Rare Collectable 1995 Washburn D55SW Cherokee Dreadnought

The D55SW Cherokee is a beautiful, rare and desirable collectable. This is the only one known to be in Australia.

It boasts stunning craftsmanship and tone with great playability all the way up the neck. Owners do not generally part with these instruments. I believe the last one offered on Reverb was 10 years ago in the USA. It is regarded as the “holy grail” of Washburn acoustics and was greatly sought after in the 1990s.

I am the original owner. Only 150 were built by the master luthier Dana Bourgeois for Washburn as part of the Native American series. 1995 price: $US2800 ($AUS 4200 ) before shipping and import duties. I have a copy of the original Washburn 1995 price list to verify this.

Details:
Dreadnought body, traditional solid Sitka spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides (no laminates), ebony fingerboard and “butterfly” bridge, unique abalone and Mother of Pearl feather headstock inlays with original 1900s design Washburn logo, unique abalone feather inlays on fretboard, intricate herringbone purfling top and back, all maple binding top back and fretboard, rosewood truss rod cover, bone nut, silky Grover tuners.

Origins:
In the mid 1990s Washburn wanted to prove to the world that they could make an acoustic guitar to rival anything on the market. They commissioned Dana Bourgeois to make a series of guitars that included:

20 Apache’s – 3 piece birdseye maple/sitka standard D
150 Cherokee’s – Indian rosewood/sitka standard D
50 Savannah’s – Koa/sitka slope D
4 Paramounts – Engelmann/Braz Standard D with “vine of life” MOP inlay

Short History of this Instrument:
It was brought to Australia in 1995 for trade shows in Melbourne and Sydney, then placed in a warehouse for 3 years until a business issue was resolved. I purchased it from Guitar World in Leichhardt, Sydney in 1998 and have used it sparingly since then. This is 100% factory original and is essentially in mint condition.

This is an irreplaceable part of guitar history. The workmanship is amazing. It just oozes quality and has impeccable fit and finish. The tone embodies wonderful dynamics and clarity, from solid bass and clear mids to sparkling highs. Being a dreadnought, there is no problems with volume or projection. It brings a smile every time you play it. Naturally it comes with it’s original plush solid case.

What would this guitar cost today if Washburn chose to do make it, considering 30 years of rising prices and the scarcity of fine woods? Conservative guess is well over 5 figures. Check the Washburn website for their current top end models in the $4000 US price bracket and they aren’t a patch on this guitar. So the real value of this Cherokee in terms of both workmanship and rarity is arguably $12,000-15,000AUD. From this I hope you can agree the asking price is more than reasonable.

Sorry, but there is no YouTube video that gives a good idea of this guitar’s wonderful tone.

There is a nice bonus with this purchase – a beautifully illustrated book from 1996 entitled “Washburn Over One Hundred Years of Fine Stringed Instruments”. It has details of the Cherokee and Apache on pages 122-123.

I would greatly prefer this to be picked up rather than couriered. Damaging this guitar in transit would be a super gut punch. I will gladly deliver it in person for free anywhere in the areas comprising Wollongong, Mittagong, Sydney, Katoomba and Newcastle.

Thank you for your time. Happy hunting.