Lyon by Washburn

OVERVIEW

What to know quickly

Treat it as its own used-market line. A Lyon by Washburn is not automatically equivalent to a current Washburn model just because the parent name appears on the headstock.

IDENTIFY YOUR GUITAR

Which Lyon by Washburn do you have?

Because the line is discontinued and documentation is thinner than for current Washburn instruments, the exact model marking matters. Common used examples include LI15 electrics, S-style variants, LE-series electrics, LB basses and LG dreadnought acoustics.

1. Find the exact model. Check the back of the headstock, neck plate/heel, soundhole label, control cavity area and surviving stickers.
2. Record the serial number. Keep it with the photos, but do not assume a modern Washburn serial rule will automatically decode every Lyon.
3. Photograph the pickup layout. S-style single-coil layouts, dual-humbucker LI15 configurations and bass models should not be compared together.
4. Check scale and bridge type. Fixed-bridge and tremolo variants can appear under similar-looking bodies.
5. Preserve package clues. Amp, gig bag, tuner and accessory remnants can reveal that an instrument began life as part of a starter package.

USED VALUE GUIDE

The new-price anchor is gone, so condition matters even more

Because Lyon is no longer an active Washburn catalog line, used pricing depends heavily on local supply, condition and whether the guitar is a common electric or a less common acoustic/bass model. In the September 2026 Guitar Center snapshot, eight electric listings clustered between $79.99 and $154.99; one LG22 acoustic was listed at $299.99.

1. Compare against sold listings whenever possible; a thin market can make one asking price look more authoritative than it is.
2. Check neck relief, fret condition, nut height, action and intonation before valuing the guitar as ready to play.
3. Test every pickup, pot, switch and jack on electrics and basses.
4. On acoustics, inspect bridge lift, top movement and neck geometry before spending money on cosmetic cleanup.
5. Keep repair cost in proportion to value; a major fret, neck or electronics job can quickly exceed the instrument's market price.

CURRENT USED MARKET

There is enough supply to research—but not enough to be careless

Lyon by Washburn appears regularly enough on Guitar Center, Musician's Friend and Reverb to establish a used-market context, but the catalog is not dense enough to treat every similarly shaped Lyon as the same model.

COMPARE

What else lives in this neighborhood?

Lyon makes the most sense beside other discontinued or current value instruments rather than beside mid-tier Washburns. For a player, setup quality and structural condition can matter more than small differences in original specification.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Before you buy—or price—one

• Missing model numbers. Retail listings sometimes fall back to “S-style” or “Stratocaster”; use physical clues before assuming an exact model.
• Repair-to-value ratio. A $100 guitar does not become a bargain when it needs $250 worth of fret and electronics work.
• Starter-package wear. These instruments may have spent years with beginners, in closets, or moved without cases; inspect neck and hardware carefully.
• Aftermarket changes. Cheap pickups, tuners and bridges are often replaced; determine whether a modification actually improves function.
• Washburn-name inflation. “By Washburn” is useful lineage context, not evidence that a Lyon shares the market value of a higher Washburn series.

HISTORY & COMMENTARY

A value-line name tied to the Washburn family tree

Washburn's official history traces the older brand story through George Washburn Lyon and Patrick Healy in Chicago. The later “Lyon by Washburn” name reused that Lyon connection for a lower-priced instrument line. Today, however, Lyon is absent from Washburn's active public series list and is most visible through used inventory.

That is why this page deliberately avoids inventing a neat production timeline that the surviving public documentation does not support. The instruments themselves, old dealer listings, catalogs when available and current used-market examples provide the stronger evidence.

WHAT PLAYERS LIKE

Why a Lyon by Washburn can still be worth picking up

• Low entry price. Common electrics often sit well below the price of a new mainstream beginner guitar.
• Simple hardware. Fixed bridges and conventional electronics on many examples can make basic maintenance approachable.
• Backup potential. A structurally sound example can make an inexpensive spare or casual-use instrument.
• Setup upside. Nut, relief, action and intonation work can transform the feel of an otherwise ordinary budget guitar.
• Research interest. Discontinued value brands help document how major guitar companies reached beginner and mass-market buyers in earlier periods.

CURRENT RETAIL & REFERENCE

Lyon by Washburn is treated here as a discontinued used-market line. Public documentation is thinner than for current Washburn series; claims are kept within what current listings and Washburn's own history support.