|
Author
|
Topic: Acoustic Hawaiian guitars
|
Bob Stone
Member From: Gainesville, FL, USA
|
posted 23 September 2002 07:38 AM
profile send email edit
I enjoyed Tom Anderson's recent post concerning his Martin Hawaiian on the "Why so many Weissenborns for sale?" thread. Let's hear more about solid neck (non-Weissenborn type) non-resonator acoustic steels.Are there any luthiers making them today? Has anyone fitted a square neck to a std. acoustic guitar? Let's hear more about vintage Martins, Gibsons or other acoustic non-Weissenborn Hawaiians.[This message was edited by Bob Stone on 23 September 2002 at 07:39 AM.] |
Mike D
Member From: Phx, Az
|
posted 23 September 2002 08:04 AM
profile send email edit
I've played a couple Oahu Hawaiians that were great sounding. Also check out the tone Kelly Joe Phelps gets out of his Jumbo Gibson. |
Pete Grant
Member From: Auburn, CA, USA
|
posted 23 September 2002 08:50 AM
profile send email edit
I sold both my Weissenborns when I got my Oahu Teacher's Model, maple back and sides, spruce top, square neck; and my pre-Depression koa Stella.My guess is that the hollow neck really doesn't provide anything substantial to the sound. I'm sure you can get more sustain with a good solid square neck. Maybe someone should stuff their Weissenborn neck with something and see what kind of difference there is. Michael Lewis in Grass Valley, California made an awesome square-neck acoustic for a friend of mine. Michael is a long-time luthier who is now specializing in F-style mandolins. |
Bob Stone
Member From: Gainesville, FL, USA
|
posted 23 September 2002 12:27 PM
profile send email edit
Yeah, Kelly Joe Phelps gets a great sound, which is one factor that prompted me to raise this topic.Pete, I'm with you as regards the hollow neck design. I should think a good acoustic body with a beefy square neck with scale length and wide string spacing designed for slanted bar would be optimum. Keep them cards and letters comin'. |
Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
|
posted 23 September 2002 04:31 PM
profile send email edit
I own an Oahu squareneck (one of the fancy teacher's models), as I've said before here, and I think it's the nicest sounding acoustic guitar I own. It's definitely not as loud as a Dobro® or other resophonic guitar, but for what it is, it's a fine little guitar.If anyone comes across an Oahu catalog and would like to share it with me, I'd greatly appreciate it. ------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
Andy Volk
Member From: Boston, MA
|
posted 23 September 2002 04:59 PM
profile send email edit
I've heard some great sounding Martin & Gibson solid neck guitars and Pete's Oahu sounds fabulous. The Kona models with a sort solid neck have a punchiness that's absent from the hollownecks. That said, for me, the Weissenborn design has a certain poetry or magic to the tone that I just don't hear from other types of acoustic steels. |
HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
|
posted 23 September 2002 06:23 PM
profile send email edit
A few years ago, I obtained this Gibson Dobro Hawaiian guitar off of ebay. I haven't seen any others like it. I forget what I paid for it, but I remember it being reasonable. It's mahogany and has a pick up.   |
HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
|
posted 23 September 2002 06:30 PM
profile send email edit
  What Andy said is true. It does not have that hollow neck mellow sleepy lagoon sound that we're used to when it comes to acoustic Hawaiian music. It sounds, like, well, a guitar played with a bar. Of course, in proficient hands, it will sound better. I do like it plugged in. It seems to come alive.[This message was edited by HowardR on 23 September 2002 at 06:30 PM.] |
nick allen
Member From: France
|
posted 23 September 2002 11:49 PM
profile send email edit
David Lindley plays a round-hole square-neck Bronson guitar along with his Weissenborns (I think there's a picture of it on his website).
On a lesser note  I play an old 12-string which I converted to a 6-string lap, with a high bone nut... *I* think it sounds good 
Nick |
Ian McLatchie
Member From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
posted 24 September 2002 07:06 PM
profile send email edit
Wild looking guitar, Howard. What's the volume like? It doesn't seem like it would have much output. |
HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
|
posted 24 September 2002 07:24 PM
profile send email edit
It does not have great volume and does have a sort of thin, bright tone. When this guitar is amplified, there is quite a difference in tone, at least that's how I'm hearing it. The pick up appears to be factory installed. I don't know what kind it is, but it certainly has a fuller,natural tone plugged in. |
Brad Bechtel
Moderator From: San Francisco, CA
|
posted 25 September 2002 09:31 AM
profile send email edit
I remember seeing this guitar on the Dobro® web site back in 1996, along with such unique offerings as their Oahu electric lap steels. I can't remember the model name, but they also offered a Weissenborn-style guitar which I've seen at the local vintage guitar shows.------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
Roy Thomson
Member From: Wolfville, Nova Scotia,Canada
|
posted 27 September 2002 07:08 AM
profile edit
I had a steel student here on Wednesday evening and he brought an old Hawaiian guitar for me to see and play.
It was a small body, round sound hole, solid square neck and it was old. No manufacture's name on it anywhere. (No resonator).
Looking into the sound hole it is stamped
"Billy Reid Music Studios". That puts it back to late 40's age wise. I never met Billy but he was the first to teach Hawaiian Guitar here in Nove Scotia....I think?
It is tuned in A (high bass) and has the sweetest mellow tone I have experienced from a non resonator. The bridge is attached to the sound board ( No tail peice ).I gave him the string guages for a new set and he will bring it back at which time I will record it and make some wavs for those interested.
I loved the sound of this guitar.  Roy T.
[This message was edited by Roy Thomson on 27 September 2002 at 07:13 AM.] [This message was edited by Roy Thomson on 27 September 2002 at 07:14 AM.]
|
Gary Slabaugh
Member From: Scottsdale, AZ
|
posted 27 September 2002 11:47 AM
profile send email edit
I bought a Golden Hawaiian a year ago, about a 1959. It is a small "O" body, has the round hole and the same type tail piece as in the picture above. The nut is kind of a cast metal that sits on top of a wood slice sitting in the normal nut positon , kind of like some of those "turn a guitar into a steel" kit.This is a great sounding guitar, very good sustain. I think it is pretty loud, but don't have much to campare with. The really great thing about an acoustic, besides the mellow sound, is simplicity. Pick it up and play. |
Chris Walke
Member From: St Charles, IL
|
posted 27 September 2002 03:21 PM
profile send email edit
I have an old guitar that I bought because it was my namesake (and because the seller let me have it for $30.00). It is a "Chris Adjust-o-matic." Looks like it's made for using as a bottleneck or lap style guitar. It has a hole with a screw in it at the heel to adjust the pitch of the neck. The bridge is pretty high (maybe an after factory adjustment), but I had to put a nut extender on it to raise the strings at that end. Weird guitar. |
The Steel Guitar Forum
