guitar veneer
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Zach
The Fender is the all mahogany CD60. It's price is $200, and a big plus for it is that it comes with a hardshell case. Stylistically the tuning knobs are silver, and it has a pearl inlay rosette design. The Washburn is the WD100DL, which also has an all mahogany body, and is priced a bit more inexpencive than the Fender at $150. As for it's hardware, the tuning knobs are golden color metal. The downside to this guitar is that instead of a hardshell case, it has a gig bag. Going and buying a hard shell case would defeat any purpose in getting the less expensive guitar and would ultimately cost me more than just getting the Fender with near identical specs.
Answer
I think you can do better than these too guitars, honestly. The Fender has a laminated top, which means the top of the guitar is composed of scraps of wood bonded together with glue. A piece of wood veneer is then glued to that, which makes the top of the guitar look pretty. Laminate-top guitars (also known as "select") are sturdy, but they don't sound good because the glue absorbs sound waves. A guitar with a solid wood top projects a lot better than a laminate-top guitar.
The Fender company makes fantastic electric guitars, but the lower-end acoustics are just so-so, as far as quality, playability and sound. I've never known a professional acoustic guitarist who used a Fender guitar at home, on the road or in the studio, since there are simply much better options available. Fender acoustics tend to be purchased as first guitars -- by people who know Fender guitars are legendary, but who don't realize the reputation was built strictly on electric instruments. I know quite a few people who got Fender guitars when they were learning to play, but all of them eventually switched to a different brand.
The Washburn has a solid wood top, but I'm concerned it might be a challenging guitar for a beginner to play. In my experience, Washburn guitars tend to have thick necks and high action (strings that sit kind of far away from the fretboard). Generally speaking, it's easier for beginners and players with small hands to play guitars that have thin necks and low action (strings that sit close to the fretboard). The thinner the neck and the lower the action, the easier it is to form chords and move smoothly between them. A lot of people who want to play guitar give up quickly, concluding that guitar is just too difficult to play. But many of them would have a much easier time learning if they tried using different guitars.
I'm going to throw out a suggestion for your consideration, since it's a guitar I know and love. It has overwhelmingly positive reviews, as well. Ibanez makes a guitar called Sage that has a solid spruce top, a really thin neck and low action, and an incredibly warm, rich sound. Ibanez instruments are fantastic and the Sage would be a bargain at twice the price. The body is a great size, too, because it's not as gigantic as some acoustics and yet it's big enough to throw a lot of sound. Chances are you'll be playing while sitting, at least while you're learning, and many acoustic guitars are cumbersome because the bodies are beyond huge. If you're sitting and trying to play a huge-bodied, deep guitar, you may have trouble both with strumming and being able to see the frets so you can properly place your fingers.
I'll post a link to the Sage, in case you're interested. But if you're dead set on either the Fender or the Washburn, I'd go with the Fender simply because the neck will probably be thinner than the Washburn neck. Fender necks are a bit chunkier than Ibanez necks, but still a lot thinner than you'll find on some brands (particularly Epiphones, which have incredibly chunky necks).
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/ibanez-sgt120-sage-series-acoustic-guitar
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