Weissenborn copies. Which one on a budget??

klinke · From: denmark

Hello,
Ive benn wondering about getting a weissenborn type guitar for quite a while npw. Now I have finally gotten a job after school and can propably take a loan in my bank. I found this webpage; http://www.musikalia.it/en/english.htm , and they have some beautiful handbuilt reasonibly priced copies. Since I am a highschool student I dont have a terrible lot of money, so the style 1 in all mahogany
looks good to me..

My question is, though, whats the difference between the Style 4 and the Style 1, since its so much cheaper??BTW, the prices are in Euro´s but theyre about the same as dollars at the time..

Or are there other cheaper wellmade Weissenborn copies outthere??

Any help is appreciated since I practically dont know a thing about these fine instruments other than that Im in love with the sound and the looks..

Thank you
David..

Steve Schaefer · From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Hey David, I just looked over the site. It's hard to tell from the small photos the quality of the guitars. I am not sure I would spend $1000 or $1500 on a instrument that I have not played. I probably play 50 Martians before I found the guitar was right for me. They all seem to play and sounded a little different. Hopefully someone on the forum can vouch for the quality of the guitar.

Good luck with the search.

Steve

Mike D · From: Phx, Az

Klinke, the difference between Style 1s and 4s is usually cosmetic. Fancier wood, more inlay etc. Superior is a good, lower priced guitar, also check out Manzanita in Germany.

Russ Young · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Klinke:

When I was looking around for an affordable Weissenborn copy, a couple of people suggested that I NOT buy a Musikalia guitar -- as I recall, they felt the quality was poor.

I own a Superior, and have been quite happy with it. Last time I checked, there was one in the Buy and Sell section, and another on eBay. http://www.berkeleymusic.com/

And although I haven't seen or played one, I've only heard and read good things about Manzanita guitars: http://www.manzanita.de/home.htm

Good luck --

Dwight Mark · From: Denver, Colorado, USA

If you do a search, there have been several discussions on the Superiors. And sorry if everyone is looking to bid on this, but there is one on ebay right now at an incredible price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=927014140

Everyone's personal reviews seems to be unanimous, they're a great deal. I have a Cedar top plain looking one with a repaired crack on the top and the thing sounds really good. The string spacing is wider than on the real weissenborn, but it is a mellow, warm, deep sounding instrument.
Neil Russell also makes a good instrument at a good price - under $1000 U.S. dollars. http://hem.passagen.se/cittern/celtic/
He was on a 6 month waiting list when I talked to him last.
I've tried a bunch of pickups on Weissenborns including the popular sunrise and find for solo, the pickup-the-world sounds best and with a band I stereo with a cheap dimarzio magnetic pickup, only because it pops in and out in seconds.
On my Superior, I have a duncan magmic, which also works well.

Dwight

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

David,

To answer your original question, the Style 4 guitar is more ornate, uses different wood for the top, and has more ornate purfling and binding than the Style 1.
I've never played a Musikalia instrument, so I can't say how well constructed they are, but the Manzanita is a great instrument (and probably well out of your price range).

The Superior Weissenborn style guitar is probably the best value, but it's also the one with which I have the most experience, since they're located right up the street from where I work.
If I were in the market for one, I'd get the one on eBay.

------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

klinke · From: denmark

Thanks guys,
Ill keep looking but for now the Superior seems the (obviously) superior choise..

Ill get back to you on how it goes..

Russ Young · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

David:

I tried to send you an e-mail but it came back "User unknown." Have you changed your address?

Ian McLatchie · From: Sechelt, British Columbia

Klinke: Having sent instruments to Europe and knowing the import duties that are attached, I suspect you'll find that the Superior and other North American brands turn out to be way out of your price range. I've also heard that the Musikala is a fairly low quality instrument, but I know there are a number of other European builders who are making high-quality Wesiienborn copies. For one, there is a Swedish builder whose name I can't recall, but if you email me I'll put you in touch with a friend who owns one of his guitars. You might also want to check the London Resonator Centre.
They stock many different brands, and can certainly give you some suggestions. Happy hunting!

edited by Brad Bechtel to fix the URL

[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 06 December 2002 at 02:35 PM.]

Russ Young · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Ian's mention of someone in Sweden jogged my memory a bit -- the guitar builder's name is Fredrik Aaberg. (Somebody on the Forum -- Cliff Scholle? -- has owned one.)

His e-mail address and a little more about Musikalia can be found at: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/002331.html

[This message was edited by Russ Young on 06 December 2002 at 03:06 PM.]

klinke · From: denmark

My email seems to be down at the time (which is a bummer coz I just ordered a Scheerhorn steel bar and and a nutraiser from elderly, and I cant see if its in stock or not.)
But this address should work; klinke_jorgensen@hotmail.com

Thanks for the replys guys, but keep´em coming

david

Max Laine · From: Pori, Finland

Klinke, here's a Weissenborn Fredrik Åberg built for me. Koa wood, exact copy of a style 2 Weissenborn, and I have to say Fredrik's workmanship is flawless... Probably costs more than those Musikalia guitars, but I believe you'll get much more guitar for your money! I love mine! Contact Fredrik for availability, he mentioned he is quite busy with other things. http://koti.mbnet.fi/maxvaari/aberg1.jpg

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