Washburn WG26SCE Solid Cedar Top Acoustic Cutaway Electric Grand Auditorium Rosewood Guitar with Fishman Preamp And Tuner  

Pro:

Guitar is beautiful. Craftsmanship is near-flawless. Abalone trim and wood binding are perfect. Satin neck is a joy to play.

Rosewood body paired with cedar top is warm, but rich with harmonics and overtones. Sparkly, but not dry.

Acoustically sounds great, but it really shines plugged in.

Con:

The action is very high at the twelfth fret. Nearly 1/16th (4/64) of an inch too high.

Asked my luthier's opinion (since he'd be lowering it), and he said the bigger problem is that there isn't enough saddle height. We could lower the action now, but that's it, just the one time. With the gradual, inevitable rising of the action over time due to string tension, in a few years I'd be looking at a neck reset, which would cost about as much as the guitar.

(BTW, other than action, the luthier's first comment was "WOW, that's a lot of guitar")

No, it's not a Martin, but I do take good care of my guitars, and expect to have this for 20 years. Call me picky, I guess.

Now for the cool part. I called MF and explained my dilemma. I figure it's quite likely that there are many of these guitars with both acceptable action, AND enough bridge and saddle height to adjust a few times over the years. Given MF's great return policy, I could just keep trying, and returning, until I find a good one. But that's inconvenient for me, and nasty for MF, as it can't then be sold new.

So, at my request, they handpicked one from stock, based on specific action and saddle guidelines from my luthier. I haven't received it yet, so we'll see if they paid attention or not.

If that doesn't work, then I'll have to rethink it. I really like the guitar. I could lower the action now and it would play like a dream. And then I could throw it out in five years. Still worth it? Hmmm.

I suspect this type of setup problem isn't just Washburn. High marks to MF for their handling of the situation.