KISO GUITARS
KISO GUITARS
Some Background
For more than a thousand years, people in the Kiso Valley of Japan and in the surrounding mountains have maintained the tradition of fine woodworking. These native craftsmen represent generations of respect for the art and discipline in the skill of woodworking.
In the last hundred years, the Kiso Valley has been home to many acoustic stringed instrument makers. The making of violins, guitars, and other stringed instruments became an important cultural and economic element of the Kiso Valley. Individual builders, team workshops, and guitar manufacturing companies grew in this region in the last half of the 20th Century. Unfortunately today, most of them have faded away leaving only a few guitar making shops left.
The Kiso Workshop is one of those remaining legacies to the art and craft of lutherie. The craftsmen who make up this small team of builders stand together to combine decades of guitar making experience in major manufacturers and small one man shops alike. Here, old traditions are combined with the most modern technology to make some of the world`s finest acoustic guitars. A few years ago luthiers from the Kiso workshop began meeting with guitar designers from around the world.
In Stock
Kiso OM: 2001 ~ Near Mint -- condition. For those of you who have had the priviledge of playing a Klein guitar, you will recognize his influence in every detail of this guitar. From the exacting craftsmanship, to the cutting edge design, it exudes class and style. Artfully conceived the Kiso OM is a powerful tool in the right hands. Please call Robin for a description of its virtues, or make an appointment to come by and play this extraordinary guitar. Here are the details....... Indian Rosewood back and sides with a fine Sitka Spruce top. There is virtually NO HEEL ~ which allows access darn near into the soundhole. The playability is excellent, the sound firecrackers out of this instrument, but with grace. Superbly sublime rosette of koa, shell and abalone. The neck is Mahogany with a two way adjustable truss rod and two steel reinforcement bars. The fingerboard is ebony. Machine Heads are Goto gold tuners with ebony buttons. The body and fingerboard are bound in koa, the strap pins are ebony. The NECK JOINT is the KisoKlein design bolt on with no heel. The Kiso Crane is inlaid into Hawaiian koa. The BRIDGE is ebony ~ made in the Klein acoustic design called an "Impedance matching" bridge that is shaped to coincide with the string vibration and assist in an even transmission from the string through the bridge into the top without hindering flow. The strings are held in place on individual posts and guided into place with black cap screws. THE DOOR ~ Officially titled "Removable Tail Block" is designed and used under license from luthier and guitar designer Abe Wechter. This access door makes the inside of the guitar body almost totally accessible for fine tuning of the bracing, electronic installation and upgrading, and for repairs in years to come. The INTERNAL BRACING STRUCTURE is the KisoKlein configuration incorporating Steve Klein's Kasha inspired bracing. The Nut Width is 1 3/4" and the Scale length is 25 3/8". Our Price for this wonderful instrument (case included) is $2495..ON HOLD.Front... Closer... Back... Headstock... Fretboard... Rosette... Heelcap, or lack thereof... Down Front... Down Back... Side.
