalog you look at) was introduced by WASHBURN in 1987. It was designed by Stephen Davies - with his extended cutaway and 29 frets. Above the 24th fret this model has compensated (thinner) fretwire to improve playability.

The standard finish had a crackle effect but custom order sunburst finish over figured maple top was also an option. It had a through body neck and was a high quality Japanese made superstrat. The EC29 was discontinued around 1989 - with less than 2000 instruments made in total.

These were designed by luthier Stephen Davies, who developed the patented Stephens extended cutaway. This cutaway allows easy access to the last fret without altering your playing position. 

The fingerboard is made of a very good quality, dark colored rosewood and is fitted with 24, wide oval frets — the remaining five being a high profile narrow gauge wire. The top of the board is angled so as to allow the placement of the rhythm pickup.It’s possible to bend the string at the 29th fret and play the top B note without too much difficulty, even though the fingerboard is quite narrow at this point. The mother of pearl dot inlays run centrally up the fingerboard until they reach the 12th fret, from there to the 29th fret they run along the treble side in quite a unique fashion. The neck is a multi-laminate design which extends through the body, giving a rigid assembly and allowing maximum sustain even on the last fret. Black chrome Gotoh machine heads and a three bolt locking nut are fitted to the headstock.

The usual ‘flash’ logo is replaced in this instance with the more subtle ‘George Washburn’ hand scripted logo. The access point for the adjustable truss rod is just above the lock-nut and is covered with a shark-fin shaped piece of black laminated plastic which echoes the shape of the pointed headstock.

The body shape resembles a stretched-out Strat, mainly due to the extended cutaway. The area behind where the neck meets the body has been carved away so as to be the same overall thickness as the neck. Visually this looks extremely strange but it does make for comfortable playing - even up to the very top. The neck is very even in proportion along its entire length. It feels virtually the same in depth at the top end as it does at the bottom.

The splash finish is aptly named; it looks as if someone has taken a brush, dipped it in a pot of paint and splashed the guitar with it, although the resulting effect is actually quite attractive. After the Washburn ‘artists’ have done their thing the whole finish is sealed in multiple coats of polyester lacquer to provide a rock-hard finish. Two pickups are fitted; one humbucking pickup near the bridge and one single-coil pickup near the fingerboard. The humbucker is also coil-tapped and is switched into circuit by the use of a push/pull switch attached to the tone control. The pickups resemble those made by EMG in fact they look very much like their range of Select pickups but with the Washburn name on them instead.

A Strat-style three position switch is used, and the instrument fitted with one volume, one tone — a control that Washburn call the ‘buffered mid range ‘fat’ control’. As you can probably gather from this, the EC29 is active and has a specialized low impedance circuit. This control, coupled with the active circuit, gives a 10dB boost at 6.3K. In Washburn’s words,“It’s right where the crunch is” and | must admit this system works very well. Wound up through our large Marshall stack you get just the right sound without any microphonic feedback. The battery has its own compartment on the back which is easily accessible by removing two screws.

The instrument is equipped with a 600 T tremolo system, licensed under Floyd Rose patents and is one of our personal favorites. It gives all the facilities of the standard Floyd Rose, without the hassle of having to cut off the ball ends of the strings - they feed through from behind, through the posts which control the fine tuning, then over the saddles and clamped in place with little blocks and Allen bolts. This locks the strings at the saddle and in conjunction with the locking top nut provides extremely stable tuning. It also facilitates rapid string changing should the need arise. The body is routed out underneath the tremolo system to allow maximum string bend both upwards and backwards. A foam rubber strip is included behind the tremolo system to prevent the usual clunk when you pull the tremolo in the backwards direction.

Includes Washburn hard case. Tremolo arm not included. 

This item is part of the Glen Quan Private Collection.

Glen Quan, a legend in the Bay Area music scene and an integral part of its development in the early 60’s-80’s, was a player, collector and innovator for his entire life. Glen passed away in 2018, and we are proud to bring Glen and his estate home to Bananas at Large. 

*** This is a professionally used and artist-owned vintage item and is not being claimed as 100% all original.

All Sales Final - No Returns or Refunds. Item sold as is. Please message us for more details about this guitar.