Washburn HM-5V Guitar. 1985 - Black Bloodburst. Extremely Rare Vintage Made in Japan

A great opportunity to own this rare, short production run model from Washburn’s mid-80s ‘Golden Era’ of top quality made-in-Japan guitars. The model was launched to capitalise on the surge of interest in hair metal and shred guitar, and the design is squarely oriented to meet that objective. The key features of this classic 80s shredder are described below.

Electronics

The HM-5V features the HSS pickup configuration using Washburn’s own sealed pickups to provide a cleaner, more modern (in 1984) look. The bridge humbucker has the expected high output, ideal for creating thick, saturated tones.

Conversely, the single coil pickups are designed with a much lower and more nuanced output, providing a versatile range of tones without the need for a multi-channel amp.

Bridge, Tremolo, and neck

The HM-5V comes equipped with a Kahler tremolo system with locking nut and floating bridge. The 24-fret rosewood fingerboard features a pronounced compound design: narrow and radiused at the nut but transitioning to a wider and flatter at the 24th fret. This makes chords easy to manage around the lower frets, whilst providing a wide and flat platform for solos at the top end of the fretboard.

Styling

The HM-5V’s styling stands out immediately, but it’s a much more practical design than many 1980s metal guitars. The thoughtful contouring of the body makes it just as easy to play sitting down as a traditional Strat or Les Paul. This example features Washburn’s especially sought after ‘bloodburst’ on black finish, a much rarer and classier looking option than the more common ´bloodburst’ on white.

Build quality

One of the most distinctive and desirable characteristics of these mid-80s Washburns is the excellent build quality. The fit and finish is as high as you would expect of a 1980s made-in-Japan instrument. The tuners at both ends are manufactured to very fine tolerances and remain tight, precise, and accurate in use.

Condition and history

This particular example is a one-owner instrument, manufactured in 1985 and bought new in the UK in October of that year.  During the 1980s this HM-5V had quite extensive use (by me) in rehearsal spaces, studios, and on stage. It has accordingly picked up a few marks and scratches, as would be expected. Localised repairs have been completed on areas of chipped lacquer on the pointy parts of the body. There has also been a repair to the headstock, the very end of which was broken off when the instrument was knocked from a stand. The join where the broken section of the headstock was repaired is still visible (as shown in the photos) but doesn’t affect the tuning, tone, or performance of the instrument in any way.

In more recent times the instrument was professionally re-fretted by the technicians of GAK in Brighton, and a professional set up was completed at the same time. The guitar has barely been used since then and so plays like a new instrument.

The original Washburn hard shell case is included with the original set of Allen keys for the locking nut, truss rod, and bridge saddle height adjustment. Completely original hardware, with no aftermarket tuners, tremolo, or knobs, which many of the few surviving examples regrettably suffer from.

Overall, the instrument is in very good condition and functions as new. Cosmetically, the instrument is very original with only minor dings and scratches to the body.  This example is priced very competitively when compared to other examples, such as this one which sold two years ago for around £1,000 : https://reverb.com/item/83719222-washburn-hm-5v-1985

A great looking 80s metal guitar that plays like new and is likely to represent a good future investment.

Serial number: 510174 (the ‘5’ at the start of the serial number marks this example out as being manufactured in 1985, the second of the two years in which this model was produced).

This instrument is sold as photographed, please view all photos carefully and ask if you have any questions.

Please note: period magazine advert is shown in the images is to provide historical context. I don´t have a hard copy of the advert so regrettably it is not included.