The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello,

I am a musician based in southern Maine in search of a decent Weissenborn. I currently have a dobro and pedal steel and am looking to add something new to the arsenal. From my research it looks like my options are mass produced Chinese made or high end boutique models that are out of my price range. I'd like to find something in the middle, maybe with more of a story behind it. Thank you!

Best,
Alex

Sent you a PM.

Look at Jack Stepick’s guitars. https://jackstepickluthier.blogspot.com/?m=1

Older Weissenborn Kona show up on Reverb occasionally and they are phenomenal instruments. They also seem to go for a little less than the “Weissenborn” models (Konas have a solid neck and deeper bodies). For less than a newer boutique guitar you can find one of those and have a “real” one.

Earlier this year, I went through the process of looking for a Weissenborn. I found the same situation that you described. After a bit of soul searching, I bought a Chinese made instrument from Goldtone. I got the SM model (mahogany) which included a case. One of the tuners had a bad gear which the Goldtone folks promptly replaced. I decided to improve the tuners and replaced them with Schaller Grandtune open gear tuners. The nut was a little low and I couldn't put my Charlie capo on the frets near the nut so I made a new taller nut out of delrin. I put in a Seymour Duncan MagMic sound-hole pickup. The final step was to change the gauge of a couple of strings. The end result is a very nice sounding instrument that is easy to tune and play. My Wessenborn is tuned to Open D.

Looking at the Chinese made instruments sold directly from China, I found some very attractive offers and could have bought several instruments for very little money. I decided that the hassle of dealing with import duties, shipping fees, etc. was not worth the effort since I probably would have to replace tuners and nuts at a minimum.

Good luck with your search. I love playing my instrument and that is what it is all about in the end.
Karlis