W-SM (Weissenborn® SM)

Read Acoustic Guitar Article on Weissenborn Guitars

Optional Dean Markley Trinity Pickup(Designed by Wayne Rogers)

The Weissenborn Hawaiian steel, a platypus among guitars to the uninitiated, is an instrument brilliantly and specifically conceived for Hawaiian playing. These hollow-neck Hawaiians are enjoying a renaissance with players nearly 60 years after the last one was made.

They might have languished in obscurity if not for Lindley (the king of oddball instruments and a Dobro lover--really), Ry Cooder, John Fahey, Steve Fishell, and singer-songwriter Ben Harper. They have also been added to the arsenals of Dobro and steel players like Mike Auldridge, Bob Brozman, Cindy Cashdollar, Jerry Douglas, John Ely, Greg Leisz, and Sally Van Meter.

Many session pros now routinely carry along a Weissenborn for steel or Dobro calls. "Whenever you take one of these things into the studio, people always say, 'Wow! What an amazing instrument!” says Greg Leisz. "Engineers flip out every time."

Because of its construction, care must be given to the correct tuning and string gauges to avoid bridge, bracing and neck problems. The strings supplied (.014, .018, .026w, .034w, .044w, .056w) allow G, D and similar tunings.

Your Weissenborn will not tolerate any additional excessive tension (such as E tuning or heavier strings) and will void the warranty.  The string tension should be no more than 165lbs at pitch.  There are several online string tension calculators available such as this one to determine correct string gauges for any desired tuning.

See which artists are playing this: Rob Anderlik, Tom Doughty