Weissenborn (thicker, woodier tone & affordable)

richie0801 · #1 09-20-2016, 07:03 PM

Hello! I hope all you pros are having a great day.

I'm looking for a weissenborn that is affordable, but has a good thick sound that is woody and resonant. Nothing too thin. I love the sound of Xavier Rudd's on

I also love Ben Harper's tone of course. Are there any weissenborns that are under a grand that have a thick tone like those?

Thanks!

theo · #2 09-21-2016, 07:19 AM

I suggest you call Rance at Lazy River Guitars.

He seems to always have something in the oven....

http://www.lazyriverguitars.com/

blue · #3 09-21-2016, 07:54 AM

If you can afford around a grand Superior out of Berkeley MIX is very good for the cash http://www.berkeleymusic.com/Hawaiian08_03.html. Lazy river is very consistent in tone and quality and is a great value, especially used. And since they are considered a great, if not the bes starter instrument, they are pretty easy to find used.

richie0801 · #4 09-21-2016, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue

If you can afford around a grand Superior out of Berkeley MIX is very good for the cash http://www.berkeleymusic.com/Hawaiian08_03.html. Lazy river is very consistent in tone and quality and is a great value, especially used. And since they are considered a great, if not the bes starter instrument, they are pretty easy to find used.

Wow, killer sound! I love the tone. Is that you playing? Whew! Which model is that, and what kind of wood?

blue · #5 09-21-2016, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richie0801

Wow, killer sound! I love the tone. Is that you playing? Whew! Which model is that, and what kind of wood?

Oh no. That isn't me

You could contact superior and ask about the wood. I'm betting Honduran Cedar.

mstuartev · #6 09-21-2016, 01:09 PM

I've played a few. Lazy Rivers are sweeeet. But they are a bit more mid-range in my book - altho I have not played a LR baritone. Celtic Cross are nice too - but on the 'not so deep' body style type. Responsive, but not rumbly.

My Pogreba bari is a beast. I'm guessing Iseman bari would be a beast too - but you will also pay $2-3k for one.

A laminated 'off shore' Weiss (Goldtone, et al) will sound like a laminated off shore Weiss.

richie0801 · #7 09-23-2016, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mstuartev

I've played a few. Lazy Rivers are sweeeet. But they are a bit more mid-range in my book - altho I have not played a LR baritone. Celtic Cross are nice too - but on the 'not so deep' body style type. Responsive, but not rumbly.

My Pogreba bari is a beast. I'm guessing Iseman bari would be a beast too - but you will also pay $2-3k for one.

A laminated 'off shore' Weiss (Goldtone, et al) will sound like a laminated off shore Weiss.

Thanks for the thoughts, so any that would be very affordable while having that tone?

mstuartev · #8 09-23-2016, 04:16 PM

A good player can make even a mediocre instrument sound great. A great instrument cannot make a mediocre player sound better. If you are interested in a Weiss, and have little to spend, pick up an off shore bargain and give it a go. I'm sure it will sound fine. If it floats your boat, spring for a better small shop build.

theo · #9 09-24-2016, 07:54 PM

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=303754

mstuartev · #10 09-25-2016, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theo

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=303754

Good example
I've seen Goldtone (made in Asia) weissenborns for $750 on Reverb. For a couple hunnert more you get a hand built instrument from a one man shop.
Lazy River was my first and it was a great entry point.

Pgambon · #11 11-15-2016, 08:40 AM

I wanted a cheap Weissenborn to explore my inner Lindley. I found a "Vintage" WB on eBay for $400. It's solid mahagony and ,I'd bet, made in the same factory as Goldtone. For me it's good enough. It's tone is probably more string than wood but for the price it works fine. I'm still in search of Mr. Dave...

tdq · #12 11-15-2016, 05:17 PM

I'm hardly a Weiss expert, but FWIW, I tried a few low-end-ish weissenborns when I was on the lookout. The Goldtone LM (laminated) wasn't so good but the SM (solid) wasn't bad at all. I ended up finding a nice second-hand Italian made Walnut/Spruce one on Reverb for a good price so I went with that one in the end. Got real close to a Lazy River but couldn't quite get the funds together at the time.

jpbat · #13 11-16-2016, 03:06 PM

I had an itch for weissenborn last year, didn't know wit about them, so choose the Twisted Wood company because they are in Canada.
Much easier to buy and deal in case of trouble.
They are obviously asian made instruments, the QC is made in Alberta. I'm not afraid of those outsourced guitars. Communication has been quite good, they didn't have the model I wanted, gave my money back and called when they received the right instrument a few months later (I was looking for one of their model which doesn't come with rope binding, but I wanted rope binding, they had trouble with rope binding at the time, long story short, they even offered me a discount for my patience. Nice commercial experience overall)

I choose an all mahogany model, solid top, laminated back & sides, with a deep body, in fear of lacking bass.
Since I use a magnetic PU on it (like on any of my guitars), lack of bass is not really a problem, but my reasoning was I'd better compensate for that probable drawback on a non-expensive instrument. After I cut my teeth on my first weissenborn, and if I like it, it will be time to upgrade accordingly.

Although I've no other comparison points than recordings on the web, I'm pretty happy with the instrument : well made, nice finition, right price, no real complaints, and has the tone I imagined I could pull out of a weissenborn.
So, I'm happy (I am learning to tame the beast, tho...)

So, if you're in Canada, in search of your first weissenborn, Twisted Wood may be to consider. They have a nice choice of models, too.

darylcrisp · #14 11-16-2016, 06:55 PM

I've owned an all mahogany lazy river for a couple years-great instrument, very very nice build quality, thick tone, I had it built, so brand new I can't remember exact but I think it was $1500 or so.

Just picked up an all koa breedlove-thread is in this subforum-jason bowerman build, excellent build of course, nice koa, has a different tone than the all mahogany.

both sustain excellent, the koa has a more lush tone, the mahogany a thick rich darker tone, none of this probably helped you.

d

Rob Anderlik · #15 11-17-2016, 05:35 PM

I'd caution you to temper your expectations a little bit. In the $1000 and under category most of your choices are what I would call starter instruments. They are or can be a great value in that price range but if you stick with it long enough you will eventually want a professional quality instrument that sounds (and especially) plays better. To me one of the defining characteristics of a great Weissenborn is the resonance/sustain of the instrument and it's playability and resposniveness. Really well made Weissenborn's - vintage or contemporary - have amazing sustain and resonance. I've played many vintage Weissenborn's that I didn't care for - at all - and several that were nothing short of magical. Same with contemporary builders. In the less than $1000 category the instruments that I've played don't have the sparkle/resonance/sustain and playability that I look for in a prototypical great Weissenborn guitar. I can get them to sound ok, especially if I'm playing plugged in, but I don't especially like playing them. All of this, of course, is highly subjective and just my opinion. In any event, I hope this is helpful.