Washburn is one of the oldest guitar brands, dating back to 1887, and in the late 19th century it’s parent company Lyon & Healy was the largest musical instrument maker in America. The brand name was the middle name of founding partner Geroge Washburn Lyon.

In the late 20th century, under ownership of the Chicago-based Fretted Industries Inc. (now called Washburn International), the Washburn brand returned to prominence with models endorsed by heavy metal guitarists. Paul Stanley, founding member and rhythm guitarist of the rock band KISS, came over to Washburn in 1998 after a career of playing Ibanez guitars.

In an ironic turn of events, an American company copied a Japanese guitar – and it wasn’t just any model, it was the Ibanez Iceman, conceived as a sort of national guitar design of Japan – to create the Washburn Paul Stanley model of 1998. Although the model only lasted two years, Stanley and Washburn got back together in 2006 for a new line of seven signature models, none of which had the Iceman shape.