Kline guitars

Bill Yoder · Post by **Bill Yoder** » 14 Feb 2006 3:56 am

Was wondering if anyone has an opinion on why you see very few kline guitars advertised on the forum?I love mine,very well engineered.good playing beautiful guitars.could that be the reason,or am i a little prejudice.

Ernie Pollock · Post by **Ernie Pollock** » 14 Feb 2006 5:00 am

Well, most people get a Kline and they are smart enough to keep it!! That tells you a little about me, I have had 3 & got talked out of all 3 of them. All kiding aside they are just a great guitar, be smart, hang on to the one you have. You'll be glad you did!!

Ernie Pollock

http://www.hereintown.net/~shobud75/stock.htm

Henry Nagle · Post by **Henry Nagle** » 14 Feb 2006 9:00 am

I wasn't smart enough to keep mine

but I will say that they are by far the best built guitars I've ever seen.

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 14 Feb 2006 9:40 am

There is nothing better. Henry yours is almost to Joe's shop. It is in Orlando and should be there tomorrow. Maybe I will have it in a few weeks.
Here is one of those lousy cell phone photos from last Friday with my original one.

It stays in tune, plays like butter, and sounds great!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 14 Feb 2006 9:44 am

They are the best guitar I have ever played. I foolishly sold mine to Ernie Pollock a few years ago. Really BIG mistake.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 14 Feb 2006 10:08 am

Hey come now Ernie! I didn't talk you out of yours. YOU talked me into buying it!

(Thanks)

I'm keeping mine!

DZ

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 14 Feb 2006 10:35 am

Pretty hard to work on, though.

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 14 Feb 2006 10:39 am

b0b, you just need the right tools and location!

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 14 Feb 2006 10:51 am

Hard to work on like ZBs but once they're set up they hold.

Richard, is it possible that I have your old Kline? Mine is a S-12U green laquer 7 x 6.

Bill Yoder · Post by **Bill Yoder** » 14 Feb 2006 11:12 am

Bobby,they do,t need to be worked on very often,ha,ha,course if you wanna change something it takes a little patience.with your talent and ability,i,m sure you know that.good luck to you always.

Sonny Jenkins · Post by **Sonny Jenkins** » 14 Feb 2006 4:43 pm

KLINES RULE,,!!!!! Like Winnie Winston said,,"second only to Anapeg",if that. Seriously,,I have 2 and need to part with one,,,but can't bring myself to do it,,,,

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 14 Feb 2006 6:17 pm

There are two things I have never owned that by all rights I should own. Anyone care to guess what they are?

Seriously, this is my real name.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 14 Feb 2006 10:15 pm

Dave, that's not my guitar. Mine was D-10 with African Teak mica. I really miss that guitar.

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 14 Feb 2006 11:19 pm

Richard, I saw a Mica D-10 Kline for sale here in Sonoma County a few years back for $800. It was the first one I 'd seen and took a look underneath and said "no way" because I was used to the user friendly ShoBud Super Pro under carraige. Now I'm kicking myself. I would like to have a D-10 Kline.

DZ

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 15 Feb 2006 3:24 am

Dave, there was fellow from coastal Washington named Dave Bertoncinni who had a Green lacquer Kline like yours. I have looked on the forum once, but have not been able to find him.

Sonny Jenkins · Post by **Sonny Jenkins** » 15 Feb 2006 8:11 am

Does anyone remember the story when Jeff Newman and Buddy Emmons were playing together ( Jeff playing a Kline,,,Buddy playing an Emmons)???
I don't remember the exact remarks between them,,,but I remember it spoke VERY well of the Kline,,,!!!

Rick Nicklas · Post by **Rick Nicklas** » 15 Feb 2006 6:59 pm

Jon, I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw your workbench. But it is true. Some type of elixir is definately needed if you are going to make a major change. I have had 3 Klines (a double ten I traded for a Kline Universal). Somebody stole my first Kline Universal out of my car so I got a new one from Tom Bradshaw in the early Eighties. I had to repaint it because it was Jeff Newman's guitar he used on the seminars and it was a bright pinkish color. I still have it and Joe Kline just reconditioned it for me. It feels better now than it ever did. It is the most comfortable guitar I have ever played and I have recently tried a few of the biggies. The Kline is built with soul and you can feel it when you play it. I still can't believe that I just laughed at it the first time I saw one. Then I sat down behind it and felt the magic..... Thank You Joe Kline for this magnificent machine.

------------------
Rick
Kline U-12, Session 500, Goodrich L-10k

[This message was edited by Rick Nicklas on 16 February 2006 at 03:55 AM.]

Catus Jack · Post by **Catus Jack** » 15 Feb 2006 7:19 pm

I know Webb:

A Kline steel guitar and a Webb amp, so what do I get for guessing right.

Jack

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 15 Feb 2006 8:07 pm

It stays in tune, plays like butter, and sounds great!

And it is Keyless!

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 15 Feb 2006 8:14 pm

Pretty hard to work on, though.

It looks like they have round cross shafts. Are they radically different than most other guitars? I have never seen one up close. Why are they hard to work on? ..Close quarters? Hard to reach the crossrods and such?

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 15 Feb 2006 8:55 pm

Rick, its not the bar behind me that helps as much as the diorama with the stuffed quail to the left. Not having to shot them keeps my hands steadier when I work. It is reassuring so I focus on the guitar and poof. The Kelley clamp helps too. Hemostats are just to hold numbers, but a Kelley will line up a pull rod.
Joe just received the one I bought from Henry and hopefully in a few weeks it will be out of his shop and out on a gig. You are right about the soul in a Kline....New Slogan:
Don't just stare at it, sit down and play it, your hands, feet and ears will thank you.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 16 Feb 2006 12:39 am

All Klines I have seen all have hex crossrods. If you have ever seen the undercarriage of a ZB, then you have an idea of the undercarriage of a Kline. There are no pedal/lever stops and the stop is accomplished by a socket head tuning collar on the right end making contact with the guitar endplate (same as ZB). The crossrods are at the bottom of the undercarriage, whereas the crossrods on say, a Sho~Bud, Carter or most all pull guitars are mounted against the body in the undercarriage. The rods are hooked to little pivoting triangle shaped thingies that make the rods start pulling and finish pulling at the same time. Hopefully someone can post some good pics of the undercarriage for you to see. It's hard to visualize without seeing a pic.

I really didn't find that Kline that hard to work on. The biggest problem was that there was not much room between the crossrods to get your into the undercarriage parts. The rods mounted to the triangle pieces (let's call them bell cranks for the sake of simplicity) though a bushing type piece with a set screw to secure them, making rod adjustments easier that say the ZB where the rod was a 2 piece thing with a turnbuckle hooking the 2 together to make one rod. You adjusted the length of the ZB rod by turning this turnbuckle.

It's hard to explain, but I hope I gave you some idea of how the Kline works.

Bill Yoder · Post by **Bill Yoder** » 16 Feb 2006 1:01 am

Curt,put kline steel guitars in your search,scroll down to juian winston-KLine guitars,you will see the undercarriage.pretty good pics.hope this helps.

Bill Yoder · Post by **Bill Yoder** » 16 Feb 2006 1:10 am

oops,should have been Julian winston.sorry,big fingers.

Sonny Jenkins · Post by **Sonny Jenkins** » 16 Feb 2006 8:42 am

My only concern is,,,when Joe no longer works on them,,is there anyone else that is competent to work on them????