Kona Dreadnought

I have mixed feelings about the sound. The guitar has a full sound for open chords (even higher up on the neck). Major sevenths and some other jazz chords sound pretty good. Barre chords do not pick up the subtle difference in sound between major and minor forms. Intonation is not professional grade. While the notes are true all the way up the neck, the higher up the neck I play, the more the notes sound like a kind of dull ping, without resonance or natural sustain.

The action is what I believe used to be considered standard before low action became really popular. However, the strings ARE easy to press down. For most players higher action would make it harder to play fast, but of course that varies between players. The sound hole rosette and headpiece insignia are decals, and not real inlay work. The tuning machines are strong, with a smooth turning action. The nato back, sides, and neck look really nice with what I would call a matte sheen, rather than gloss finish. Also, I like the contrast between the dark wood of the back, sides and neck with the light natural spruce of the top. Last but not least, it stays in tune better than my Washburn.

I would highly recommend it as an inexpensive beginning guitar for folk, or country.

Simply Put.....I own 3 of the Kona Line Guitars.
All in All, compared to many of the much higher priced guitars, this guitar is FLAWLESS!

Sound quality is great, I bought the first one over 5 years ago and it still plays as good as the day I bought it.

I did have to adjust the action Slightly on the last one I purchased but it was a simple truss adjustment. The other two were perfect from day one.

I use my trusty Kona on Gigs at least twice a month without any fear of it letting me down. Yes I do take a back up with me, but guess what, it is also a Kona. The only reason I carry a back up is if I break a string.

10 Year warranty......NEVER HAD TO USE THE WARRANTY.

I have been playing guitar for over 15 years and own everything from a Taylor, Washburn, Gibson and a Fender. So why do I play the Konas? Because it is lower priced than the others, but plays just as good. Why should I risk doing damage to one of the higher dollar guitars or having them knock over during a gig, when the Kona is cheaper to replace if damaged and plays just as good.

Very basic

Great sound for basic chords around the first three frets, however bar chords tend to have a buzz and the intunation is constantly out. The farther you play, up on the neck, the worse the buzz and intunation get...

The action is mediocre. Medium gauge strings buzz, annoying any quality musician's ears, despite neck adjustments. Light gauge strings are not much better.

It seems to be well designed in terms of a durable axe.

I have a Martin DC 1E, it is my primary axe, this piece is my campfire beater acoiustic. Now I am in search of a Jasmine for a back up axe. The ones that I have played have sounded great fro around $100.00 to $150.00

made roughly 2000+/-
beautiful guitar, mine is a dark blue, from far away it looks nearly black. Standard Kona bridge and head.

Wow, you simply have to hear one to believe it. You can't describe it. I used to go to MARS back when they were open, this guitar should have sat on their $4000 wall. If I were handed a new takamine or the Kona, hands down I'm going home with the Kona.
It sounds warm, yet vibrant and full. Great for playing many styles of acoustic music.

ACtio is great, even straight out of the box. Actually, I have never adjusted the action on mine. It's great, it doesn't have that baseball bat and barbed wire feel to it. No flaws on the guitar at all.

I actually bought this for $99 as one to beat around, throw in the car, etc. Now it sits with my more expensive acoustics. It is very reliable, very durable. Just remember, it is an acoustic guitar.

solid top,cutaway,satin finish very well layed out.looks very expensive

ok heres the deal with kona ..Ive never heard a bad kona..Ive heard good and great konas the quality is somewhat variable a good kona sounds like a takamine thats worth about 600 bucks and a great kona sounds like a
2000 taylor..Im not joking...Ive sat with one in a room with expensive guitars and poeple came up and commeneted on the sound ..I also a/b tested them with a martin d-28 and it sounds more robust..how,what why? who knows ...Can't figure it out...logically it shouldnt sound this good especially based the price but it does..its the under 200 dollar taylor killer...I'd better get another before the catch on and the pice doubles

incrediable action

so far so good

best acoustic guitar value period ! sounds and plays like a top of the line acoustic

Actually, it is an update from a precedent evaluation... but 6 months later...

The guitar did not held up very well... warped neck , horrible buzz at the 12th fret...incredible finish but the materials are really cheap ... keys won't keep the guitar tuned...

Well , I am not deceived... still an increddibly beautiful instrument to look at... but it is gonna need work to keep it playable on a day to day basis and when you factor what you paid for.... it ain't worth the trouble...

Indeed, this guitar was made by musicians for musicians and you got to love it to keep it on good shape. I will, but you may not.

2003 Acoustic sunburst (awesome!!) cutaway prototype for 2005, made in China.
22 frets buzz free , laminated cedar top, solid red cedar back, nato sides as far as I can tell.
Neck larger and flatter than my acoustic Ibanez Artist or popular electrics but very nice, well made and still confortable; adjusts with an Allen key through the soundhole like Martins.
Tuners may need to be replaced sometime down the road... cheesy feeling and barely gold color plated.
Neck is large and thin, small or medium frets, rosewood bound, binding everywhere!!! Really nice finish... Incredible in fact for the price paid... Only visible flaw... binding is larger on one side of the neck; still the finish is smooth and almost flawless. Came with a nylon lightly padded gig bag

Nice acoustic sound, well balanced, a little on the bright sound but lacking in depth. Curisously it projets well when you dig in it. Clearly not a contestant for my old Ibanez Artist which sings from bass to treble. Nice balance, equal sustain but lacks volume, presence - strings were rusty when I got her - switching to new Martins ,010s... should help, will see...

Guitar should be well suited for finger style picking, very nice access to the upper register

Setup a little low with the ,10s... will adjust it higher when fitting larger ,12s set

Fit and finish unbelievable for the price paid... Guitars costing almost 6 or 8 times as much are not as nicely finished !! Loose tuning pegs. Nut a little high on the treble side. Compensated bridge: good for intonation but unadjustable and rather slim may need replacing sometime... But Hey! What do you expect for less than 100 bucks !

Guitar surprisnigly sturdy in that price range or any price range for that matter ! Tuning pegs will need repalcing but taht is about it.
Nice and deep finish that should withstand time.
Solid strap buttons. Bought to take the soldier role of my other Ibanez acoustic. Would never giog wothout a backup whatever guitar I would have.

Kona guitars get a 5 year warranty, but it would not be worth to have it repaired - better buy a new one or even more than one !!

I've been playing for almost (already!)30 years !! Own an Ibanez acoustic (of which I can't speak enough), an American Standard Fender Stratocaster (a sturdy classic - The real McCoy!), and a Samick TR2 Torino (of which I can't speak enough too!!). The electrics get processed through massaged pedals... Garmopat modified TS7 Tube Screamer and Analog Mike Boss SD-1 into a George Dennis optic Wah/Volume and a Fender Blues Junior...Talking mainly dirty blues here, but heavy rock if you want!!

If stolen or lost, I would buy another one, and in fact may buy a K2 Slimline electro-acoustic to bridge the gap between the electrics and the acoustics!

Sound balance and brightness, finish and price are its main qualities. Lacks some "oomph" - first cutaway owned, inherent to his design ? - and it may be difficult to adjust the nut and the bridge, but may not have too...

I belive my rating is rather conservative, not taking the ridiculous price into account. For your money I cannot conceive you could get more guitar than with that Kona... Would rate it a solid 9 taking price into account

It would make a nice first guitar for any student with the bonus that you may well want to keep it along with a better (and much more costlier) instrument instead of trading it.

Bought new from a local pawn shop. See previous review for detailed specs. Solid spruce top has some odd figuring and goobers. High end mfr would likely reject for appearance. But the tone is better than most acoustics I have played, and is as good as my friend's $3,000.00 Taylor. I have been playing guitar for over 35 years and this guitar is almost too good to be true. For 150.00 bucks I got a guitar that sounds, looks, and plays like a $3,000.00 guitar. The laminated rosewood back&sides look good. It is your basic Dreadnought guitar as far as look & features. The bridge is artistic, and because of it's shape and placement may improve the tone slightly over a traditional bridge.

The tone and playability are inspiring. When you pick it up & start playing, you do not want to put it down. The tone is well balanced and reacts predictably to playing dynamics. Great harmonics. Stays in tune. This would be a great instrument for singer/songwriter as it sounds full on its own without any accompiniment.

Excellent factory set-up. You will find some finish flaws, and i noticed the pickguard was not aligned properly with the sound hole, and inside the sound cavity you will find some wood fuzz & glue drippings at the kerfing and end blocks. If that is a big deal to you, spend the $3,000.00 on the Taylor, put it in it's case - you wouldn't want to put a nick or gouge in it now, would you?

Guitar is solid. Nice gold machines. Synthetic nut and bridge saddle, and plastic bridge pins may need replacement earlier than bone or tusQ.

n/a

If it were lost or stolen, I absolutely would buy another one. This is a players guitar-leave it next to the couch, take it on a picnic. Gig with it. Record with it. Amaze your friends. Do not allow the snooty ones with the Taylors and Martins to touch it. They are not worthy....

This is a New Dreadnought style guitar made in China with no electronics.
Full Binding On Body, Neck & Headstock
Chrome Enclosed Machine Heads
D?Adarrio Strings
Nato Wood Construction
Bound, Rosewood FretBoard
20 Nickel-Silver Frets 14 to the body
Inlaid Faux Pearl Dot Markers
Rosewood Bridge
Cutaway Shape
The High gloss finish is thin enough to suit my tastes but however no attempt was made to polish the finish as one would see in a high end guitar
I will only provide average rating for this guitar for its features because i have to compare this instrument to my best taylor guitar....for the money it should get very very high ratings..but its not a 2000 dollar guitar

dogone thing suprised me pleanty...this guitar has a very well balanced and beautiful voice, it competes with any guitar in my collection and certianly does better than some of my very high end guitars. In fact the only reason i am writing this review is because i was so pleased with the sound of this very inexpensive instrument...i actually would call this a high end guitar if i didnt know how much i paid for it...here is another opinion. A student will not play a cheap guitar...a great student guitar has to both play and sound very good or you are wasting your time and money on the instrument...IMO A student should start with a guitar in the 400 dollar price range just to give em a fair chance...this guitar will certianly fit the bill for a fraction of the cost. A person will actually pick up this guitar only for its sound quality, thats what makes a good student guitar. This guitar has great projection, very clear bottom end without getting hooty or boomy, the mid and high end is very faithful to a dread style guitar with average amount of sustain. I wouldnt use any guitar in the studio or stage without a good quality pickup and this guitar is void of all electronics. In vain i attempted to use a mic for this guitar...dont waste your time

the factory setup is not too shabby...playable right out of the box but could have the action adjusted to suit playing style as the neck is adjustable...its set just like a martin...a bit high for my taste...I gave the old neck a crank and sighted down the thing to check the reliefe ...still had some...didnt get buzzy...the fret work is very nice and the harmonics ...well it just volinteered all kinds of harmonics...just what i would expect out of high end guitar. The inotation compares to any dread ive ever played...will make no attempt to improve it. I will remove the plastic saddle and sand it a bit thinner...its too thick and dont move in the route as it should...but wont bother replaceing it with bone..just dont need it. The highgloss finish appears to be thick, but on close inspection it just about correct IMO...I DONT care for thick plastic gobs of finish on my guitar and you can see small dimples where the grain didnt fill up...The tuning machines feel quite adequate. The bracing is very strong indeed, guitar gets high marks for the bracing...yes a tiny bit of glue here and there...who cares, more is better if you ask me. The truss rod adjusted very easily and was smooth. I just want to give this guitar high marks here because attention to detail for the price of this instrument is way better than i would expect

This is a good guitar for the money...its not a stage or studio guitar...the construction is above average and should hold up well

I collect fine vintage guitars and occasionally sell student model guitars...this guitar compares favorably to more expensive guitars and one is not buying a bunctha frills...rather have a good ugly instrument than a pretty piece of garbage..if this guitar was outfited with a fishman or other pickup, one could do a lot with it