Tony Francis Instruments

Video Tutorial with Rob Anderlik

2011-09-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Check out Chicago based Musician and Teacher Rob A
nderlik's new Youtube tutorial of the classic Lindley tune 'Look so Good'.

Rob said about the tune "Look So Good was the very first song I ever heard on the Weissenborn and also the first song I learned to play on the instrument. My rendition is not a note for note version, but more of an attempt to capture the spirit of the tune."

You can download the tab for this tutorial at Robs website: http://www.robanderlik.com/

Rob is a long time slide maestro and shares his thoughts on his new Style 1 at 10.47.

Rob's Style 1 at the shop, shortly before heading out to its new home in Chicago.

Iggy and the Stooges, Ron Asheton tribute

2011-05-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

Last month in Ann Arbor Michigan, Iggy and the Stooges played a benefit concert celebrating the life of Ron Asheton.

Just before the show ended, Iggy Pop and James Williamson sat down to perform a special acoustic tribute, called 'Ron's tune'.

The original music was by James Williamson, with the lyrics by Iggy Pop. The arrangement was performed live on a Style 4 that I made for James in 2010.

David Dominic Jr. Photo

Thomas Oliver - 'The Moment'

2011-05-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Check out Wellington musician Thomas Oliver's latest slide guitar instrumental, 'The Moment'.

Recorded on a Tony Francis Style 3, I asked Thomas about the inspiration for this track and the Major 7th. -TF

"The inspiration for ‘The Moment’ was simply following the melody and harmonic movement I heard in my head one day when I sat down with my Style 2. The Weissenborn has an amazing ability to conduct itself, and sometimes writing music on the instrument for me is just a matter of keeping up with the melodies that seem to build themselves when I play. However, the lap-slide guitar can be a very limited instrument, due mainly to the fact that it’s played with only a flat bar, and this means that part of the art of playing it is achieving the melodies and harmonic movement you hear, within the restrictions of the instrument. This is why I retune the guitar before and after each chorus in ‘The Moment’. The initial tuning is open C# (C#-G#-C#-F-G#-C#), and the top string is very much required in the melody of the verse. But as I wrote the chorus, the melody I heard in my head had the F note in the top (ie the major 7th on the IV chord), but I simply couldn’t achieve this with only a flat bar, as the bar was occupied in holding the rest of the IV chord. This led me to tuning the top string down one semitone at the start of the chorus, and back up again at the end. My challenge was to compose the melody at the start and end of the chorus in such a way that would incorporate this mechanical change without disrupting the flow. I think that, with the Weissenborn, it’s easy to fall into the trap of playing/writing using your hands and the mechanical motions they are accustomed to, but the writing of ‘The Moment’ was very much about creating a strong melody, then finding ways to incorporate the harmony or bass notes behind it, and structuring it like a song to give the melody a strong sense of voice.

The inspiration for the title came one night when I was filming a music video with my band and it was somewhere around 3am as it was a night shoot. We had just finished “lunch” and everyone was talking and mingling as the camera crew began setting up the next shot. I grabbed my Weissenborn and started playing this song, just to myself, really. I wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening around me, so I didn’t realise that, as I played, more and more people began to stop what they were doing and watch me play this song. Some people sat on the ground around me, and others stayed standing, but eventually all 25 people in the crew were silent, and listening to the music. It seemed that, despite all the pressures of the shoot, everyone was lost in the moment, until I finished playing. I was stoked to have brought such a tranquil atmosphere to an otherwise buzzing environment, so I named it ‘The Moment’." - Thomas Oliver

Style 3 Hourglass

2011-03-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

This instrument is #3 of the latest batch of 4. Patterned from a late 1920s original (small bridge, large wing Ca.1927) Style 3, and is the first of its kind I have made. Today, as in the 1920s, many musicians either want an instrument with simple Koa grain or one that is super deluxe, and so Style 2's and 3's are rare.

Made from the finest lighter density Koa wood, this is a gorgeous sounding instrument, exemplary of modern craftsmanship in the old school Hawaiian style.

Front detail.

Rear detail.

Side profile, also known as the Hawaiian vault.

Peghead detail.

Weissenborn Reproduction Hardware

2011-02-28T00:37:00.000-08:00

Following the recent restoration thread, I have had a lot of inquiry's about the hardware I am using, so I wanted to blog about this in further detail.

Custom made for my own modern reproductions of 1920s and 30s Weissenborn guitars, and also as a much needed direct replacement for vintage Weissenborn guitars, I am happy to make these available to the market. Patterned from original parts, these are the finest quality available and in true 1920s specifications. Made in Germany (Pins, buttons and tuners), and the USA (Precision machined Aluminum saddles).

Sold by the set or individually, classic long grained Ivoroid bridge and end pins. Old style Aluminum wire saddles and plate style tuners featuring jumbo eyelet bushings. These are a perfect fit to your vintage Weissenborn and require no modification.

Classic 1920s spec Ivoroid, and Aluminum wire saddle.

These are the same Ivoroid pins as above, distressed. They are designed for use in restoration work. Because they are distressed using a process that is chemically very similar to natural aging, the color is very near identical compared to a vintage part.

1930s spec black. Although rare, some of the latest Weissenborn featured scalloped back tuner plates with back buttons and pins. I am very happy to make these available, and hope to offer a version of these classic late 1930s models available in the coming months.

Comparison shots of the Ivoroid, Distressed Ivoroid, and Black.

This is a picture of the prototype gears. With a few refinements to the design, the new models will be available in the coming months. Please inquire.

As well as the reproduction hardware, I also have a limited supply of original hardware and parts. Please contact me with what you need, and I will do my best to find whats best for your guitar!

Weissenborn guide in Acoustic Guitar Magazine!

2011-02-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

In the February 2011 issue, Acoustic Guitar Magazine features a guide to contemporary Weissenborn-style guitars, penned by noted lap steel author Andy Volk. A clear and concise reference for both long time aficionados and guitarists new to the instrument, Andy's piece is essential reading. Among the short list of top luthiers building in the old style, Tony Francis, Bill Asher and Bill Hardin.

Read it here!

Duelling Tony Francis Style 1's.

Weissenborn Style 1 Repair - Addendum

2010-11-22T01:20:00.000-08:00

Following the restoration and repair of the Style 1, the owner of the instrument and noted Musician, Composer, Engineer, Producer, Author and now certifiable Weissenborn aficionado, Bruce Kaphan, asked if he could share his thoughts on the process. Bruce has been professionally involved in the music industry since the mid 1970s, and it was a true pleasure and honor to do the work for him. But I will let Bruce take over from here. -TF

I'm primarily a pedal steel player, but in recent years I've become
interested in branching out into non-pedal slide instruments,
especially for recording. I purchased a Gold Tone Weissenborn a few
years ago, and enjoyed using it on a number of recordings, but fairly
quickly became frustrated with the tone- it was great for the price,
and served its purpose of getting me hooked on Weissenborn style
guitars, but its tone wasn't so golden to my ears... There were so
many resonant and dead spots in the instrument's response. I decided
to splurge and began searching for a real vintage Weissenborn. I
found a shop online that advertised having a few in stock, hopped a
two hour flight and compared them. One instrument, a style 1, clearly
stood out among the others. Its top was pretty bellied, but otherwise
it seemed to be in reasonably good shape, made of absolutely
beautiful koa- it just looked like it should sound good, and it did.
The tone was beautiful; especially compared to my Gold Tone and the
other vintage Weissenborns I played at that shop, the tone on this
particular one was way more balanced, with fewer resonant or dead
spots. I purchased the instrument, and soon after, recorded my first
track with it. It sounded great!

There's a really great acoustic guitar repair shop in the region in
which I live. Not long after I purchased the instrument I took it
there, to ask the staff if there was anything they could recommend
for the bellied top. They shrugged their shoulders and said no.
Sadly, not long after this, as I was preparing for an upcoming gig,
the bridge cracked, rendering the instrument unplayable. After the
bridge cracked, knowing the local repair shop didn't seem to have a
great deal of familiarity with Weissenborns, I did an online search
for Weissenborn repair, and came across Tony Francis' website. I live
in California. I really didn't know very much about Weissenborns, and
had never heard of Tony. To be sure, knowing how much fraud exists
online, based only on a website, I have to say I was a bit nervous
about shipping my Weissenborn to a stranger in New Zealand for
repair, but Tony's blog, complete with a discussion of repairing
bellied tops on Weissenborns, appeared to offer a solution to my
instrument's problems. I contacted him and found him to be a very
well-spoken, considerate individual. Although I saw some very nice
comments about him online, I didn't see any testimonials about
shipping instruments from far away; nevertheless, I decided to take
the risk, and was absolutely not disappointed. And that's why I'm
writing this testimonial. As you can see in these beautiful
photographs, Tony was able to address all of the problems with my
style 1. He finished the job in the time frame he said he would. He
held to his quote. When I received the instrument, his work was
absolutely impeccable, as you can see in these photos. I asked Tony
if I could write this testimonial- I just want to encourage anyone
who might have the same misgivings I had about shipping my instrument
to a stranger so far from home. Tony is a man of his word and an
impeccable craftsman. I'd be happy to vouch for him any time- please
feel free to contact me at the contact page of my website,
www.brucekaphan.com, if you need further encouragement to take the
plunge to send your instrument to him. Thanks Tony, for breathing new
life into my style 1! -BK

Weissenborn Style 1 Repair - Part 3

2010-11-17T15:04:00.001-08:00

These are my reproduction pins that I had custom manufactured in Germany. They were made as a direct replacement for vintage Weissenborn's, as well as my modern reproductions. Unlike the originals however, these are individually turned, not molded, so I have been working on an antiquing process to better match the look of the original pin when used in restoration.

Scribing the pin heads:

After an acetone bath, they are have lost much their gloss, and developed a slight patina:

Because these are unslotted pins, the bridge must be slotted to fit each individual string. Before the 1970s this was just a standard detail. Nowadays you will only see this at high end acoustics. Here you can see the pin holes being reamed:

Setup complete, back to original specifications:

Inside you can see each string ball is seated how they should be, on the repaired bridge plate:

Weissenborn's bat-wing bridge is some of the highest quality bridge work performed at any guitar. Aesthetically it remained highly refined signature of his work through the production years, and is still one of the hardest and most critical details to get right today:

This is a great shot of the distressed french polish or varnish finish:

Following the repair, its hard to compare the sound of the restored instrument to how it came into the shop. I could barely tune it without fear of the previous bridge tearing off. Technically and functionally acceptable (more or less), but perhaps most obviously the previous (and no doubt well meaning) repairman missed the details that are so critical to the instruments voice musically.

I took these last few shots before the instrument was shipped back to its home in the US. A gorgeous sounding instrument.

Thanks for looking and please feel free to comment or if you have any questions.

Weissenborn Style 1 Repair - Part 2

2010-11-16T00:14:00.000-08:00

With the top under clamps, my focus switched to the new reproduction bridge. Of course the original was Maple, not Rosewood like the former replacement, and so we begin simply with the wood itself. West Virginian Sugar Maple, the finest of which are cut from Mandolin billets.

For restoration work like this where the new must fit the old footprint perfectly - I will make several and pick the best one:

The finish process begins with Gamboge - a resin used by old time violin makers, but also interpreted by other greats such as Lloyd Loar and Weissenborn, under the dye:

Black aniline:

The new bridge will be french polished and distressed to match the old, but more on this later.

Internally the guitar needed several back braces re-glued, and just the X brace patch on the top.
Here you can clearly see the partially loose back brace:

Sticky sandpaper and a feeler gauge preps the brace to be re-glued. You don't want to remove material here, so much as clean out the old dirt and junk:

Different repair situations require different kinds of techniques. For this brace I am using a simple but extremely effective stick jack against the X brace to glue it back in position:

Another brace re-glued. In this case the new glue reactivates the old glue squeeze out:

Where there was no squeeze out originally, you can clean away the excess and without a trace:

Next comes the plugging / rebuilding of the top for the new bridge. Following the previous "repair", there were three critical details in my eyes both from a structural standpoint, but also musically speaking.

1. Repair worn bridge pin hole ball end damage. This is what happens as a result of improperly slotted bridges, or slotted pins. And quite frequently its a combination of the two such as with this guitar.

2. Plug pin holes. The previous replacement bridge had incorrect bridge pin arrangement, which had almost doubled each hole in size, making it almost impossible for the string ball ends to seat properly.

3. Re-glue damage from the previous repairers bridge removal attempt.

These reverse tapered plugs covered issues 1 & 2 in one single operation step. Each plug is cut to fit each pin hole exactly, and glued into place:

Plugs glued and leveled. The damage from original removal was repaired through a partial re-glue of the top, and also filleting slithers of Koa and hide glue into the damaged areas.

The top and new reproduction bridge fitted, and ready to be glued:

The final part in our repair story tomorrow!

Weissenborn Style 1 Restoration and Repair

2010-11-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

Although not a rare guitar in Weissenborn terms, historically the Style 1 was the backbone of Weissenborn's musical empire, and still is today. In the same way Martin brought their unsurpassed quality across a range of models and materials, Weissenborn wanted to make his proprietary steel guitars available so the average musician could obtain such an instrument.

This gorgeous Style 1 was produced in the mid 1920s at the height of the Weissenborn Company's success, and features beautiful figured Koa wood, Spirit varnish finish and all the typical construction details we would expect to see on an instrument dating from this era.

When the guitar came to my shop for repair, it had not long left another where it had received a new bridge:

Face view:

Rear view:

Now clearly this does not appear to be the work of an expert, and its unfortunate but not uncommon to see this kind of work on Weissenborn and related instruments. You can see the saddle was made so tall that it actually cracked the bridge. I couldn't tune this instrument to pitch without it threatening to tear right off.

Here you can see why you should NEVER use slotted pins on your guitar - more on this later.

The repair begins. Heat shield, Aluminum tape, and heat lamp:

The tape is used to come up and over the edges, protecting any finish missed by the somewhat universal shield:

After a few minutes under the heat lamp, the resins in the rosewood begin to bubble. I slide my repair knife underneath, and the bridge comes away without problem:

A close examination and the previous "repair" disaster begins to show. Here you can see what happens if you don't heat the joint sufficiently, or pay attention to grain runout:

The "bellied" or distorted top:

Another view:

The top distortion is of course the most likely reason behind the previous replacement bridge. In an effort to increase action height, the tall saddle was installed, much like how at old Martins they would shave the bridge instead of resetting the neck. The heart of the problem was never addressed and the tall saddle only compounds the problem on an already sensitive instrument.

One of my favorite luthiers, restoration icon T.J Thompson, recently developed a tool to reduce the belly in the old prewar Martins he is associated with, without permanent alterations to the guitar. Of course his tool would never fit a Weissenborn, but I thought it might be possible to take the same idea and custom manufacture one for Weissenborn:

Although they look simple, each tool part is machined as a matching convex / concave set:

They are headed up in my glue pot to 150 degrees:

The top is dampened, and the hot cauls are clamped into place without delay:

The repair story continues tomorrow!

Solid-Neck Weissenborn - Part 3

2010-11-07T23:28:00.000-08:00

Part 3 - Construction.

In the process of patterning Tom Noe's gorgeous Solid-neck, one of the great mystery's surrounding Weissenborn, was his early years as a maker of wooden Hawaiian Steel guitars. As far as I am aware, it was Tom Noe and Dan Most who were the first to talk about Weissenborn guitars in a chronological order, which for me at least, is a reflection of how the design, construction and manufacture of Weissenborn's instruments are inextricably linked.

The Francis/Noe Solid-neck Hawaiian is made as reproduction of the original thin body version, with two refinements by Tom's request;

1. The guitar was to be made for genuine solid head tuners (Early Weissenborn's such as the Solid-neck featured slot head tuners on a thin solid head) .
2. The bracing was to be mortised, rather than but jointed as per the original.

Here you can see the gorgeous Koa picked out for this project in its rough sawn form.

Gluing the plates together. This simple gluing contraption is called a Spanish Tourniquet.

Rosette channels cut. Although at first glance similar to the production era marquetry rosettes, the spacing and purfling details are different.

Gluing the marquetry and holly purfling in place, and making a mess!

The completed rosette. Later it is planned and scraped flush.

Here you can see the mortised or tucked bracing. The stress caused by Hawaiian A Major tuning can be brutal to old wooden guitars, and the Solid-neck is no exception. I wanted the new guitar to be able to be kept under tension without Tom having to worry about it. The mortised bracing allows me to recreate the original bracing design in its fundamental glory, and is an elegant solution to the fragility associated with early Weissenborn guitars.

The braces are glued in one single operation step, using hide glue of course.

The top carved to original specifications. There were no top seam splints or sound-hole reinforcement of any kind.

Hand bent sides.

Gluing back braces and seam splints.

The carved back.

Front view.

Back view.

Part 4 - Marquetry and inlay, coming soon.

Vintage Guitar - Weissenborn Style 4

2010-08-31T03:26:00.000-07:00

Check out Vintage Guitar magazines "Classic Instruments" feature on the Weissenborn Style 4, by George Gruhn and Walter Carter! Featuring a Tony Francis Style 4!

Read it here!

Walter Carter Photo.

Solid-Neck Weissenborn - Part 2

2010-08-15T00:31:00.000-07:00

Part 2 - The Master Template.

Unlike the regular production models I make, the new Solid-Neck model is the first to be made without an instrument I own or have had through the shop for restoration or repair. Typically, I have my patterns and notebook which have the details and specifications for each model, and then the master template - the vintage guitars themselves which are a constant reference in terms of musicality and feel.

However, with this instrument I am extremely honored to be collaborating with Tom Noe, who has put together a remarkably detailed set of plans, and comprehensively photographed the instrument, which have been made into working patterns and molds.

During the process of patterning the instrument, I asked Tom about this special and exceptionally rare find, and how he acquired it;

"I tuned the solid-neck Weissenborn up and played it only once because it looks like it just came out of Weissenborn's shop and doesn't have a mark on it, and I want to keep it that way. It sounds beautiful! I bought it from Red Bower, a vintage guitar shop owner in Idaho in 1992. He had the guitar for over 15 years and occasionally displayed it, but never let anybody touch it. I had heard of "Red's Style 4" and many had tried to buy it from him. I was told that he would part with it. But Red and Dan Most were good friends, and Dan had bought a few Knutsen harp guitars from Red. We were over there one day, and Red decided to sell it to me. That and a Style C Weissenborn that he had. The story on the solid neck was that an elderly lady had brought it in to Red's one day. Her husband bought it when he returned home from WWI. He couldn't get the hang of finger picks and the flat bar in vogue those days, so the guitar went into the back of a closet where it sat for over five decades. That's why the guitar is so special to me. Other than showing it in the book, I keep it hidden away and don't show it to anybody. Until now.

From the attached photos, you can see its vibrant colors. Some of the detail was lost in the book photo because I took the photo with a film camera and then had the print scanned."

And so, its with great privilege that I share these wonderful images from Tom, with you-

Circa 1928 production model and pre-1920s Solid-Neck compared. As Tom mentioned in his book, the Solid-Neck is a much smaller instrument overall.

Front view.

Back view.

Profile view. You can see here that the Hawaiian vault is almost non existent, yet remains very graceful as the body forms into the neck. The body is only 2.5 inches at the tail block.

Knutsenesque 'bow-tie' bridge.

Peg head face.

Waffle end slot head tuners.

Part 3 Coming Soon.

Lap Slide Lessons on Youtube!

2010-08-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

For anybody who is new (or old) to lap slide guitar, one of the first things people notice is that there is not a lot of instructional material available for this style of instrument. Daddystovepipe - one of Youtubes most beloved maestro of the blues and nicest persons one could hope to meet, has put these great free lessons on Youtube!

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Daddystovepipe plays a Tony Francis Style 4 Hawaiian made in 2007. Tab for this lesson is also available through Daddystovepie's website.

Solid-Neck Weissenborns - An Introduction

2010-08-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw a Solid-Neck Weissenborn was in Tom Noes wonderful book. These guitars are the rarest of the rare – even more so than the Teardrops, which now number in the high teens. And were the original top of the line model prior to the factory in 1923. So when Tom sent me this incredible picture, courtesy of Dave Ogden, with Mrs. Weissenborn playing one of the Solid-Neck Hawaiians, it gave a rare insight into Weissenborns early years - circa 1922.

And so we begin simply with the picture – and I'll let Tom take over from here. -TF

It is now well established that when Hermann C. Weissenborn began crafting his famous Hawaiian steel guitars, he borrowed heavily from Chris J. Knutsen. Several very thin Weissenborn steel guitars exhibiting Knutsen’s distinct features, such as headstock and bridge shapes, as well as the use of a green dressmaker’s seam tape to join back plates, have now surfaced. Knutsen built teardrop-shaped steel guitars and ones with solid necks as early as 1909-1912, as evidenced in Isami Uchizaki’s Tony Ku Collection.

While Weissenborn waited until late in his career to build nearly identical teardrop-shaped guitars, he built several steel guitars with solid necks during his experimental years of 1916-1922. It appears the earlier solid-neck instruments prior to about 1920 were fairly thin, like their hollow-neck counterparts. They have only a 2.5-inch body depth, are smaller overall but still have a 25-inch scale length, and have the Knutsen-type bow-tie bridges. After about 1920, they were built with a 3.5-inch body depth and nearly production type bat-wing bridges. All are Koa wood throughout We can find no evidence showing production after 1922 since none of those in existence have the burned-in brand, but rather have the Weissenborn picture label.

And so the solid-neck Weissenborns are extremely rare. In fact, only six are presently known to exist, and one of those came to light just recently. In addition, a photograph of Mrs. Weissenborn playing a solid-neck Weissenborn was recently discovered by Dave Ogden of Clear Creek Recording. While all of the existing solid-neck Weissenborns have Style 4 appointments, the one Mrs. Weissenborn is playing, the whereabouts of which is unknown, has Style 3 appointments (rope binding around the top only).

The recent emergence of newly-discovered solid-neck Weissenborns coupled with the photo of Mrs. Weissenborn playing one, has inspired Tony Francis and Tom Noe to collaborate on the reproduction of solid-neck Weissenborns. Tom used his solid-neck Weissenborn with a 2.5-inch body depth to create a rudimentary set of plans, which Tony transformed into working drawings and molds. Tony is busy assembling the woods and parts to commence construction in his shop of what hopefully will be first of many solid-neck instruments. -TN

New blog address!

2010-07-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

My thanks to everyone for your continued support and making the switch to the new blog address!

Here is a Style 4 from the latest batch, shipped out to its new home in France last week;

Workbench close up.

Andreas Aase Live!

2010-07-13T01:27:00.000-07:00

I first met Andreas Aase on the old IGS forum back in 2007, through a mutual love of acoustic lap slide guitars. Somehow I ended up building him a reproduction of my favorite 1927 Style 1, and during the construction process, Andreas was kind enough to send me out a copy of his latest record. I remember after the first time I heard "Unu" I felt absolutely stunned - Andreas is the kind of artist who breaks what you thought you knew about how an instrument could sound.

One of my favorite things about this album is the quote inside the cover art, talking about how it was recorded after the town was asleep. For me, this is the music that fills my shop long after everyone else has gone home, and work into the night.

Although Andreas' Style 1 was made long after the recording of Unu, Andreas sent through an Live Mp3 of one of my favorite tracks from the album, Age Fang, and it's with great privilege that I share it with you; (playing starts about 1.30 in - well worth the wait!)

Andreas with his Style 1;

Go to road gear; (from left) 1934 Gibson Mandolin, Arnt Rian Guitar Bouzouki, Tony Francis Style 1 Hawaiian, Lowden Acoustic;

This recording is one that Andreas made right after he took delivery of his Style 1;

I really want to thank Andreas for being so kind to allow me to share these pictures and his wonderful music here on my blog. Andreas is as kind and genuine a person one could hope to meet, and making him the Style 1 was a real honor. Be sure to check out his Website and Myspace;

http://www.andreasaase.com/

http://www.myspace.com/andreasaase

Style 2 Hourglass

2010-06-03T00:24:00.000-07:00

By the time Weissenborn started referring to his Hawaiian guitars in numerical "Styles", (around the time of his company formation in 1923) , he had already been making his guitars in each style for some years, even though they were not referred to as such.

As far as I am aware, all the early pre-production hollow neck models were what went onto be called Style 2s, and came in a wide range of construction details. Interestingly enough, despite Weissenborns fondness for this style, these were not big sellers when it came to production models. As George Noe pointed out in his book, most players in the 1920s fell into two camps; either they wanted a nice Weissenborn guitar, or they wanted a fancy one.

And not much has changed today. As a maker, the only other Style 2 I had built was during my prototyping years, and so naturally I was thrilled to receive the opportunity to build a proper reproduction in the old style.

Here is the result of many months hard work - a Style 2 in the late 1920s style, featuring old growth Koa wood, hide glue construction throughout and hand applied nitrocellulose over a natural resin called Seedlac. The tuners are by National Resophonic, retrofitted to my specifications.

After building the guitar and having it around the shop for a while, aesthetically the Style 2 has really grown on me. But mostly this guitars charm lays in its voice - this is a gorgeous sounding and playing instrument, and I am really happy with how it turned out!

Thanks everyone for looking and as always feel free if you have any questions or simply wish to comment.

Asher Ben Harper Model

2010-05-27T02:02:00.000-07:00

This is a shout out to Bill Asher for the new Ben Harper Model 2 lapsteel which is now in production after the first 100 limited edition instruments sold out. If you've been kicking around on old Rickenbacker Electros or other vintage lapsteels for years, you will remember the first time you picked up an Asher. I have always maintained these were the missing link between the long scale vintage Weissenborns and the short scale Rickenbacker, 80 years late.

Bill is one of the most genuine, kind and talented luthiers you could hope to meet, and his proprietary lapsteel design is world class. If you don't own one of these - you should.

My deepest thanks to Bill for making this guitar available to the world - and to Ben who completely changed the worlds perception of what a lapsteel could sound like.

Latest Teardrop

2010-05-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Kia ora Everyone,

This is my latest Teardrop - Patterned after the 1930's original, it is all Koa wood and hide glue construction, with a hand applied nitrocellulose finish. One thing I wanted to mention that is extra special about this guitar, is the Mango bridge plate. Although Maple was the standard bridge plate of choice for many years at the Weissenborn Company, the Teardrop I restored had this unique feature. Musically I can see why - it's a killer sounding instrument.

Although this one has already shipped out to its new home, I hope to get a recording of a Mango plated Teardrop for you to get a better idea of what im talking about.

Reader Questions

2010-04-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

I often receive questions regarding Weissenborns, and im always happy to discuss anything Weissenborn related - so if you have a question feel free to shoot me an email. This one covered some of the misinformation floating around about Weissenborns, so I thought others might find it interesting;

Hi Tony,
I follow the restauration of the teardrop, it's very interesting, i 'm waiting for the other parts;)

Tony ,I have a question for you:
I am found of Weissenborn's guitars since i've discovered Ben Harper's music, almost 15 years ago. Since then, i have tryed to collect as much informations, pics etc.. as i could ; particulary for my instruments projects .
Anyway, everybody do agree to say those instruments (hourglass, teardrop, konas certainly the same as ukes and spanish guitars...) sound purely amazing. The fact is that, sometimes, we can notice some small 'imperfections' in the building , rough internal surfaces,joint reinforcement not on the axe,i've heard about asymetrical body shape, i've seen tuners not well mounted...Finally, even if this presentation above is quite superficial and does not treat about what make a good sounding instrument, i wonder if Mr Hermann was a genious, who find the balance between, quick effective building process and sound, or if he was a just a 'good' luthier who had the 'chance' to find such wonderfull designs.

I'm particulary dubious about the fact that, i've seen numbers of original weiss with the tuners installed the wrong way (the key's gear not balancing the string force applied on the tuner head)
Can the design of the tuners allow to make the mistake of mounting them upside down during a restauration, or was it a 'normal mistake'?

Sorry for this long monospeaking message ;) hope it won't bother you.
Regards
Matthieu

Dear Matthieu,

Thanks for your message. This covers a lot of ground but I will do my best to answer everything as best I can.

To understand the ‘imperfections’ you are talking about, I think it’s really important to firstly understand things in perspective of the time and context in which they were built. Weissenborn began making Hawaiian guitars in the late 19’teens. Through his experimentation and relentless refinement, in less than a decade, he was able to take the style of instrument as it existed at the time, and shape it into what has become the modern standard by which all others are judged today. If you didn’t already know, George Noe and Dan Most documented this chronology in their exceptional book.

Looking at and playing Weissenborns guitars, It’s obvious that Weissenborn could articulate his craft at a high level, used finest quality material, and knew what he was after. There is no doubt he operated with a certain frugality (not uncommon for many makers at that time), but mostly I would say he focused on the detail.

I often hear about the ‘imperfections’, as you say, such as saw marks or glue squeeze out. I think the negativity surrounding this comes from some old, very misleading marketing into what at the time was a uneducated market - largely preconditioned to expect the sterile surfaces of guitars made with synthetic glue.You see these same maker marks at vintage Martins or Gibsons, and it does not mean the guitars are made badly, to me at least they are just made in a different time, more craftsman like if you will.

As far as the reverse tuners, this is how early tuning machines were made, with the worm shaft below the gear. Here is a picture found on the net to illustrate;

Around the early 1920s, the industry began making tuners with the worm shaft above the gear, like we see on tuners today. Why the change? Well, as you alluded to, any slop is pulled tight by the string tension, and tuning is much easier. So I wouldn’t say these early tuners are wrong, they can still work quite well, and simply engineered differently.

With regards to the mounting, with the exception of some curious early examples, they are mounted toward the treble side. Why? It makes tuning easier and more comfortable from the players perspective.

I hope this helps.

Best,

Tony Francis

NZ Music Month at Te Papa

2010-04-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

As part of May Music Month, I will be talking at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa on Saturday 15th. Come along and bring a friend to the Marae, Level 4 at 1 pm. Free entry. I will have a couple of my latest guitars on display, and Thomas Oliver will be putting them through their paces in acoustic and over-driven demonstrations. Anyone is welcome to come and play one of my guitars at the end.

For more info see the Te Papa webs ite.

For all my international based clients, we are hoping to have this gig filmed and on youtube at a later date.

Weissenborn Teardrop Restoration - Part 4

2010-04-20T02:11:00.000-07:00

Part 4 - Finale

With the body repairs complete and previous refinish chemically stripped, next came the re-refinishing.

Refinishing is always a big issue and unfortunately can mostly only go wrong. So the best solution is to choose the less bad option. There are basically only three;

Refinish like new.
Refinish to a mild gloss using a shellac varnish.
Refinish using the original materials, and try to best match the old lacquer.

I agonized over this for months. It didn't seem right to make this wonderful old guitar look like the new guitars being built along side it. Equally, refinishing using anything other that how it was originally intended didn't seem right either. After a great deal of thought and talking it over with other repairmen, In the end I chose to refinish using traditional oil paste pore filler, and aged nitrocellulose lacquer.

The toughest thing was to try and match the old lacquer. I remember John Arnold talking about his 1930 OM-28 that he refinished several years back, and how instead of curing the lacquer a month or more such as typical on a new guitar, the lacquer is wet sanded and polished back after just a few days. The result is a finish which shrinks back very thin and develops more grain and patina than the typical high gloss which can appear harsh on an old guitar.

The last step in the finish process was to distress, as necessary, the original damaged areas from years of play-wear and dings. I chose not to crack the lacquer as this is not always typical on old Weissenborns.

Following finishing, the guitar was returned to original setup specifications, which is probably the most critical detail in my eyes. The design, construction (or restoration) and playability work as a whole and that's why I feel its so critical to get the details right. The guitar was fitted with my custom reproduction hardware, and a the flight case was made by Cedar Creek.

If you could have herd this guitar before and after restoration, you would have sworn they could not be the same guitar. To watch the growth and opening out of the guitars voice and vibe was quite remarkable. I hope Hermann would be proud of it. A wonderful sounding instrument.

Weissenborn Teardrop Restoration - Part 3

2010-03-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

Part 3 - The bridge

This part of the repair is what I considered most critical as far as tone. The original bridge had been thinned down in height and wings, and painted an opaque dark Walnut brown. The saddle had been routed to compensate for the lack of height, and for the saddle material itself which was an ingenious laminated soft plastic (Ice cream container - not yet available at Stew-Mac).

As a maker, I kind of look at the Weissenborn like a really good salad. Because its a simple design, what you put into it has to be really great quality or it just wont work.
The original setup specs are part of the design, construction and instrument as a whole, and to try and make it more like a regular guitar is to miss its fundamental glory.

The bridge was stripped chemically to preserve what was left of the old bridge;

Taking my oldest darkest piece of sugar maple, using a band saw, small plane and scraper plane I made two veneers to bring the bridge back up to full thickness, and then finally fill the saddle slot. This joint is highly stressed and I would not have even considered it without using a hide glue like Topaz Special;

So now we have a bridge that is original height. However, you can see the bridge wings are over sized and look quite chunky - I took them down to correct original taper and dimension using the belt sander. Finally the bridge is cut for the original style aluminum wire saddle.
More on bridge details later.

Back on the body we also had some bridge issues to address. The first job was to plug the over sized hole from the missing screw that once would have held the bridge down. I cut a plug using the same grain orientation as the top from a small block of Koa;

Using files and sand paper I shape and taper it for a perfect fit;

The plug trimmed and leveled;

The next issue was not so straight forward - When the bridge had been removed by the previous repairer, they had damaged the top somewhat around and under the bridge. I used a combination of techniques to correct these issues.
I began by spot steaming out as much of the dings and tool marks as possible. This fixed most, but not all of the issues - where the wood had been torn away, unfortunately it can not be replaced. Using a piece of Koa that was as close to the top as possible, I rasped off along the grain to make a fiber filler. When mixed with hide glue, it is a very solid repair;

Part 4 coming soon.

Weissenborn Teardrop Restoration - Part 2

2010-03-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

Part 2 - the repair begins:

So the first step was to remove the back to get inside the guitar and really see what was going on. Usually in repair and restoration all work is performed through the soundhole as to not alter the finish in any way. However, because here the finish is not original, there is nothing lost and makes a more complete restoration possible.

Off comes the back - Because the glue joint here is original, the old hide glue is pretty fragile a comes apart without any difficulty using a simple clothes iron (for nice even heat) and tin foil (to protect the wood);

Inside the guitar. I was very happy to see the top was completely original and untouched. All the bracing joints were solid - great news. Bugs nests just out of shot down by the tail block;

The back in all the previous repairs glory! The unidentified glue was used to re-glue all the back braces which had come loose, and was poured into the sound hole and lining mortises;

That glue is a mystery. It had the texture of epoxy but was brown and didn't release with heat - making removing anything a real bear. All of this had to be removed. At a guess from all the crud and bugs nests, this guitar lived in a garden shed or something at some stage. Anyways, it came off easily scraping with a credit card, showing the original tool marks in the wood;

The bracing came off surprisingly well. Because the braces were so loose, it was a simple matter of sliding my joint knife under the brace and popping them off. Most of them had splits which were re-glued using hide glue;

Here you can see the prepared back ready to be re glued. The usage of hide glue, hide glue qualities and glue techniques are such critical details in my eyes. In this case, I can apply new hide glue and it will be working with whats left of the old hide glue as one - otherwise impossible with any modern kind of glue;

Glue and clamps applied;

The completed back;

Finally, any tiny slithers of spruce that came off with the back are glued back into place, this insures when the back is re-glued the joint is solid. This is where Topaz S really shines, its color matches the old Weissenborn glue perfectly and is solid as a rock ;

Neat picture of the sap intrusion in the neck reinforcement;

Ready to glue the back;

The body glued and clamped;

Part 3 soon.

Weissenborn Teardrop Restoration - Part 1

2010-03-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

Part 1 - A unique guitar

A few years ago, I acquired an old Weissenborn Teardrop. These are special guitars - and exceedingly rare (I would estimate less than 50 or 100 produced total). Going by a few unique construction features such as maple frets and mango bridge plate, I estimate it was produced in the later years, although obviously not as late as tailpiece models - Circa early to mid 1930s.

According to the previous owner (who I have no reason to dis-believe), A local Hawaiian girl won this instrument in 1936 in a Hula Contest in Hilo, Hawaii. It remained in the family for 50 years until presented to a "woman" Hawaiian Music Steel player. Unfortunately, from the pictures I received, this guitar was long past how its maker intended. At some point this instrument had been refinished and additionally I was told all the hardware had been replaced, bridge replaced, and back braces re-glued. Here are the pictures I received;

When the instrument came to my shop, I knew this would be a restoration project - not just a repair. After inspection I discovered a few surprises - The refinish was and wasn't as bad as first thought. Although the finish was a thick coat of satin gunk and the edge definition had been forever lost, according to my hacklinger gauge the top thickness was still at proper thickness and average for Weissenborns of that era.
Also, the bridge was original - although it had been thinned and routed for a regular style saddle (which consisted of laminated ice-cream container).

Partial repair list as follows;

Remove back
Remove bugs nests, unidentified black gunk, and mystery glue
Re-glue back braces with hide glue and any any additional repairs
Re-glue back with hide glue
Chemically strip refinish
Re-build bridge
Re-refinish as close as possible to original.
Setup to original specs.

To be continued.

Thomas Oliver shop visit

2010-03-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, Thomas Oliver and Hayley Gray came to my shop to check out the latest batch of guitars. It was a real treat to have them visit and hear Thomas put the guitars through their paces both on and off camera.

If you are not familiar with Thomas Oliver and his band, check them out on myspace -

www.thethomasoliverband.com

Special thanks to Thomas and Hayley for being to generous with their time and good will.

Stay tuned for a restoration article about the 1930s Teardrop featured in this video.

Raw Power

2010-03-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

I first met James Williamson after he contacted me about an old Spanish neck Weissenborn he had acquired. It turned out his Style A was really rare and in fantastic condition. You can read more about that wonderful guitar in James' article in the Winter '08 issue of the Fretboard Journal.

One thing lead to another and somehow I ended up making James a guitar. I had been sitting on this one special set of Koa for years, and when James expressed an interest, I knew I had found its owner. Patterned after my favorite late 1920s Style 4, this guitar has killer pillow figured Koa wood, Rope marquetry in Holly and Cocobola, flame Maple bridge and hide glue construction throughout. It is also the first guitar to feature the full line of my 1920s spec custom hardware.

James was really interested in learning about how this style of instrument was made, and so it was a great privilege to take him through some of the details over the course of its construction. He posted about it over at the Steelguitarforum, where you can check it out:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Making this guitar for James was a real privilege and honor. James is a man of real talent, humility and great Mana. He is also one of the kindest persons you could hope to meet.

I hope at some stage (after the Stooges tour) to persuade James to make an audio clip of this guitar. I will keep you posted!

Number One - Intro

2010-03-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

Kia ora.

My name is Tony Francis. In 2005 I began my tenure as a guitar maker and vintage guitar repairman, specializing in Weissenborn Hawaiian slide guitars from the 1920s and 1930s. H.Weissenborn brought a level of craftsmanship to his instruments that is unsurpassed today. In a sea of disposable instruments, both now and then, the curious Weissenborn remains a much misunderstood masterpiece of acoustic purity and fine detail.

From my shop deep in the pacific, I hope I can take you into Weissenborns work through a unique luthiers perspective, and see what lays behind the curtain. Through my vintage work, I want to produce the finest Hawaiian slide guitars on the market - Period.