Kona K2 Thinbody Acoustic/Electric

I purchased my Kona K2 in 2008 at Memorial Music in Houston and it was already set up beautifully. The finish (dark blue) is perfect, the neck is straight and true. I particularly like the thin neck and low action and it is similar to circa mid 60s Gibson J45s and 50s and B25s. I have played this guitar at gigs and traveled with it for over a year and have had no problems with it. For the price, it is an incredible guitar.

I usually play big body Gibsons and Guilds and bought this guitar primarily for travel. If the airlines wreck this Kona, I'd buy another. The tone is well balanced but not rich and full due to the thin body. However, the tone is better than many other guitars that are significantly much more expensive. I bought it for the onboard electronics, slim neck, light weight and price. I play delta style blues and ragtime and it has a solid thumpy bass that many other expensive guitars lack. The built in electronics give a good balanced tone.

It set up by the music store where I purchsed it and it was perfect! No problems here at all.

I have used this on many of my gigs in the past year and have traveled with it as well. Due to its small size, it fits overhead on most planes as long as it is in a gig bag. It has been very reliable and durable.

It has a 10 year warranty limited but I have not had to use it. If it ever needs repairs, I'll take it to the person who does all of my repairs locally.

I've been playing for over 35 years and own several older Gibsons, Guilds, a Bozo and a Regal resonophonic. Although this guitar does not have the full, rich bassy tone of my older guitars, I love this Kona for its playability! I particularly like the thin, fast neck and light weight. If stolen, I would definitely buy another. For the price, it outshines many guitars that cost significantly more.

Neck seems straight and feels nice.

Does have a decent sound acoustic (when it stays in tune) and sounds alot better pluged in.

Well, The first one I was sent was totally f**ked. Wouldn't stay in tune, some notes wouldn't ring and the bridge started coming up off the guitar. Second one was supposedly "set up" by a tech at Kona and the strings ring and the bridge is O.K but I'll be damned if the thing stays in tune for more than 5 strums. you get what you pay for-CHEAP! Save your money and get a good acoustic/electric. I bought this to replace an Ovation that cracked and the Ovations still plays better and stays in tune better cracked!

Not reliable at all. Junk.

Support was good. They contacted me promptly and tried to help as much as they could. Now if they spent as much time doing that when they build these pieces of crap it probably would play good.

I've been playing for 25 years and wished I would have tested this before I bought it but no one around my area carry this brand. I do like the look and feel and the thin body, but what is the point if it plays like crap? Guess I will have to have a large body and deal.

This guitar is the k2 with gold tuners, thin body and it is acoustic electric. Looks-wise this thing is pretty aggressive looking. the bridge is similar to what I've seen on tacoma guitars. The neck and headstock are reminisent of an electric. The model I have is natural color, spruce top and mahogany back. White binding all around.
The finish is a slick gloss, but on mine it has bubbled up in places and has chipped off. That has only happened on the neck and sides, not the top or bottom. Like other reviews mentioned, it does feel, play and sound like a much more expensive guitar, and seems like it will hold up over time, except for the finish on mine. Also, it has a single cutaway so you can reach the higher frets on this one. Besides the bubbles in the finish, the only other problem I noticed is four or five frets have risen above the fingerboard and cause slight buzzing. I'm planning on gluing these back down. electronics on this thing are smooth.

acoustically it is balanced. you don't get too much low end obviously and it is definately not twangy or metallic sounding like other thinbody acoustics I've played. You won't be heard much playing with your buddies and their full size guitars, but you aren't completely silent either. Electrically it is perfect. I've recorded with it and it sounds way way better than any of my other guitars as far as true acoustic sound goes. The only problem I ran into again with the sound is the frets coming up on the fretboard. But it is fixable.

I bought this guitar used so that explains the problems I have experienced. The action was too high when I got it so lowered the saddle and tighted the truss rod. Now it is okay. I'm thinking about lowering it some more and putting on lighter strings. But the set up is great on this guitar, the spacing on the strings and the neck width is pretty narrow. the neck feels like an electric neck. I don't really like the look of white-bound necks for some reason but that doesn't effect playability much.

It's solid. Electrically it is sweet and balanced. Acoustically it's more on the acoustic side of the spectrum than the bowl-backed acoustics I've played that sound like poo.

I'll do the repairs myself or get a friend to fix the rising frets. I think wherever this thing was stored before has something to do with them coming off the fretboard, but now I've got it and it will live on.

It's a good guitar for the money. I got mine used for $75. It will last you and you will be satisfied for a long time, especially if you want a more portable acoustic that can plug in too. I would get this thing over many other crap guitars that sell for more. Saying all this makes me feel bad that we can't get American made guitars for this price and quality, because if I could I would buy them over this any day. But I may never be able to afford an American made guitar. Oh well.

Far East constructed thinline acoustic with cutaway, made in 2007.
Laminated construction. This one is a sunburst finish and is very nice. It starts off a sort of transparent vintage orange in the center then works to a dark transparent red color before going to almost black at the edge. Back, sides and neck are a medium mahogany color. Spruce top with mahogany back sides and neck. Very nice dark tightgrained rosewood fretboard and bridge. Nickle Silver frets that are even and well finished. On board electronics with three bands and volume control. Takes one 9 volt battery that was included with the purchase. Black and white plastic binding on the body top and bottom, fretboard, headstock and back center. Comes with a neck wrench like most all do. For a <$300 guitar is is very good. I paid $127.00 including shipping for this fine instrument.

Sounds very nice unplugged and would work well there alone. Due to the thin body (only 3 inches deep) it is loud and pretty boomy. Not a dred or jumbo, but easily as loud as my OOO guitar. This is an acoustic guitar, but is intended to be amplified. It is very good there. I don't have an acoustic amp, but it performs very well through the 60 watt Behringer amp I own. Sounds much more expensive than it's price.

The action was high when delivered. It too a healthy adjustment on the truss rod and sanding a little off the bottom of the the saddle to put it right, but it is perfect now.
The finish is very nice. Gloss, but fairly thin and well put on. No flaws on the guitar that I can find. The top and bottom are well bookmatched, the bridge and fretboard are well finished and smooth.
Tuning machines are cheap gold shaller type, but work well and stay in tune.

I think this guitar would do just fine live and would hold up well.
It has two strap buttons. One on the lower end where most ald do, and a second one on the bottom of the neck heel. I would rather it be on the lower side of the neck heel or not there at all, but if need be, I'll move it. They are both solid and don't feelo like they will fall off.

10 year limited warranty from Kona. I have not needed to contat them for this one, but I have another kona that had a minor problem with the electronics and they were absolutely fantastic. Hopefully they are still and have maintained that small company customer service philosophy

Been playing a few years. If lost or stolen, I would definately get another.
I wish I had a thinline hardcase for it.
I think Kona guitars compare favorably agains guitars costing many more dollars than this one did. I hope they keep it up.

I guess it was made in 2005
Guitar is decribed well in other reviews...this one is transparent red and very nice.

the guitar does have a rich full sound. I am as pleased as the other folks who have rated this guitar. However you must take the Di adario heavy gauge strings off immediatley they are way to heavy for this guitar.. put a set of 10-46 or 10 48's on. The heavy strings really bow the neck badly. Once I changed strings I could really appreciate the well balanced highs mids and lows while unplugged or plugged in. I am really surprised they ship this guitar with those heavy strings.
Anyway this guitar sounds really great and plays pretty well too.

Well the action is a bit too high. I tried adjusting the truss rod and it lowered them a little, but they are too high for easy playing up high on the neck, I'll have to take it in for a pro adjustment. However it is a beautiful guitar for the money even two times the money. I am glad I bought it

Everything seems solid enough... the finish appears a little thin but still very nice. For the money it looks really beautiful.
I would hate to gig with any guitar without a back up...just asking for trouble, embarrassment, and loss of continuity.

don't know

I have been playing for about 37 years and have owned tons of guitars and equipment..from high end to low end. This guitar is right up there with the expensive ovation's I have owned and way better than two to three hundred dollars acoustics I have owned. This Kona is a thinbody acostic electric but resonates better than a couple of Dean full body acoustic guitars I own, and better than my Takamine. It projects better with more balance. Plugged in it is crystal clear like my ovations at abot one sixth of the price. I will definately get another and will recomend Kona to anyone. The best $140 I ever spent on a guitar. I like that the guitar can be eq'd nicely.
I have to give an overall ten to this guitar considering price, quality and sound.

Thinbody dreadnought acoustic/electric with cutaway, spruce top, nato back and sides, full binding on the body, neck, and headstock (the back of the body is bound, also), "skunk stripe" down the back of the body, enclosed tuners, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, onboard pickup/preamp with Bass, Mid, and Treble controls.

As others have mentioned, it comes with two pickguards, a traditional teardrop style and a more stylish tortoise shell type. Personally, I don't plan to apply either, since I like the look just the way it is. It has a certain cuteness appeal. It also comes with a Kona-logo cleaning rag and a truss rod allen wrench (more on this later).

The one I bought is with the Natural top. It can also be had in Sunburst, Red, or Blue, usually for about $10.00 more in most places I've seen them.

I wanted the factory Kona case, but someone somewhere dropped the ball and let them get backordered for two months so I'll find an aftermarket case locally. I hate gig bags.

Made in China, but don't let that fool you. This is pure quality.

Okay, let me start by getting one thing out of the way: I did not "settle" for this $129.00 guitar, I WANTED this $129.00 guitar. I've seen nice Alvarez guitars and others for less in pawn shops. Make no mistake about it, this instrument falls into the "beginner" category ONLY because of the price.

I'm traditionally a metalhead/shredder-type electric player. In fact, this is the first "real" acoustic I've owned in 20 years. Last year, while doing some recording, I again learned to appreciate the acoustic sound. I plan to do some recording with it through a POD 2.0 later this summer.

If you were blindfolded and someone handed you this guitar, you could mistake it for a Gibson Hummingbird or a high-end Taylor or Martin (except for the body depth of about three inches). When you finish laughing and see that I'm serious, I'll continue. The neck feels very beefy in the hands. There is no "warble" effect like you get with a lot of less expensive guitars. It feels solid as a rock all the way around. It handles hard strumming like you wouldn't believe.

Electronically, I've only tried it in the store where I bought it. It sounded fine to me.

It comes strung with D'Addarios, as the hang tag states. The gauge is at least two sizes bigger than I like, so I'm restringing it soon with a set of 10-46 or something along those lines. I might stick with D'Addarios, since I really like the sound but just not the gauge.

The overall sound could best be described as an upper shelf dreadnought; much better bass than you would suspect and great tone all the way around.

I'm giving it a 10, not because it's "great for the price," but because it's just great. PERIOD. Play one and see for yourself.

I played probably over 25 Konas in pawn shops while shopping around and one thing seems consistent: they need a truss rod adjustment when new. I suspect that Kona does this on purpose to provide less string tension while shipping. No problem, though, just turn the truss rod a turn or two clockwise while facing from the body to the headstock. This will remove the slight neck bow. Make sure the strings are loosened really good before doing this. I loosened the strings and adjusted mine with the handy-dandy allen wrench in the hang bag while they weren't looking. It's okay, though, because I bought it! :)

So far, the finish appears flawless. The top and back are bookmatched. Speaking of which, I'm still not clear on whether the spruce top is solid or a laminate. With a sound this good, it can be particle board for all I care. What I didn't discover until I got it home is that the bookmatched top will have one side looking dark and the other looking light at a certain light angle. Turn it around slightly and it reverses. The body and neck have a very pretty dark woodgrain.

The preamp battery was included. I'm hearing that this battery is a cheapie and will need replacement soon. Who cares? The acoustic sound alone is what sold me on it.

My only criticism (and it's a tiny one) is that the wiring on the inside sort of flops around loose. Nothing that a piece of tape on the back side won't cure when I change the strings.

It's too early to give a full-blown reliability report, especially since I don't gig, but everything about it says quality.

The main distributor for Kona seems to be M&M Wholesale. That's who most of the pawn shops (and a few music stores) buy them from. The rep is named Rick Brown. I e-mailed him with a few questions and always got a quick and courteous response. I've heard this from others, as well. He even tried to help me locate the hardshell case.

I've been playing for about 25 years (and boy, are my fingers tired!) Seriously, I've been into guitars off and on for most of my life. I know the difference between quality gear and cheap junk. I have yet to play a Kona that wasn't nice. New ones, that is. I've seen guitars from every maker that were abused.

As far as comparisons, see the above. I've played Martins in the $500.00-$600.00 range that didn't sound as good as this one. Just for the record, NO, I don't work for Kona. I just honestly think that they're offering an awesome guitar at an amazing price. It's almost like they've discovered the Stradirarius secret or something.

If it were stolen or lost, of course I would buy another one, especially at the price. As others have said, pick up a couple of these before some corporate bean counter says, "Hey! We can sell these for $700.00 and people will buy them!" The sad thing is, they would be right because the sound and quality will fool you. I'm ashamed to say that Kona probably needs to jack their prices by, say, about $500.00 bucks to give themselves "legitimacy."

The only thing I would do differently, and this isn't a complaint, is that I would have bought the elusive hardshell case three months ago before they temporarily disappeared from the face of the earth.

All in all, buying this guitar at this price is like having your rich uncle sell you his Martin D-28 for $50.00 because he doesn't know what he has.