This Washburn N2 is very much a rescue from what would have otherwise been the recycling pile. I bought it about 10 years ago in a complete state.

Most of the hardware was gone and all the electrics had been removed. The neck had also been separated at the sharf joint and the headstock was cracked. Very much a ‘project guitar’!

Once the neck was repaired and another couple of jobs taken care of, it was time to give this guitar a new lease of life. I asked a question on our social media channels a few months ago whether fitting a Sustainiac Stealth Pro would be a good idea. With an overwhelming ‘yes’, the decision was made and I got to work.

So now, this fully rebuilt and upgraded Washburn N2 has turned into something rather special.

Construction

Standard Washburn N2 Alder body. To fix one of the original issues, an Oak fillet has been added into the trem block cavity to strengthen the wood near the trem post holes (see photos). One of the posts had already broken through, so this repair adds some much-needed strength to this area. It only seems right to extend the repair to the other post position as well, before anything happens.

The front and back faces of the body have been refinished with Tru-oil to deal with some finish issues.

Oil-finished Maple bolt-on neck with Ebony fretboard.

14-degree tilt headstock.

Refretted with 22 Jumbo Nickel frets.

Floyd Rose locking nut.

25.5″ scale length.

Electrics

In the neck is the Sustainiac humbucker driver. This pickup has been wired as a standard neck pickup when the Sustainiac system is turned off. When the driver is in pickup mode (when the Sustainiac system is turned off) it is voiced much like a PAF-style humbucker, which is very close to the Seymour Duncan ’59 in the Washburn N4 models.

In the bridge, I dug into one of my many parts drawers. Many years ago I managed to buy two Bill Lawrence 500XL humbuckers. These humbuckers would be of the same vintage as the pickups used by Nuno Bettencourt in his Washburn N4.

Switchcraft 3-way toggle switch. Master volume control is also a push/pull, allowing for coil splitting on both pickups.

Sustainiac Stealth Pro system: on/off mini toggle switch and 3-way mode selection toggle switch (Natural-mix-harmonic)

Switch craft open jack socket.

Hardware

Chrome hardware has been used wherever possible. The tuners are the original Washburn models, which still work well. The previous owner had swapped out the A-string tuner for a Grover Rotomatic 18:1 model tuner. I guess this is an attempt to somewhat mirror the tuner arrangement on the N4 Authentic model.

The Schaller Strap locks, volume knob and jack plate are all finished in chrome to keep the same aesthetic throughout the rest of the guitar. A 9-volt battery box has been routed into the back of the guitar to allow easy access for battery changes of the Sustainiac system (not that this happens too often).

Genuine Floyd Rose

This Washburn N2 comes with a 1000 series Floyd Rose system in chrome. This tremolo is an upgrade from the original Washburn locking trem that would have come on the guitar when new. The guitar has a small front route access allowing the Floyd to dive and pull up. It is not as deep as the front route on an N4 model, but it is still possible.