Discovering the perfect left-handed guitar is an exciting pursuit for any southpaw musician. One model that frequently tops the lists of left-handed guitarists is the Washburn Parallaxe. Known for their high-quality, affordable guitars, Washburn has created a series of left-handed guitars, including the Parallaxe, designed specifically with lefties in mind. Let's delve into the Washburn Parallaxe left-handed guitar, exploring its features, sound quality, playability, and why it's a favorite among left-handed guitarists.
The Washburn Parallaxe left-handed guitar is part of Washburn's signature series, bearing the name of renowned guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Bettencourt, a left-handed player himself, worked closely with Washburn to develop a guitar that combines brilliance in sound, playability, and aesthetics, catering to the unique needs of left-handed players.
Body and Construction
The Parallaxe is built with a mahogany body, renowned for its warm, rich tone. The top is a carved flame maple, offering both visual appeal and tonal enhancement. The body's contours provide a comfortable balance between old-school and modern aesthetics, making it an attractive choice for left-handed guitarists who appreciate both classic and contemporary designs.
The guitar's body is crafted with glued-in neck construction, ensuring a durable, stable instrument that can withstand the rigors of the road and regular gigging. The two-point tremolo system, designed by Bettencourt, allows for smooth, precise tuning even after extensive bending and vibrato use.
Mahogany and Maple Tonewood
Mahogany, the primary tonewood used for the Parallaxe's body, delivers a signature warm, rounded low-end and balanced mid-range. It's a popular choice for guitar bodies due to its resistance to warping and shrinking, ensuring longevity and stability. The flame maple top, aside from its striking visual appeal, also contributes to the guitar's tonal character by adding a touch of brightness and enhancing the overall resonance.
The combination of mahogany and maple in the Parallaxe creates a unique blend of warmth and brightness, translating into a versatile tonal range that can handle everything from clean, acoustically-driven melodies to heavily overdriven power chords.
Design and Aesthetics
The Parallaxe left-handed guitar's body is adorned with a distinctive, eye-catching Bordeaux burst finish, giving it a classy, aged appearance that catches the eye. The body is further accentuated by creme binding, adding a touch of elegance to the overall design. The headstock features a stylized Washburn logo, a bold choice that embodies the guitar's unique identity.
Additional features, such as the Schaller tuning machines and the Graph Tech Tusq nut, ensure precise tuning, factoring in the unique challenges of playing a left-handed guitar. The guitar's slimmer neck profile, specifically designed for left-handed players, further enhances its playability and comfort.
Electric - The Nuno Bettencourt Signature Pickups
Equipped with Bettencourt's signature pickups, the Washburn Parallaxe left-handed guitar delivers a diverse range of tone colors. The بالضီါ(DiaEdge) pickups, co-designed with DiMarzio, combine overwound coils with ceramic magnets to achieve a hot, clear, and highly dynamic sound. The result is a versatile pickup set that can produce anything from subtle arpeggios to aggressive, snarling riffs.
Versatile Tone Shaping
The Parallaxe's pickup configuration, featuring a bridge humbucker and a neck single coil, offers a wealth of tonal possibilities. The bridge pickup delivers a punchy, distorted tone ideal for hard rock and metal, while the neck pickup provides a smoother, rounder sound that shines in jazz, funk, and blues settings. The five-way blade switch and the master volume and tone controls allow for seamless tonal shaping, allowing left-handed guitarists to access a wide range of sounds.
The designation of the volume and tone knobs is cleverly reversed on the Parallaxe, catering to the unique ergonomics of left-handed players. This thoughtful design detail ensures that lefties can adjust their volume and tone knobs more intuitively and quickly during live performances.
Left-Handed Ergonomics and Playability
The Washburn Parallaxe left-handed guitar sports a slim, fast neck profile, specifically designed to accommodate the unique playing style of left-handed musicians. The 22-fret rosewood fretboard, featuring jumbo frets and a radiused 12"-16" compound fretboard, allows for smooth, effortless playing and comfortable chords.
The guitar's scale length of 25.5 inches ensures that the strings are neither too loose nor too tight, providing optimal tension for clear articulation and maintaining pitch stability. Combined with the Graph Tech Tusq nut, string vibrations are transferred efficiently to the body, enhancing sustain and reducing unwanted friction and tuning issues often experienced by left-handed players.
Left-Handed Accessibility and Affordability
Compared to many left-handed guitars, the Washburn Parallaxe stands out for its exceptional value for money. Given the high-quality tonewoods, premium hardware, and unique features tailored to left-handed players, the Parallaxe is an impressive option for lefties seeking an affordable, high-performance guitar.
Washburn's Left-Handed Convertibility
Washburn, acknowledging the limited availability of left-handed guitars, offers a unique service that allows players to convert their right-handed Washburn guitars to left-handed models. By sending the guitar to Washburn's factory, players can have the neck flipped, the bridge and hardware reversed, and the stringnut replaced, ensuring a seamless, professional left-handed conversion.
This service is not only an excellent option for those who have difficulty sourcing left-handed models but also creates an eco-friendly, budget-friendly alternative to purchasing a new left-handed guitar. Washburn's commitment to left-handed accessibility demonstrates their dedication to catering to the needs of all musicians.
The final note on the Washburn Parallaxe left-handed guitar is one of admiration for Washburn's commitment to left-handed players. By offering not only a high-quality, versatile guitar designed with lefties in mind but also an affordable conversion service, Washburn has solidified their place as a leader in left-handed guitars. The Parallaxe, with its striking aesthetics, rich tonal spectrum, and smooth playability, serves as a testament to Washburn's dedication to creating guitars that cater to the unique needs of southpaw musicians. So, left-handed guitarists: the search for your perfect guitar may very well end with the Washburn Parallaxe.