The Steel Guitar Forum

Alan,

Thanks for the tip. I doubt I'll energize myself to make it prettier, as it won't do anything for the sound. I, too, bought one of these last Friday and should get it next week. I'm glad to hear it's got good volume (the rest is in the hands!). Maybe I'll put in new tuners. I mainly bought it to play for my first graders. Something cheap and that I'm not scared of being broken or stolen. Viva la China.

Update:

Vicki who is selling these guitars called me tonight. She was concerned because I mentioned when I pick up my guitar that some of our members thought the shipping costs where inflated. She shipped a bunch of guitars today and has assured me that the shipping calculator is correct but does not include the fuel sercharge that UPS is charging her. The local shipments are pretty close. She shipped a guitar to Ohio today and the amount collected from the shiping calculator did not cover the total cost of UPS.

Just thought I'd pass this along.

RH

With gas at less than $2 a gallon you would think the surcharge would be just about over with.

My plywood Wishenborn arrived today and I pulled it out and tuned it up to my favorite Weiss tuning (open D). It sounds great, right out of the box. I'm thinking I don't really need to change anything just yet. Just play the thing. It isn't quite as lively as an original, but it's close and I can force it a bit (i.e. play it a bit harder). With a pickup, it could be a serious giging guitar. Anyone know if the Gold Tone hardshell case would fit this?

One other thing I should mention. You can see it in the photos. The bridge is cut for a Spanish guitar. Too bad no one told the builders in China that a steel guitar typically has a straight bridge. This makes it a bit more of a chore to play in tune up the neck, but I don't play up there that much on a Weissenborn, so maybe it's ok.

Tom Wolverton wrote:One other thing I should mention. You can see it in the photos. The bridge is cut for a Spanish guitar. Too bad no one told the builders in China that a steel guitar typically has a straight bridge. This makes it a bit more of a chore to play in tune up the neck, but I don't play up there that much on a Weissenborn, so maybe it's ok.

Hadn't ever thought about that on mine, but I guess you're right. Thing is, why should a steel be different than any other guitar in terms of a compensated (i.e. angled) bridge saddle? Whether it's fretted or not, the lighter the string guage the flatter it's going to play up the neck. Shouldn't you therefore WANT that compensation, even on steel? Or am I totally missing something here?

Doug Freeman wrote:Thing is, why should a steel be different than any other guitar in terms of a compensated (i.e. angled) bridge saddle? Whether it's fretted or not, the lighter the string guage the flatter it's going to play up the neck. Shouldn't you therefore WANT that compensation, even on steel? Or am I totally missing something here?

Aaah! Not this old chestnut again!
This was discussed in depth in a previous thread.
Saddle compensation adjusts the bass strings longer than the scale-length to compensate for the strings being pulled sharp when the string is fretted.
Not required on a steel guitar.
Intonation is in the hand & not determined by fret position!
If you're used to a straight saddle it may be a minor issue but nothing you can't adjust to.

My $99 special came yesterday. It's just like my "solid top" $223 Vineyard, except:

Vineyard has misplaced bridge, yellow toner overspray finish (so the rosette rings look older), single fret markers at 5,7,9,12, and 17, and of course the Vineyard label.

No name 99 has accurately placed bridge, strikingly white rosette rings, markers at 3,5,7,9, (double)12, and 15, and no label. The gig bag is also noticeably cheaper than the one included with my Vineyard.

My Vineyard was supposedly a solid Mahogany top, but it looks EXACTLY like the No Name (advertised as ply), so I'm inclined to believe both are ply. It's hard to tell exactly because they've rounded over the edge of the soundhole.

The No Name sounds a lot better to me than the Vineyard; maybe it's just because it has fresher strings. I was planning on doing some major mods to the Vineyard anyway, so this new arrival can act as a "spare" while I do the work...

Thanks for the heads up on this item everyone!

I noticed on my guitar the other day the fret markers are stick on lables. One began to peel a bit on the third fret.

Wow. Now I need to check mine...

I suppose the bridge/fret placement problem has a simple solution now - just sand everything off the board and re-mark it!

Mine arrived yesterday. I haven't had much chance to play it yet, but I tuned it to C6. It sounds almost exactly the same as the Weissenborn-style guitar I built from scratch about three years ago, which makes me wonder why I took the time to build one !

Alan,

is your homemade guitar all solid woods, or solid top? Surely the all-ply knock-off would not sound as good...?

The one I built has a spruce top. I guess I should have used koa. You would think that it would sound better but I can't notice anything yet, but then I haven't had much chance to play the new one.
A lot of companies have used laminated woods over the years. Gibson, Martin, Epiphone, Eko, Hofner, Yamaha, to name but a few, have all used laminates on some of their models. I've used aeroply on zithers/hummels from time to time.

If anyone has the skill and the tools to make a new nut for this guitar, please considering making a few extra for sale.

Alan -

You can get a tall nut blank from Stu-Mac and size it up on a belt sander. The tricky part is cutting the slots. Jim Lombard, there in SB, can do it for you at a great price. I think he still has a dobro nut blank I left with him.

By the way, my second Wish-n-born arrived in the post yesterday. It is nearly identical to my first one. So far, so good.

Chris Drew wrote:

Doug Freeman wrote:Thing is, why should a steel be different than any other guitar in terms of a compensated (i.e. angled) bridge saddle? Whether it's fretted or not, the lighter the string guage the flatter it's going to play up the neck. Shouldn't you therefore WANT that compensation, even on steel? Or am I totally missing something here?

Aaah! Not this old chestnut again!
This was discussed in depth in a previous thread.
Saddle compensation adjusts the bass strings longer than the scale-length to compensate for the strings being pulled sharp when the string is fretted.
Not required on a steel guitar.
Intonation is in the hand & not determined by fret position!
If you're used to a straight saddle it may be a minor issue but nothing you can't adjust to.

Thanks for the splendid explanation. Actually fretting the note: that's what I wasn't thinking about.

If you want a go at cutting your own nut-slots & don't want to shell out for a set of expensive nut-files, buy a set of welder's "tip cleaners".

I just checked shipping to Ohio and it is almost $61.
This makes the guitar $160.
So, for the folks who bought them,
Is this guitar worth$160?

argh. i must order one in a critical gas attack[guitar acquisition syndrome for the uninformed] after reading these posts and realizing i have only electric lap steels. too much too bear, can't stop must order, gasp. bin

Dave Sky wrote:Is this guitar worth$160?

I bought one because I could visit the seller and pick it up. They are 5 minutes from the house. I would say the giutar is typical of an import selling from $189-$229 street price.

There is at least one SGFer (don't put words in my mouth) that has purchased two. I think the guitar is a good value even when shipped cross country. I would say it is worth $160.

I played one today at Jim Palenscar's. I'm about as fussy/particular/overstimulated/seen-it-all about Weissenborns as someone can be and these are excellent for the price. I've been known to snark seismically about certain other similar instruments in this realm, but I was raging about inferior, uninspired vintage wannabes for which one sometimes has to pay a major fraction of a similarly old original Weissenborn's price.

If these $99 poiboy-specials hold together for any time at all, they should be very nice practice, entry, outdoor or beater instruments. I'm thinking about getting one to send to one of my relatives' abodes for my visits back to the old homeplace on the Big Island of Oklahoma.

(I'm also interested to know of Cash Callaway's involvement. Way back in 1986, I visited the OMI Dobro factory (where Cash was working) in Huntington Beach and asked Don Young if I could have that neck (reject Dobro Duolian with fingerboard scraped off but resonator-support stick still attached) I spied in the trash can. I'm keeping the neck--with its "Cash Callaway Duke of the Uke" reso-stick sticker--for my really old age. I'll put some kind of protective tip on the end of the stick and then it'll be "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane and Eat My Dust.")

I got mine Wednesday. Packed really good. Arrived in perfect condition.

It had so much foam rubber in the box, that you could lather down and shampoo a herd of buffalo using the foam as sponges. I'm gonna keep my foam just in case a herd happens to come down my street.

Real nice tone, IMHO worth more than $160. These are the deal of all deals.

I dont know how the top can be ply because it's so thin, but I guess it is.

I always smell the inside of guitars when I get them. This one smelled like "Elmers Glue All"

Danny Bates wrote:...I dont know how the top can be ply because it's so thin, but I guess it is...

It's not the ordinary plywood that you buy in a hardware store. It's what we used to call Aeroply. It's made of much harder, more finely-grained wood, and is much stronger than ordinary plywood.
Because the grain of each layer runs at right angles to the one beneath it, laminated woods are usually stronger than single pieces, and that's one of the reasons why zithers and autoharps, which have a lot more strings than guitars, are almost always made of laminated wood.

Mine just arrived this morning. Here's a brief review:

The facts: as has been mentioned,very well packed. Double-boxed with plastic and large foam blocks. Arrived strung with a standard six-string set. Comes with a perfectly-fitting unpadded black nylon soft case with shoulder straps and a handle. The guitar is basically well assembled-nothing loose, misshapen, or missing. The perimeters where the saddle, fret board and nut meet the body are a little rough-glue is visible. No marks of identification to be seen. The tuners move well and hold a tune. The fret markers may well be the paper by-product of a whole puncher-confetti. They are glued on, and very easily brushed off. The guitar, as mentioned before, does smell strongly of glue (its winter in Vermont, I smoke, and there's still no missing that odor). The nut is a significant hunk of wood, the bridge piece plastic. The guitar is very light, and quite resonant- stands up well to a loud, un-amplified voice. There are a few thus-far inexplicable buzzes from the open bass strings, and the action is fine.

The editorial: perhaps the acoustic lap version of the electric Artisan. Totally playable out of the box once tuned, without the drawbacks of other cheaper slide instruments (poorly placed volume knobs and jacks on electrics, non-adjustable psgs). The case (jacket) offers bare-bones protection- I wouldn't put anything valuable in it. The value is fabulous- there doesn't seem to be any competition at this unique price range. The aesthetic and sonic difference between this and the high-end versions I've had the pleasure of playing is glaring, but maybe not as glaring as the respective price difference. Tone being as subjective as it is, from ear to ear, instrument to instrument, string to string,etc.., what I can say is this: I like it. Darker than brighter, warmer than harsh (how's my poetry?) I recommend it to anyone curious, starting out, cash-strapped, in need of a campfire Weiss(?),or to the lucky few of us who own just one lap instrument, and are tired of changing string gauges for different tunings.

Asa

Yep, sure 'nuf the $99 Poiboy markers are stick-on... My Vineyard's are inlaid (you can see the chips around the holes!). Both tops definitely ply tho.