Washburn C5 - Overview and Best Prices

Washburn C5 Review
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  • 1 Prices - New from $179 >
  • From Washburn's 2016 Classical series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.591"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Spruce top
  • Catalpa back
  • Catalpa sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Engineered Wood fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: (/)
  • Alternative bridge
  • Acoustic Washburn Classical Set neck
  • 19 Medium frets
  • Classical tuners
  • Side-By-Side Comparison
Show Specs
Washburn C5 Specifications
Washburn C5
General
Brand: Washburn
Year: 2016
Configuration: N/A
Strings: 6
Made in: China
Series: Classical
Colors: Natural
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Spruce
Sides Material: Other
Back Material: Other
Bridge: Alternative
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Classical
Fretboard: Engineered Wood
Neck Material: Mahogany
Decoration:
Scale Size: 25.591"
Shape: Acoustic Washburn Classical
Frets: 19 Medium
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut: NuBone
Nut Width: 52mm (2.047'')
Electronics
Pickups: ( / )
Hardware
Strap Lock: No
Hardware Color: Gold

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 70
Sound 76
Build quality 60
Value for money 84
Overall Score 69
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Washburn C5
  • Expensive Wood
  • NuBone Nut
  • NuBone Saddle
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Electronics
  • Laminated Top Wood
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $440, which means that the Washburn C5 is around 59% cheaper than the competition. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in China.

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User Reviews & Feedback

Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

Weight

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Tuning stability

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Neck speed (thickness)

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Neck access to high frets

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Neck profile shape

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Fret edges

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Washburn C5's construction is balanced for most hand sizes.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Washburn C5 meets 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's a good guitar to start with as a complete beginner. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

Washburn C5
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Soft Strings
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners

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Playability

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Washburn C5's 25.591" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Washburn C5 Scale Length Comparison
Washburn C5's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

This scale is close to the popular 25.50" length but longer, which allows you to tune your strings lower while keeping the action low without causing fret buzz. This is useful for lower tunings, 7-string, or even classical guitars.

You want to avoid such a long scale if you don't plan to play in low tunings since the longer scale also means the frets are more separated, making it harder to play fast, especially for small hands. It's also harder to bend the strings.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Washburn C5 Neck Profile
Washburn C5's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Washburn C5 has a 12" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Washburn C5 Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Washburn C5's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Washburn C5 has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

Washburn C5
This model
25.591'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
2.047'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
25.591'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.89'' Nut Width
99'' Fretboard Radius
25.984'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.89'' Nut Width
99'' Fretboard Radius
25.984'' Scale Length
D Neck Profile
1.89'' Nut Width
14.96'' Fretboard Radius
25.6'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
2.047'' Nut Width
99'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Washburn C5 Nut Width
Washburn C5 Nut Width

The Washburn C5 has a nut width of 52mm (2.047''). This is considered a wide width for a 6-string guitar. It gives your fingers the extra space you need to play without muting accidentally, but this also makes bar chords harder to perform, especially if you have small hands.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Washburn C5 Fret Size Comparison
Washburn C5's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Washburn C5's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 70
Playability 70

Tone

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce Top
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Neck
Engineered wood pattern used for guitar building
Engineered Fretboard

Spruce Top: This wood has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range.

Mahogany Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Engineered Fretboard: It's made from wood material that is ground and put back together to make a material very similar to traditional wood. It's a strong and stable wood that's cheaper to make. There's nothing bad about it, but some people prefer traditional wood because of tradition and looks.

More made with the same wood:

Pickups

This acoustic guitar doesn't come with preamp pickups, so you won't be able to connect it directly to an amplifier. Instead, you'll need to use an external microphone.

Sound Score

Sustain 65
Versatility 70
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 76

Build Quality

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Washburn C5 is made in China. So you can expect lower build quality when compared to others made in Korea, Japan or the United States. Guitars made in this country are meant for mass production, which translates into less attention to detail and quality control. This doesn't mean the product is made poorly at all. Chinese products have a bad reputation since long ago, but they've definitely improved a lot the last few years.

Bridge

Alternative: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Washburn C5 has a NuBone nut. It's a synthetic nut from the same creators of Ivory TUSQ. It's a hard and self-lubricating material that helps a lot with tuning stability. It produces a brighter tone similar to TUSQ, but it's not as hard.

More with the same nut material:

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 61
Features 65
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 60