They seem to be doing okay with the Jazz & Hollowbody series, though I to have heard of quality issues pushing longtime fans away.
That leaves four solidbody lines, with the Sonamaster being downmarket Nunos (though a sight better than the
el cheapo N1 & Signature). That leaves the XM & Parallaxe, both apparently aimed at shredheads despite even the widdly-widdly players I know starting to say "shred is dead" because musicality is becoming more interesting than mere blazing solos. The XM seems nice enough but could just as easily have been a Cort or Ibanez or Schecter or whatever. The PXL line seems intended for Scandinavian death-metal.
Not everyone wants to looks like just another speed-metal teenager.
Instead of one Parallaxe after another, I'd hoped the new owners of Washburn would've gone back & cherrypicked a few models from (say) MG, BT, X, & WI, & gone seeking after endorsements & media exposure -- wow, remember the catalogues from the '90s & all the celebrity endorsers they used to have??
IMO, the BT series was poorly marketed, & the X series was dragged down by the glut of X-10. At their peak, the Idols offered a nice range, IMO competing nicely with Epiphone LPs & SGs yet possessing unique touches, & the Tele-style WI-36 was an ingenious twist -- if they'd also done an s-s-s, it could've been an "evergreen" line.
When the spalt-top Idols appeared, I hoped this was a sign they were about to reinvigorate the "original Idol" line, but... alas.
