I've fallen in love with my MG44

[dovstar]

I bought the MG44 brand new over 20 yrs ago. I can't be exact on the year, serial number is 3100388 if anyone has any idea about its origin.
When I bought it, the first thing that stood out was the weight. It felt like a guitar. After a couple of years of using it, still trying to improve my playing i bought a 2ng guitar in an ibanez. After that, I hardly played the Washburn. My ibanez became my main guitar.
Roll forward to a few months ago, i decided to give the washburn a play and see if it still worked. I was contemplating selling it at that point. I picked it up and put the strap on and it felt amazing. The thick neck, heavy body and posture, it felt so right. The sound was horrendous. I could only compare it to a weak cup of tea. It made my mind up to sell it.
I took the Washburn off and put the ibanez back on. I began to think if only I could get the washburn to have the power of the ibanez.
I bought a set of Seymour Duncan distortion mayhem s-6 pickups and fitted them. The new pickups made a huge difference. The sound had the power and sustain of the ibanez but with more bottom end. It was like having a new guitar. I'm using the vintage rectifier preamp on the GT-10  which is simply awesome. The power and sustain of the sound is unbelieveable it is so tight and smooth. The maple neck matches the sound, its thick, slick and smooth. I have fallen in love with my MG44. I've picked the ibanez up to give it a play, but after about 10mins I'm back playing the Washburn.
My ibanez has been through the wars and the paint has started to crack and fall off. The washburn hasn't a mark on it. The Floyd rose is showing a bit of shiney metal from wear and tare, but apart from that you wouldn't know if had it for over 20years
So that's my story of my Washburn. The store I bought it from in Glasgow is shutdown and no way of finding the exact year I bought it. If anyone has an idea of the serial 3100388, please let me know.
Cheers

[dovstar]

Just had a bit of research on the forum about the seerial number, 3100388. 310 is 0ctober 1993 and 0388 is the build number, am I correct in this?

[danielsan73]

 You've got the serial number interpretation correct mate. Changing the pickups are always going to be a banker with those old Korean Washies - superbly made but pony electrics!

Dan

[dovstar]

You've got the serial number interpretation correct mate. Changing the pickups are always going to be a banker with those old Korean Washies - superbly made but pony electrics!

Dan

Thanks for that Dan, I didn't know where and when it was made.
When I took the scratch plate off to change the pickups, the first thing I noticed was the shambolic electrical work. From day one it crackled badly, probably played a big part in not playing it. The electrical work was done as if a 3yr old done it with the oldest of wire available. The wiring was not colour coded but done with coloured leccy tape. The soldering looks done by a novice.
I stripped all the wiring and solder from the connections and pots, used new guitar wire and soldered them myself. Not a crackle from any of the pots now. It really is like having a new guitar. I'm so glad I gave it a make over rathr than sell it. It really doesn't have a mark on it. It is a stunning looking guitar, check it out on the "show your Washburn" forum, I've posted it in there.