Washburn Americana M108SW - Vintage Natural Reviews

I have owned my Washburn Mandolin for several years and can truly say this is a great instrument. I have no regrets with the money I spent on this one!

I came to Sweetwater to purchase a Loar mandolin and ended up taking this home instead. It played easier, sounded just as good, and the cosmetics were better... And it came with a hardshell case. Purchased mine used at the gear exchange in the store and couldn't be happier with it.

This mando has it all, for the price. Spruce top is important, the mahogany back and sides instead of maple sounds fantastic. It's suprisingly warm yet bright enough to cut through other acoustic guitars without sacrificing tone. It plays really well and tunes easily too.

Dabbling on my friends mandolins raised my interest in acquiring one. His is a The Gibson F style that's worth around $3K (to my knowledge). Knowing I wasn't going to pay that much I looked for alternatives. Glad I selected this one!

Beautiful mandolin with amazing sound. Great mando for the price and fast shipping with Sweetwater. Would recommend

I want to start by thanking and recommending Mark Bruhn. Mark has been my account rep for years and you can always depend on him going above and beyond for your particular transaction. I always feel like Mark is representing me, my interests and desires with each purchase. If you call or go online to Sweetwater ask for Mark Bruhn.
Just unboxed my Washburn 108SW. It looks beautiful. I love the matte finish and vintage look and it sounds so sweet and woody. This is my fourth mandolin so, as they say, it's not my first rodeo. The neck is a wee bit wider for my fat fingers which I really like,the neck, not my fingers. The sound is very solid and it barks loudly, that surprised me. I am sure that as this mahogany ages it is just going to get even better. Looking forward to a long and productive relationship. I'm all in! Thanks Mark!!

Went to Sweetwater to buy a more expensive mandolin. Played this one and liked it. They had 8 in stock. I had them bring out all 8 to compare. The one I purchased was above all of the others by far! Take the time to shop and you will find a diamond! Have had a lot of people want to buy this from me. Not a chance

Being into prog rock and not glamour, I'm not interested in flashy instruments with elaborate bindings and paint jobs, and as long as the tone, playability, and quality is there I could care less where it comes from. Like most others I have an affinity for Florentines but until the patents expired I wasn't about to pay a ridiculously inflated amount for a Gibson. These days everyone is making them, including junkers in the $300 range. I needed the best instrument for the buck so I did a lot of research before deciding on the M108SW. This included Loar, Kentucky, Kelly, Weber, and others.

For my money, it is hard to find anything better at this price point. The quality is quite good, it sounds great, I was able to measure a sustain of 18 seconds, and the slightly wider fingerboard is a plus. It also has a nice woody tone that I prefer to the overly bright tones of spruce and maple, which need a lot of EQing for the style of music I play.

Note that with this model there are variations in the finish between individual instruments. I saw one with a track of marks along one edge, another with a bit too much weathering along one edge, and a third that was actually marked up to simulate road wear (which I think is silly). The one the that Clint (sales engineer) found was perfect, with a nice smooth and even finish.

As for setup, I have little faith in so-called luthiers in local music stores (who spend 90% of their time at the register) and have been burned a total of six times over the years. As Sweetwater's people are at the bench full-time, they know their stuff. I had specific expectations for the setup and paid extra for it. This was done for two thirds of the already low standard price and it was done right. A second rate job at a music store would have cost three times as much. In fact, I have a couple of guitars that could use some tweaking and I'll send them to Sweetwater rather to some local guy.

My last word on Washburn is that if they were to offer an F-style octave mandolin of this quality, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

I saw this mandolin on Sweetwater a couple of years ago and was ready to buy it about a year and a half ago. However, the item has been so popular, it has been out of stock for a while. Nevertheless, I signed up for an email alert from Sweetwater to be notified when it came in and this just happened in the past few weeks. In short, it was worth the wait. This is a beautifully crafted instrument that has a great finish and construction and is very easy to play. The tone is also excellent with a brightness and sustain that is hard to beat. If you haven't got one already, buy one now! I can see why they are hard to keep in stock.

I've had a Kentucky KM250S since the 80's and have thought about upgrading for a while. My old Kentucky is a nice mandolin but I bought a KM900 several years ago and sold it at a loss because I just didn't like anything about it tone wise or It's playability. Buying this Wasburn after getting burned on that KM900 was a risk but it played off! This Wasburn's sound has already opened up, the wider finger board almost feels like cheating, and it is awesomely beautiful. The tuners are great, the fit and finish is top notch, and I have a hard time putting it down. It was a GREAT purchase. Sweetwater is a wonderful place to buy stuff.

I ordered this mandolin as an upgrade to one that I had purchased to learn on. I did a lot of research on this particular instrument before purchasing, and was certainly not disappointed when I received it. Beautiful mandolin with amazing tone and playability. Came ready to go out of the case. I loved the fact that I could pick the exact instrument that I wanted using pictures and serial numbers through the Sweetwater website. I even received the exact photos of my instrument used on the website by email after I purchased it! Great quality and amazing service through and through. You will NOT be disappointed.

This is a brand new instrument and it already has amazing tone. Cant wait for it to really open up. Great instrument for a 1st mandolin (this is my first).

Just starting to learn to play mandolin and really like
my Washburn. Plays easy and sounds great. Have
had nice comments about the aged look. Some have
thought it's an old mandolin. This is a nice package
to start out with a really nice hard case included.

Great upgrade from my 50 dollar A style Mando! Barks like it should and plays nicely. As others say there is a tiny bit of fret sprout that any luthier can sand out easily. I'm in a dry climate so it happens... Beautiful finish! Love the satin... My tuners seem to work fine so far after six months... Glad I did it!

Overall it's a pretty nice mandolin. Easy to play, nice sound, good bark to it. For the price I would have thought Washburn would have put on better tuning pegs. It comes with a decent hardshell case. My only complaint would be that the frets need to be dressed better. The ends were sharp and needed to be dressed to rid of the sharp ends. This mandolin is a GREAT instrument to learn or just start out on. Highly recommend for the money, great value!

This is a great instrument - nicely manufactured, good materials, and a proper fit and finish without any flaws. The tuners have a beautiful turn-of-the-century look with engraved plates and a dark patina, but they do not stay in tune, even when tightening to the point of being stiff. They need to be swapped for something less beautiful but of better quality.

As for the overall look, it would be nice if they offered a model with the same color and finish but with a binding (preferably of a medium color - just enough to give it some definition), as this would look much better on stage. As is, the scroll almost disappears and when you are wearing dark clothing it is practically invisible. Naturally, this does not affect the tone or playability.

Overall, this is a great mandolin. I would have paid another fifty if they offered top-of-the-line tuners.