Kona Weissenborn case and pin help

Jay Greenberg · From: Illinois, USA

I just received my 1920's Kona Guitar from Norman's Guitar in Tarzana. I need help with two problems he did not disclose and a bit of advise.
First, there's no end pin, just a hole where it goes. Can anyone tell me where I can get a decent replacement? There are Martin pin sets available, will they work? Second, the case, while a beautiful hand tooled treasure, opens from the bottom and the guitar slides in. It's very narrow and the case rubs against the bridge. The though of using it gives me the shakes. Can anyone advise on a good case that will fit? Will the Gold-Tone Weisenborn case do it? Is it any good for protecting my guitar?
Third, Norman said it was strung for Open D. He shipped it slack. Tightening it up to that tuning makes the strings pretty taunt. Tuned up it sounds great, but how do I judge if it's ok? I don't want to wake up finding the bridge inside the soundhole because it was wound to tight.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jay

George Noe · From: Washington, USA

Tony Francis (tony@tonyfrancisinstruments.com) has available retro bridge and end pins specially crafted for Weissenborns/Konas. He has them on eBay from time to time, but you can just contact him and get a set.

The Kona is somewhat narrower and deeper than a Weissie, but it will fit in a Goldtone hardshell case. You will have to use a towel or something to support the neck because it will be raised up. Having said that, the case you have is probably okay, and what rubs against the case is the bridge pins. I have used both canvas and leather end-opening cases for years with no problems.

Get yourself either some Asher Weissenborn strings or some Newtone Aloha Weissenborn strings. I prefer the Newtone Alohas because as I mentioned in an earlier post they have thinner cores on the wound strings, which reduces the tension on the top.

While these old guitars were designed to allow low-bass A tuning, the hide glue dries out and becomes brittle after 80 or 90 years. My experience is that a brace may pop loose if you tune too high, but no real damage is done. Use of the proper strings and tuning a step or two below A (or E) ensures a long time of enjoyment. Since Norm sold you that guitar, I suspect it is structurally sound and you won't have problems.

Ben Elder · From: La Crescenta, California, USA

A Kona is approximately the same size as a 12-fret (pre-1929ish) Martin 0- model--other than that boat-prow neck joint extension. Depending on where the accessory compartment is located in a given case, a concert/grand concert/classical should work. (Interestingly, old hsc's for the pre-1926 Gibson archtop L-1,L-2,L-3's are a very close fit.) Cedar Creek/TKL/whatever division of same has made Kona cases in the past and may have dimensions/patterns. (In truth they just used a 000/classical shell and thickened the interior padding to fit. "Weissenborn Weissenborns" are a very different size (2" wider lower bout; 1" thinner) so a GoldTone case won't work. Probably the easiest and cheapest: an import or used concert/classical hsc--you add interior padding to fit. Replace/relocate accessory pocket if necessary.

DADF#AD (D-tuning low to high) with even a medium set (056-013) shouldn't be that horribly taut. Every string except the fifth and fourth is lower than standard tuning. But to be safe, drop back to light (054/053-012) and adjust from there.
_________________
"Gopher, Everett?"

Jay Greenberg · From: Illinois, USA

Thank you both for the additional information. I spoke to Mark at Normans this afternoon and he said there's a set of 12-54 on there now. I guess I'm ok there and was overly concerned, or took the term slack key too literally. This being my first and only acoustic, I'd rather appear foolish than make a gross error.
As suggested, I've sent an e-mail to Tony Francis regarding the end pin. I've also spoken to Dennis at Cedar Creek regarding a case. He said he'll check his archives for measurements which I'll verify against my guitar, and then they will make the case. Of course I'll carefully store the original, but I'd rather preserve it than use it. I do wonder though if it'd be ok to spruce it up a bit with a good preservative or black shoe polish. If that's a bad idea, please let me know.
FYI, I spent the past two hours playing it, if you can call a rank beginers simple songs and finger exercises playing. It takes a much lighter touch that I expected, and it has a very nice, sweet tone. This Kona sounds very different from the recordings of hollow necks I've listened to. It's lighter, and sounds almost as if it were happier, at least to me.

Thanks again!
Jay

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