Lark in the Morning Weissenborn?

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 26 Dec 2007 9:57 am

Are any of you familiar with Lark in the Morning? They sell a Weissenborn on their website as well as on ebay for $710 which is an attractive price but what is the level of quality? The picture looks nice but I have not been able to find any info on it beyond what they have on the ebay ad:
Link to auction on eBay.
I have attempted to contact them a couple times over the past month but no response.

Thanks, Mark

Vince Luke · Post by **Vince Luke** » 26 Dec 2007 12:17 pm

I emailed them a while back via their website's customer service address & never heard back, either.

Vince

Jim Van Winkle · Post by **Jim Van Winkle** » 26 Dec 2007 12:35 pm

I have no experience with that particular instrument, but I've purchased similar "deals" from LITM, been disappointed with the quality, and then Mickey acted like a jerk to me when I called to discuss. My experience only; I'm sure others have had good dealings, or they wouldn't still be in business after so many years.

Phil Sottile · Post by **Phil Sottile** » 27 Dec 2007 10:45 am

I've got one that's been my main gigging guitar for about 4-5 years. Sounds just okay acoustic, plugged in (w/Sunrise pickup) it's awesome. The original tuners were pretty much worthless, but with a decent set of replacements it works fine. I picked mine from a batch of 3 a friend had bought, & they were all pretty similar in sound. Hope this helps.

phil

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 27 Dec 2007 1:07 pm

Thanks, Phil, any info is a great help with deciding on whether or not I should buy something.

Besides the tuners did you try any other upgrades like nut or saddle replacement? Can you compare it to any other weissenborn copy?

Phil Sottile · Post by **Phil Sottile** » 27 Dec 2007 2:32 pm

If I remember correctly, I think I had a new saddle made & the nut re-cut...I've had a Superior guitar for a while, but didn't like the string spacing (too wide). With that said, it sounded better unplugged than the Lark In the Morning guitar.

Phil Sottile · Post by **Phil Sottile** » 27 Dec 2007 2:34 pm

I've also got a Lazy River baritone Weissenborn-style guitar that is THE BOMB!!!!! If you can go the extra $ for one of his guitars, they are amazing!

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 27 Dec 2007 10:29 pm

You should check out this thread...

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... rk+morning

Lark in the Morning is a most amazing store, and anyone coming to San Francisco should be sure to check it out. They sell mainly ethnic acoustic instruments, but they get all sorts of things in from time to time. The Fender Stringmaster that I've been restoring for Basil Henriques was bought there.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 28 Dec 2007 6:09 am

Phil,
That's basically what I wanted to hear, probably not up to the standard that I'll require. I'm hoping to not spend a ton but I do want good tone so I may have to opt for something in the $1000+ range.

Alan,
Thanks for the info, I had no idea that LITM had an actual store. As it turns out I will be visiting SF in the fall of 08 so I will definitely go there. Not sure if I can wait that long to buy a guitar though but we'll see. It would be nice to try a handful of them in hopes that there might be a gem amongst them.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 28 Dec 2007 7:59 am

I play a Superior weissenbon. As mentioned above, I didn't care for the string spacing so had the nut and bridge redone by a local luthier. I am more than pleased with the instrument.

It sounds good acoustically and better when I plug it in to an amp. I mounted a Baggs pickup inside the guitar under the saddle along with a Sunrise in the sound hole.

I understand that now Superior is selling a weissenborn with a more proper string spacing. Their guitars are in the $1000 range.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 28 Dec 2007 11:45 am

Thanks Erv.
It's interesting that you have two pickups on your weiss, do you use both at once or individually?

Superior is on my list of possibilities. One problem I have is that I have yet to see a weissenborn in any local music stores so I have no way to play or compare.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 28 Dec 2007 12:12 pm

Mark,
I utilize both pickups at the same time. I wired them into a stereo jack on the guitar. I run a stereo cord into a Marshall acoustic amp with an input for a stereo cord. By means of a switch, the two signals can be split into two seperate channels.
The sound can then be balanced and EQed to suit your ears.
I have received a lot of compliments on what people are hearing from this setup.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 29 Dec 2007 11:43 am

Mark Mansueto wrote:...It would be nice to try a handful of them in hopes that there might be a gem amongst them.

Very wise. You can have five different Weissenborns, made at the same time by the same luthier, and they'll all sound different. A lot of the sound is in the individual wood, so it's wise to check out the actual guitar you're going to buy.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 29 Dec 2007 12:31 pm

With a standard guitar it's pretty easy to play-before-purchase but in my case there are just no stores that I know of in my area that sell weissenborn's or lap steels in general. I've run across the occasional Chandler or sq neck dobro but that's about it. If I were to decide on a Lazy River or Celtic Cross I'd have the same problem. It would be nice to go to a show or convention and try all sorts at one time... I WOULD travel for that! And sound clips don't help me, I've learned that the hard way.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 29 Dec 2007 12:49 pm

Mark Mansueto wrote:If I were to decide on a Lazy River or Celtic Cross I'd have the same problem.

Yes....and no. Both builders have a "Satisfaction guaranteed" policy and are willing to walk the extra mile to make the customer happy. They will also do their best to make sure your instrument has the specific sound qualities you're after, both when choosing the wood and when 'finetuning' it through the building process.
So it's really worth it to spend the extra ~$500 on an instrument from one of these builders IMO, the chances of ending up with an instrument you won't like are much smaller compared to buying an 'off the rack' weiss unplayed.

Steinar

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 29 Dec 2007 2:01 pm

That's really good to know, Steiner, I'm glad the custom builders go the extra mile even though their pricing is reasonably low. I just need to make sure that there aren't some lower priced gems out there before I put out what to me is still a lot of money.

I'll have the same dilema deciding on an electric.

Thanks

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 29 Dec 2007 7:25 pm

I never could afford my own real Weissenborn, so I built one myself from the original drawings.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 29 Dec 2007 8:36 pm

Mark Mansueto wrote:With a standard guitar it's pretty easy to play-before-purchase but in my case there are just no stores that I know of in my area that sell weissenborn's or lap steels in general. I've run across the occasional Chandler or sq neck dobro but that's about it. If I were to decide on a Lazy River or Celtic Cross I'd have the same problem. It would be nice to go to a show or convention and try all sorts at one time... I WOULD travel for that! And sound clips don't help me, I've learned that the hard way.

Elderly Instruments in Lansing, Michigan would probably be your closest source for various steel guitars.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 30 Dec 2007 10:33 am

Hey Brad,
Yeah, I thought maybe Elderly might be a place I could go, it's definitely within reasonable driving distance for an afternoon adventure. If I do go I suppose it would be prudent to call first to see what they've got on the floor. Have you ever gone there? I'm wondering what the store is like.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Dec 2007 10:37 am

Lark in the Morning is an interesting store and worth a visit - it's not far from Fisherman's Warf, in SF. I remember that while their ethnic instruments were very cool, the general quality of some of their more mainstream instruments was below par. A Lazy River is a better investment for all the reasons outlined by the folks who posted earlier.

Scott Swartz · Post by **Scott Swartz** » 30 Dec 2007 11:15 am

I got a Lazy River Weiss a few months ago, great sound and craftsmanship, Rance is great to deal with.

I used it on a recording project I just finished, if interested check out Sunday Morning here, the track is mostly pedal steel but the solo is the Lazy River Weiss, starts at 4:02

http://www.myspace.com/calebtravers

I am not much of a Weiss player, but anybody can good on a Lazy River.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 30 Dec 2007 1:07 pm

Scott,
The weiss sounded great, I loved the music... both the Caleb Travers and the Linemen. Great recording job. Your pedal steel playing is outstanding.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 30 Dec 2007 1:07 pm

Alan,
So how did your weiss turn out? Was it worth the effort? I'm pretty handy but I think building a guitar from scratch would be more than I could handle.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 30 Dec 2007 2:07 pm

Mark Mansueto wrote:Hey Brad,
Yeah, I thought maybe Elderly might be a place I could go, it's definitely within reasonable driving distance for an afternoon adventure. If I do go I suppose it would be prudent to call first to see what they've got on the floor. Have you ever gone there? I'm wondering what the store is like.

Unfortunately I've never been to Lansing, Michigan. I do my steel guitar shopping locally at Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, California. If I ever get a chance to go there, I definitely will. Their web site is one of my favorites. Spend a bit of time there before calling to get an idea of what they usually have in stock.

Edward Meisse · Post by **Edward Meisse** » 30 Dec 2007 10:33 pm

As far as Weissenborne style guitars go, the only thing I've ever seen in the Elderly catalogue is Gold Tones. For just a few dollars more you can do alot better.