About Washburn
Washburn was founded in Chicago in 1883 as a partnership between George Washburn Lyon and Patrick Healy, and it has been building stringed instruments continuously since. By 1889 the company was the largest mandolin maker in America, and in 1912 its Lakeside Jumbo became the first dreadnought-style guitar, a body shape that went on to define the modern acoustic guitar. The brand added its first electric models with the Wing series in the 1970s and its Festival series helped drive the acoustic-electric "unplugged" era of the 1980s and 90s. Washburn is now part of JAM Industries USA, under the U.S. Music Corp umbrella.
The current lineup spans acoustic guitars across body shapes from parlor to jumbo (Apprentice, Heritage, Comfort, Bella Tono, Woodline and Festival series), acoustic-electric packs built for a first instrument, Wing-series electric guitars and basses, and Americana instruments including banjos and mandolins. Washburn has also built a long list of artist relationships, including a multi-decade association with Nuno Bettencourt and, in an earlier era, Dimebag Darrell. In our own testing of the WA90CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar Kit, that longevity showed up as a properly built dreadnought-cutaway body carrying a real onboard preamp and tuner, a specification set that is easy to find at higher prices and rare at this one.
Brand website: washburn.com
What Washburn makes
Washburn's catalog runs wider than the gear we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Acoustic-Electric Packs
Complete kits pairing a dreadnought-cutaway body with onboard electronics, including the WA90CE — featured on House of Octave
Heritage & Comfort Acoustics
Dreadnought, grand auditorium and folk body styles built for tone and playability
Bella Tono & Woodline
Studio and orchestra-body acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars
Wing Series Electrics
Double-cutaway electric guitars and basses reviving Washburn's 1970s designs
Americana Instruments
Banjos and mandolins, tracing back to Washburn's 19th-century mandolin business
Why we recognized Washburn
The House of Octave Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose gear consistently stands out in our player-tested category guides. Washburn earned it on the strength of the products below, judged the same way every product on this site is: assessed on build, tone, and playability, weighed against what players actually report over years of use, and ranked on merit.
Washburn gear we rated highly
Washburn WA90CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar Kit
A pickup and preamp are normally the first thing manufacturers cut to hit a budget price, so finding both included here stood out in our review. The dreadnought-cutaway body comes from a brand with more than a century of guitar building behind it, and the kit ships complete with the accessories a first-time player needs, so the onboard electronics do not come at the cost of the gig bag and tuner.
Read the 11 Best Cheap Acoustic Guitars of 2026 guide →What earned Washburn the recognition
- An American guitar brand continuously building stringed instruments since 1883
- Built the Lakeside Jumbo in 1912, the first guitar in the dreadnought body shape that remains the acoustic-guitar standard today
- A multi-decade roster of artist relationships, including Nuno Bettencourt and, in an earlier era, Dimebag Darrell
- The WA90CE we tested pairs a dreadnought-cutaway body with a real onboard preamp and tuner, a specification set uncommon at its price
- 177 verified owner ratings at a 4.4 average on the WA90CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar Kit