Paul Stanley Signature Guitar

Paul Stanley Washburn Signature Guitar

Instruments since 1883

The Washburn company is an American-based business that started in Chicago in 1883, manufacturing string instruments, from mandolins, banjos to ukuleles and guitars.

To this day, Washburn is still making affordable instruments for the home musician but can also be played at the highest level by the most recognized names in the business.

Artist like…

• Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME)
• Steve Stevens (Solo and Billy Idol)
• Michael Sweet (STRYPER)

To mention a few.

This guitar review will focus on the Paul Stanley Signature Guitar, a Washburn axe created in conjunction with the singer, songwriter and who needs no introductions…

Paul Stanley And Kiss

Guitarist, composer, and performer Paul Stanley has made his mark in the Rock Icon’s Hall of Fame.

Paul began his journey with the instrument at 13 (mostly self-taught) before joining his first group at 15 years of age.

After meeting up with other co-founders Gene Simmons in the early ’70s, they went on to form the powerhouse and visual spectacle known as KISS.

Anyone growing up in the late 70′ and ’80s could not ignore KISS, regardless of if you liked them or not.

Over 4 Decades

KISS is still performing at high levels, more than 40 years later, and playing from an extensive library of songs that span more than 30 albums, Paul has co-written many of the group’s most popular songs.

The Hit Parader in 2006 Ranked Paul Stanley 18th on the list of Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time, along with a readers poll for Gibson.com named Paul Stanley 13th on their top 25 frontmen in 2010.

The Hit Parader was a monthly published music magazine (1942-2008) that gained a high level of commercial success and popularity when switching its focus from general popular music to heavy metal and hard rock publication in the 1980s. 

The Washburn PS12 Starfire Solidbody Electric Guitar 

In 2012 Washburn started the building and design of the PS12 resulting from the collaboration with KISS’s co-founder and frontman Paul Stanley.

Creating an instrument that was balanced, easy to play and had its own distinctive look and sound. And in the true spirit of the Washburn business culture, a guitar was within reach of most budget-conscious musicians.

Body

A Solid Mahogany body with a carved “Raised Center” (Stanley Approved) has an unmistakable reverse body style silhouette designed for comfort and elegance and is accented with many unique features. The Mohagany body gives you warm tones and tons of sustain.

Neck

The fast Mahogany set neck has a 14″ fingerboard radius.

It is stocked with 22 Jumbo frets.

The set mahogany neck has a comfortable scale length of 24-3/4″

The bound ebony fingerboard is equipped with Paul Stanley pearl/abalone split block inlays serving as fret markers (see image.)

The Neck stability is provided by a double-action truss rod.

• A double-action truss rod is a device inserted inside the neck capable of recreating a concave or convex curvature on the fingerboard, independent of string pull. Identical to that of a single-action truss rod.

Reverse Headstock

The headstock is equipped with 18:1 Grover diecast tuners for precise tuning.

Has a graphite nut and a shaped mirror or white truss rod cover.

The mirrored or white pickguard ties in with the reverse headstock-shaped mirrored/white truss rod cover. Both contain a silkscreened variation of the Paul Stanley Starfire logo (see image)

Tune-o-Matic Bridge

This custom Paul Stanley stop tailpiece has been machined from solid aluminum to handle the string intonation.

This tailpiece works alongside the instrument’s graphite nut, the Tune-o-Matic adjustable bridge and 18:1 Grover tuners to ensure that your strings stay in tune while also looking great.

Electronics

Mini Humbuckers

Instead of the Seymour-Duncan SM-3 Mini Humbuckers found on the previous Starfire, Washburn opted for 2 chrome mini-humbuckers.

The high output 2 chrome mini-humbucker pickups produce a tone all their own that is versatile, giving you a wide selection of biting and/or creamy sustaining tones to choose from.(See Image)

According to Washburn: “The use of the volume and tone controls will reward the player with a wide pallet of biting and/or creamy sustaining tones.”

Giving you lots of sounds to choose from.

Controls

This guitar sports 2 top hat volumes and 2 tone control knobs with a 3-way pickup selector.

Added Features

• The PS10 Starfire is available in black or white.
• And as mentioned previously, a silkscreened variation of the Paul Stanley Starfire logo and 
• A mirrored or white pickguard that matches the headstock-shaped mirrored/white truss rod cover.

Check Out Paul Stanley’s Washburn PS12 Video

Final Thoughts

With the Paul Stanley PS12 Starfire, you get a lot of guitar for your money, and the value is in the details.

This is a really great-looking guitar and is sweet to play.

Although some features have been economized, this guitar looks and feels identical to the custom shop version bringing the rock star’s favourite combination of specs within reach of most budgets.

When it comes to the double-action truss rods, for decades, guitars have been using single-action truss rods with great success, and I have been playing for over 30 years and have never felt the need to change.

So I suspect either way is fine, but 99% of the time, you are fine with the single truss rod. But that might not be the case when it comes to Paul Stanley’s reality.

Some players say that if you are looking for a more vintage tone, stay with a single truss rod, but if you are playing heavier styles of music, go with a double.

I think it also changes the sound when it comes to the “reverse” headstock outside of the look.

The longer string length on the bass strings gives you more clarity and snap, and the shorter string length on the treble strings provides a tighter playing feel, easier for bending and vibrato.

Along with the issue of adjusting to the tuning heads all on the bottom of the headstock.

Should You Add This Guitar To Your Collection?

I would say depends on your budget and what type of player you are.

Did You Like This Article?

Check out my review on the  Washburn PXL10EC Parallaxe Singlecut Carbon Black. 

Also…

Leave me your comments in the section below, and if you would like me to review a favourite guitar.

As always, stay the course and keep playing.

Blog Banner images

Paul Stanley image courtesy of Llann Wé².@wikimedia and creativecommons.org/ share alike 3.0 

Makeup image courtesy of By Willtron @ Wikimedia and licensed under  creativecommons.org /share alike 3.0

Image of Paul Stanley Book Courtesy of Amazon

Paul Stanley CTA Courtesy of Amazon

Guitar images courtesy of  guitarsite.com and sweetwater.com