How Would You Rate Weissenborn Style Guitar Brands?

Dennis Burling · From: Ohio, USA

I thought this would be the place to ask. Like other guitars, there's such a wide margin in pricing on Weissenborn style guitars. So what's the Best? What's the worst? What's a good middle of the road Weissenborn? For the sake of this discussion, forget about cosmetics and go with playability, Tone and volume.

So, What order would you list the Weissenborns out there?

Thanks, Denny

Terry VunCannon · From: Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

I love my Lazy River......by Rance White in North Carolina...hand built & SWEET!!!!

Dennis Burling · From: Ohio, USA

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Bear Creek. First one Bill made with wood binding (rosewood) at my request.

Ben Elder · From: La Crescenta, California, USA

Sleeper if you find one (before me): American Guitar Co., a short-lived, seat-of-the-pants venture by OMI insiders and me following Gibson's sagacious shuttering of the Huntington Beach factory.

My cohorts were working on Kona and Weissenborn-style instruments (with me whispering in their ears) and didn't let a minor obstacle like a facility-obliteration stop an idealistic quest. No production workers from HB made the move to Nashville so we paid some of the guys by the piece to do building, finishing, setup etc.--they'd already been doing OMI/Dobro prototypes. By the time we gave up completely, there were maybe a hundred instruments built and more than a few were a take on early '30s Gibson L-0/L-1 standard acoustics. (Distinctive about these is the Weissenborn batwing bridge as we used on the K's and W's. Dolly Parton has been seen in photos with one of these...not a stretch, as one of her talented musical cousins was a partner in our venture.)

So, subtract the standard flattops and that leaves maybe 60, 70, 80 Hawaiians (mostly mahogany or spruce/mahogany, a few koa) all told. Many were assembled but never finished and some of those found their way onto eBay ("Weissenborn project") after we'd abandoned any realistic interest of success and riches. There was a brief affiliation with Crafters of Tennessee and similarly, you may find earlier OMI prototypes, identifiable by the Dobro decal on the back of the headstock. OMI Kona prototypes and the earliest AGC Konas have square necks. AGC guitars may or not be branded (imitation Weissenborn shield in ink) or dated (many ink-stamped digits encompassing date, model # designation, guitar #...not necessarily in that order.)

Although not produced under ideal conditions and with state-of-the-art facilities, I'm very proud of how these instruments sound and I jealously guard my two Konas (AGC mahogany and Crafters' koa) and Weissenborn. Between this fleeting personal involvement in the Don Quixote School of Hawaiian Luthierie and a menagerie of Hermann's own roaring-twenties originals, I'm not the authority on reissues beyond What Andy V. Said (Bear Creek); Bill Asher; and Larry Pogreba's baritone (Larry-tone?) Weissenborns. And oh yes--Michael Dunn, every instrument a rapturous fusion of art and music.
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"Gopher, Everett?"

Dennis Burling · From: Ohio, USA

I stumbled on this website while searching "Lap Steel".
The Daniel Brauchli Acoustic Lap Steel guitars are very unique. The site is full of good information. His Lap Steel Guitar Sound Clips are excellent. Check it out at: http://www.danielbrauchli.com/audio.htm

has anyone had experience with the Brauchli Acoustic Lap Steel Guitars?

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

I wouldn't call myself any kind of authority on Weissenborns - maybe a little more informed but really, just a musician with opinions like everyone else. Of the best modern Weissenborn reissues out there: Brauchli, Pogreba, Yanuziello, Bear Creek, Asher, Burgin and Dunn, my feeling is all are about equal on any given day depending on the specific guitar, the room, and the relative humidity of the given day. Some guitars lean to the louder acoustic guitar side of the continuum while others really have that hollow-neck shimmer.

I'm very happy with my Bear Creek (though I wish I'd sprung for the gloss finish) but I played an Australian blackwood model by Paddy Burgin that was different but every bit its equal. Ed Gerhard worked closely with Breedlove on their new model; haven't heard one yet but it will be pretty good, I'd bet. Bill Asher's teardrop is an amazing instrument for both workmanship and tone. His Style -4 is amazing-looking but haven't played one. The one Dunn lap guitar I played didn't live up to my expectations but I've since heard from lots of folks I respect that his guitars are astounding so maybe I just had a bad day or a bad room. Pogreba's hubcap guitars are very cool so I imagine his Weissenborn is pretty good - Lindley plays one so that says a lot. The Halua carbon fiber Weissenborns look really interesting (and sound good in clips) but I'm not sure they ever went into production and I've never seen or played one. The best-sounding Weissenborn I've ever played was an original style one. It had overtones that added a gorgeous shimmer to chords and single notes but the overall volume was much less than a modern Weissie.

The great thing is their are so many choices out there at several price points. Lots of forumites rave about Lazy River's guitars and a Gold Tone isn't a terrible buy for the money. It all depends on what you like to hear, what aesthetics you dig and what you can afford. Playing a guitar that sounds great is definitely inspiring so play as many as you can to see what your own preferences are.

http://www.bcguitar.com

http://www.michaeldunnguitars.com

http://www.burginguitars.co.nz

http://www.asherguitars.com/acoustic_hawaiian.php

http://www.danielbrauchli.com

http://www.yanuziello.com/hawaiians/indexHaw.html

http://jayalandesign.com/LP/LPhome.html

http://www.lazyriverguitars.com/pages/weisspage.html

http://www.goldtone.com/products/w/c/44/Weissenborns%AE

Steve Hamill · From: California, USA

I own a Paddy Burgin creation thats a site to behold. The fit, finish, and tone is superb. I installed a K&K Pure Western mini in it, and the amplified tone is very deep and inspiring.
I have a 27" scale on order from Daniel Brauchli in blackwood, which should be ready in a month or two. Daniel has some great clips on his site and Youtube. Also, the exchange rate between here and Tasmania is quite favorable right now.

John Subik · From: Sun City, California, USA

Another vote for Rance White and Lazy River - walnut w/spruce top. 8 months old and just starting to sing.

Best bang for the buck out there, IMO.

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

Nobody has mentioned the Superior yet. So I will. The tone is exquisite, the volume is good for a Weisse. But the cosmetics are uninspiring. Nothing fancy to look at here.
I would contradict the person who said that the Gold Tone was a good buy for the money. Unless you want a student guitar for a beginner, I would NOT purchase a Gold Tone. The tone is anything but Golden. And the cosmetics are downright chintzy. It is absolutely not in a class with any of the guitars mentioned above that I have actually heard.
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Amor vincit omnia

Dennis Burling · From: Ohio, USA

Steve Branscom · From: Pacific NW

Don't forget Rayco and Celtic Cross
www.rayco.ca
www.celticcrossinstruments.com
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Steve

James Williamson · From: California & Hawaii

Tony Francis from New Zealand builds an exact replica of the H.Weissenborn using the old style Hawaiian "by hand" techniques 2 at a time.

He's also a great guy!!!

http://www.tonyfrancisinstruments.com/

Fred Kinbom · From: Berlin, Germany, via Stockholm, Sweden.

I have a Lazy River spruce/walnut 25" scale and a Burgin sapele 27.4" scale baritone. I love both guitars - they both fit me musically very well.

The Lazy River sounds really sweet and warm and I really enjoy its tonal spectrum. I have written a bunch of songs in G minor tuning on my Lazy River and I think the sound of the instrument definitely has pointed me in the direction of many musical discoveries, writing and playing-wise.

The Burgin is something else than any other instrument I've played - Paddy builds a very deep Weissenborn with a slightly arched top and back, and there is something amazing about the overtones, volume and growl of this guitar! David Lindley tours with two Burgins (mine is a baritone version of his Burgins) and he said something somewhere about Paddy somehow making his Weissenborns sound a bit like a Dobro - it is true; there is this wonderful throaty growl if you dig in a bit. And this guitar has better definition and separation on the lower strings high up on the neck than other instruments I've played.

Like I said, I love both. Smile

Here they are together, before a gig in Paris last month:

The Lazy River:

The Burgin baritone:

I have tried one original Style 1, and it sounded great, and some other modern reproductions, none of which really caught my fancy.

Fred
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www.fredrikkinbom.com - New lap steel album out now - listen here: fredrikkinbom.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-lap-steel-and-harmonium

Kirk Francis · From: Laupahoehoe

i have a bear creek weissenborn; a bear creek "rocket" kona (23" scale); and a bonanzinga baritone 7-string with a 27" scale. these three axes are sublime in every way from my perspective -- sonically, cosmetically, and structurally. caveat: i play what has come to be called "traditional hawaiian" pretty much exclusively, for what it's worth...

i also have a couple of superiors, which i use when i travel on my business. "los superiores" sound mighty good for the $, but i still had to spend a few more $ on bridge and saddle work to convert them to the traditional string spacing to which i have become accustomed -- stock, they arrived with grotesquely generous spacing b/t the strings at both ends, which provided diminishing returns as practice instruments. i would consider the superior brand to be a good "beater" or "starter" axe, but only after having been thus modified.

i wonder how many of the folks purchasing the still cheaper weiss knock-offs play them with pickups... this might be a big factor in passing judgement.

aloha.

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

Chuck Fisher · From: Santa Cruz, California, USA * R.I.P.

well, you gotta look at the Benoit CajunBorn.Carroll Benoit is the best reso guy alive in my book, and reports on his new Weiss are VERY favorable. This is a premium guitar, as most of these are. The original Weis has strength problems and the spindly bracing sounds great with the very old and dry koa in a 1930s guitar. All these guitars will age well being solid wood, so can you imagine any of thesse in 75 yrs?!??!

another guitar not mentioned yet is the Mexican handmades sold by Berkely Music branded "Suprior".
These are under a grand, and made of various woods with different levels od fancy inlay. Generally the assembly is sloppy but the materials are good and the wood tops are thin. I had a select spruce top on one and it was VERY good-sounding.

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Of course, there's always an original ...

http://www.bernunzio.com/item.php?sku=0811822

John Bushouse · Posted 26 Dec 2008 10:28 am

Mark Eaton · Posted 26 Dec 2008 10:42 am

I need to give Superior another chance. I went to the shop out here in Berkeley (about 70 miles south of me) a few years ago where they have a lot of the Superiors and I was not impressed.

A year ago last August was the every-other-year Healdsburg Guitar Festival, just a few miles down the road from me.

Ed Gerhard was playing his prototype Breedlove during some of the tunes during his concert segment, and it sounded wonderful.

Apparently they're in production now, but unfortunately they start at about $3100. Shocked

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Mark

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

Point taken, John. I wish I had ben more aware of Knutsen when I wrote my book.

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

The absolute best sounding Weissenborn I have ever heard was a Howlett (built in Wales) which I owned before it was stolen a couple of years ago.

I also have a Mermer baritone Weissenborn, which is stunning looking and great sounding.

John Bushouse · Posted 26 Dec 2008 3:04 pm

Loren Claypool · From: Mequon, WI

Steve Hamill · From: California, USA

Loren,
Daniel is going to do some experimenting and sound slips prior to shipping. He won't ship or accept payment until he sends pictures and soundclips of the instrument. Pretty honorable guy me thinks. I would think something in the 66 to 70 range for the low string. Tuning down to somewhere between A and C. I play mostly in DADF#AD , so it will just be the same intervals to start with.
On my own, I will try these first:
http://www.juststrings.com/dad-exp23.html
Heres a progress pic I rec'd last night:

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