The Steel Guitar Forum

Greetings all,

New member, so first time post here.

I’m finishing up a couple of Weissenborn builds and am wondering what the differences are between the #1, 2 or 3 ? If someone could point me in the direction of where to find this info I would sincerely appreciate it.

I’ll post pics when they’re finished.
Thanks

M

There really is lots of info on the internet.
Quick answer: as you go up in numbers, the guitar gets better wood, more binding, fancier look, but basically the same design.
This WAS? a great site for data,
http://www.theweissenborninformationexchange.com/

If you search this site for 'Tony Francis', he's a premier builder who has been more than happy to share the secrets. -Might even send him a PM

If you mean Styles 1-3 (and there's a 4), a great resource on the originals is the Noe/Most book on Knutsen (and Weissenborn):

https://books.google.com/books?id=1rYXAQAAIAAJ

On p. 128 it basically states:

Style 1 - no binding, round pearl position dots at 5-7-9-12-17, and 3 inlaid concentric rings around sound hole.

Style 2 - black plastic body binding top and bottom, "fancy" pearl position markers including parallelogram or diamond at 12, inner ring of rope marquetry and outer ring of inlaid wood around sound hole.

Style 3 - rope marquetry binding around top, fingerboard and sound hole, "extra fancy" position markers with 2 round dots at 5 and 9, and parallelogram or diamond at 12.

Style 4 - rope marquetry binding around top and back and fingerboard and headstock and sound hole, similar position markers to style 3 with triangle shape adjacent to the nut in the first fret.

Officially they were all koa with spruce top options for styles 1 and 2, although Weissenborn is known to have experimented with other woods for backs and sides.

You can probably easily search and find photos of original examples of all these styles online.

Thanks for the replys.

I had no idea that’s how the grade goes. I thought they pretty much looked the same, as far as their shape goes.

The Noe/Most book is on my wish list.

Thanks again, great forum!

By George Noe's "Knutsen" book. There's an extensive section on Weissenborn brand guitars.

1930 Catalog shot

Thanks again for the postings.

-M