Jim Smith with 25 of his Washburns ranging in age from over 100 years old to one year old. This represents less than 1/20th of his total collection.

How many guitars is enough? The question is, perhaps, unanswerable. Understandably, guitar collections are dynamic things. They constantly evolve and change depending on cash flow, eBay and the gems found hanging high at your local indie music store. In most cases, it is the collection itself that is the Holy Grail rather than any one of its pieces.

Archivist and collector Jim Smith Sr. doesn’t collect guitars just for their beauty, tone or scarcity. He collects them in the name of preservation. Jim has been a Washburn collector for a decade and a half. In that short time, he has amassed the world’s largest personal collection of Washburn acoustics, and perhaps the largest personal collection of acoustic guitars, period.

In spite of its broad success, Washburn remains a small company. And as a small company, Washburn has focused on the business of building, importing and distributing their products; not on heritage. Historic companies like Martin or Gibson make instruments whose origin and date of birth can usually be traced. Washburn instruments, on the other hand, don’t necessarily leave much of a trail—which shouldn’t cause their instruments to be judged harshly. After all, tone and feel deserve precedence over pedigree. In researching Washburn’s history, most end up at Jim Smith Sr., and his American Multimedia Studios in Hayes, Va., so who better to talk to about that legacy and his outstanding collection of Washburn acoustic guitars than the man himself.

Read the rest of the article and interview at PremierGuitar.com!

Nuno Bettencourt, World Renowned Washburn Guitarist, To Perform On World Tour with Rihanna

Nuno’s new endeavor as lead guitarist for Rihanna has just been one of many significant events for him in 2009. The renowned guitarist recently wrapped up dates of the Extreme reunion tour and just recently made a music video for the CBS hit comedy, “How I Met Your Mother”. In addition, Nuno celebrated his twenty year anniversary as an endorser of Washburn Guitars with the debut of his signature N4XXthe NBKING100, both to critical acclaim. Look for these products, along with the rest of Nuno’s signature Washburn guitars on stage throughout the tour. and also released a signature Randall half stack,

Watch Nuno and Rihanna take the stage in London!

Hey there all of you KISS fans!

The band performed "Modern Day Delilah" and "Detroit Rock City" on last night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Check out Paul Stanley's Washburn...

Watch KISS' performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Washburn TV!

The Smashing Pumpkins' have begun recording their latest album 'Teargarden by Kaleidyscope' and are giving away all 44 tracks to their fans for FREE! The first tracks are planned to be released around Halloween.http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/09/16/smashing-pumpkins-reveal-new-lp-teargarden-by-kaleidyscope/

Paul Stanley is ready to kick off the fall tour with his new Washburn V. Here's some pictures from last week's photo shoot. And are those new outfits too?