2008 Bill Bonanzinga "Vicksburg" Weissenborn-Style Hawiian Guitar

Bill Bonanzinga guitars have been very popular among the alt-country crowd but this offering is pretty wide of that market. It's a hollow-necked Weissenborn-style Hawaiian guitar, intended for play with raised strings and a slide ("bar" in the steel world). It's entirely made from lightly-figured mahogany and has an x-braced top. The bridge even uses the traditional "fret saddle" one would see on a Knutsen or Weissenborn original.

Of course it sounds lovely, of course it feels lovely - it's simply well-built. And... rope binding! And... banjo-style inlays! Tonally, its biggest strength is in the fact that it's got such a fundamental, mids-forward sound. It's easy to get a clean note on it and it doesn't have a lot of distracting overtones even though the instrument itself has a lot of "air" in its voice.

It was here for a repair to its side, though -- it got a nasty drop injury and the treble-side back/side seam had opened up nearly end-to-end. Fortunately it went back together alright and the worst-offending crushed-in area patched-up decently.

Repairs included: side repair, cleaning, adjustments.

Top wood: solid mahogany

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Scale length: 24 7/8"

Nut width: 1 7/8"

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 3 1/4"

Weight: 3 lbs 15 oz