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Topic: Kona Weissenborn Strings and Tuning |
Jay Greenberg
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 7:08 am |
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Can anyone advise me on the subject of strings and tunings for a 1920's Kona Weissenborn acoustic Guitar scheduled to arrive on Wednesday from Norman's in Tarzana CA. I'm a complete newbie to guitar having played sax for 25 years,and my learning set up is a 1939 Rickenbacher B6 matched with a gibson EH-150 amp Which I play an hour or two a day. I've got it tuned to E7 according to the Mel Bay book I'm using. I'm hooked! I chose it since one goal is pedal steel so it's a good intro to E9. Still, there are times I want mobility or to play outside, and I loved the tone of the old Kona's. So, I don't think an 80 year old guitar can take the tenson of E7's low B and I wonder, what's best for tuning and what strings will be best for my guitar? Tuning to open E, drop down a step to open D, or am I just going to drive myself nuts biting off too much at once? any advice would be appreciated.
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 2:40 pm
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I'm not as daring (or as supernaturally talented) as Bob Brozman who strings his Hawaiians with scary gauges. That said, he primarily uses modern reproductions by Bear Creek which maybe able to withstand more tension the old ones. (And yours is particularly old, going by the label and fretboard inlay pattern. This means you have a smaller bridgeplate than on later instruments. Weissenborn apparently learned a few things as he went over the years.)
First thing to know: these are NOT bakelite laps, nor are they even resonator guitars with metal cones and infrastructures. So you don't need to drive the mechanical parts with heavy-gauge strings and a sumo right-hand attack.
There is a terrific haunting dark sweetness that comes from a slightly slack string. For me, the answer is somewhere between light- (.054-.012) and medium-gauge (.056-.013) sets as long as the tuning is as low as the two tunings below. You can get some enhancement with a kind of hybrid gauging by going a little heavier on the 6th and also the 1st and 2nd..all depending on your taste.
I use either a low G DGDGBD or D DADF#AD tuning.
Although there are many reproductions of Weissenborns and (to a lesser extent) Konas, there are precious few anywhere as special as the originals. Please don't destroy an original.
_________________
"Gopher, Everett?" |
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Jay Greenberg
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 3:18 pm
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| Thank you for the reply. Your picking out details on the label and fret board leads me to believe you have some specific knowledge on these guitars. I appreciate your reply. I am trying my best to take care as it's new custodian. Having this eighty something year old guitar makes me realize that it is older than I, and with care will outlast me. I want to both preserve and enjoy it. That's why I asked those out there with the years of experience I don't have. My sax is a 1955 Mark VI, so I have a healthy respect for vintage instruments. Still, I realize that unlike my sax, this is delicate wood and requires a different level of care. I've read horror stories about what can happen with the wrong gauge, too much tension, or even too strong an attack. as to the tuning, I was fairly sure that open D was probably best. In leaving it slightly slack, am I better off with the lighter or medium strings? Since Asher hawaiians are 58-14 I'm guessing they are a bit too heavy for this? I've read people touting D'addario strings. They have light sets in phosphor bronze at 53-12 and medium top/heavy bottom at 54-12. Your observation on a haunting, dark sweetness is the reason I searched for this particular guitar. What do you suggest as a good set, if I stick with open D, DADF#AD tuning? |
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Wyn Walke
From:
VA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 4:52 pm
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Ben is THE man for all things Weissenborn. I keep his definitive January 1996 article in Acoustic Guitar magazine in a protective plastic cover used for vintage comic books. Whatever he says, count on it being spot on.
I remain hopeful to one day see all of Ben's Weissie knowledge in book form..... What say, Ben? |
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George Noe
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 4:58 pm Kona Weissenborn Strings and Tunings
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I have a Kona that is exactly like yours with the double diamonds at the twelfth fret. I use Newtone "Aloha" strings, which are gauged .015 to .056, and I use both D (DADF#AD) and G (GBDGBD) tunings. The Newtone strings have smaller cores which don't put as much tension on the top as other strings. I particularly like the .015 first string because the bar won't bottom out on the frets like it would with an .013.
Tom Noe
Everett WA |
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Chris Drew
From:
Bristol, UK
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