Kona K1E Dreadnought

as stated in the other reviews

I play blue grass, Country, and in church. My roots are in blues and rock&roll (not metal).I play it through a Peavey Classic 50-410 and a Fender M-80. The guitar has the normal feedback issues that any acoustic/electric has,it's sound is shapeable with the EQ full to bright,just a great sounding guitar for the money.

The factory set up was okay. I cut the strings off as soon as I got it home and replaced them with Elixer's. I may need to go to a medium set as the lights buzz a little and the action is very low. I had to file the end's of the fret's and smooth them out a little but no big deal.

Be careful of the output jack it can break off due to where it's at.I use this guitar in church events without worry. Just always have a spare 9V battery with you. I have had it two years without problems and also have a K1 that I have had for 3&1/2 years with no problems.

I have been playing for 40 years I've had a lot of guitars most of them Electric's But I've had everything from an Alverez-Yari (Great) to a Takamine E series ( JUNK )and a few fender,alverez,cort,epiphone,fender,alverez,cort,epiphone,etc. and the Kona's are as good as any except the Yari but it cost a lot of $$$ I wish I could get a dealership for Kona they have not responded to My inquiry.

Revisiting my earlier review from a a while back.

After having and playing the guitar for going on two years now, I read my first review and decided I sounded a bit like an overzealous rookie. Well, my opinon of the guitar hasn't changed, but I'll try to be a little less enthusiastic with this followup.

The guitar is all laminate - spruce top, nato mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck. 4 band preamp/eq. I described The finish as "glossy" and possibly hand applied in my first review. It is still pretty glossy, but what I said were brush strokes are actually just the finish lying on the natural grain of the wood when you look at the top very closely.
The standard tuners have held up very well. Not a single problem and the guitar stays in tune better than a couple I have with big name brand tuning machines on them. That says a lot about them. The rest of the hardware has held up very well too.

No change here. Still very impressed with the sound of this thing.
I did have a problem with electronice but it was taken care of without any problems by Kona. See below.

I have changed the nut and saddle out for home made tusq. It brightened up the sound a bit. Still no flaws other than the pick guard scratches induced by me.

Has withstood everything I have given it.

Last fall the electronics started acting up occasionally. Sometimes a couple of the strings would sound a little muted.
I emailed Kona about the problem and was answered the next day by the US sales manager. He put me in contact with the company guitar tech. He decided the guitar should probably have a new preamp and piezo to take care of the problem. I could have sent the guitar to them for repairs, but did not want to mail it. He said no problem and said he would send me the parts to fix it along with detailed instructions (which I didn't really need, but gratefully accepted anyway). Three days later a package arrived at my house containing a new preamp, battery, a new piezo, new wiring, new plug socket, new saddle and 7 new bridge pins (an extra because they "tend to break"). Also were detailed instructions as promised, with handwritten side notes and tips!
Impressive. I hope they keep this old style small company flavor in the future cause they sure make you think of times long gone.
Some of the other companies need to take lessons from these guys.

Oh, by the way. It took an hour or so to fix and the problem has not recurred.

Secondly, this rating is for P-Hill the store I bought it from on ebay. I am a repeat customer with them and have been treated equally well. I have no reservations about recommending them to anyone else. The two (Kona and P-Hill) are a good combination.

In my opinion this is still one of the best deals out there for a high quality, low priced guitar. I hope they keep it up.

Cutaway lefthanded...see Kona websight..I give this an 8 or better because it is REALLY good for the price.

I ordered it online out of curiosity from the reviews here and I had a little extra cash in the budget after getting a good deal on a washburn a/e.I picked it up from the UPS depot,took my time running errands...but when I rough tuned it, and struck an open G..WOW.I was afraid to pick up my other guitars for an hour to compare.I took it to a friends house to make that "martin comparison" (he has a D16)and it is true-it is pretty darned close, even with factory D'ardio strings(which aren't bad).I play a variety of stuff-across the board and it is good for all.Nice tone,even...on high or lows and up the fretboard.It compares to the Mercedes level guitars for the price of a used Yugo.I can't imagine what it will sound like when I put different strings on it let alone if I put better pins/nut/ or bridge!

This catagory should be seperated truly (finish should be seperate).The setup and action were really amazing from the factory (for less than 100 dollars!).The action was great.Tuned to pitch there were no buzzing frets,the neck relief good.(I did let it aclimate to the temp/humidity after 7 days through UPS).When I change strings,I will improve the setup even more if I can, but it is really good for me.It plays really nicely.F and F- Slight imperfections-very slight,mostly in a bit of unevenness in the areas of the finish.But it is a nice looking instrument.It has that "non-glossy" martinesque finsh.

This...I have not had it long.The tuners, though not Grovers,keep it really well in tune. The finish-I will admit I am not sure how long it will wear in tose high contact areas like where you tuck it under your arm.It seems sturdy.I don't get really abusive with guitars,even when gigging or transport.With care, I think it will last a long time.(If not I'll just buy 6 or 7 more! )

I can't be fully sure here.It was dropshipped from Kona themselves,Fort worth,Tx. packaged well.The website looks okay,and you register (I assume for the 5 year warranty there) your guitar there. I have not had a reason to contact them (although I would like to to see if they'd let me Hawk these things in my area!).

I have been a pro Drummer for close to 30 years.I was everyone's guitar setup/repair tech, as I had that type of skill-(this and constantly setting up righty's when you are a Lefty taught me alot about action/playibility).I have been playing guitar for...15-17 years,semi-seriously for 10-12, seriously for about 5.Yes I would replace this guitar-my next guitar purchase may be one of the higher priced Konas.Do not be deterred by the low price tag. This is not some pile of ....Oh yeah-LOVE the cutaway!I chose this guitar thinking if it was half as good as some of the "hype" in the reviews-it would be a good kickaround guitar.It is far more than that.I already play it more than my others!

Handmade 2004 by the chinese, Acoustic Electric Drednought with cutout. Don't know if it is a solid or laminate spruce top (variously hear both about it) nato back and sides, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. Supposedly a natural satin finish, but it is very deep and shiny. Dont know what the finish is, but it's hand applied (if you really look close you can see the faint brush strokes). EQ-7545R electronic control with vol and 4 bands. Came with polishing cloth and two different pick guards. Enclosed diecast tuners of generic make, but great quality. Super value for the price.

I am relearning folk and soft rock after not touching a guitar for 30 years. I was looking for a nice guitar for a low price. After searching around for quite a while, I bought the Kona sight unseen off of ebay for 116.00. I don't want to sound like a over enthusiasic nut raving about this thing, but I can't help it. It is to put it short.... way above anything in it's class. It has a beautiful- deep tone, rich full sound and sustain. You can almost feel it communicating with you as the breeze moves the strings when you walk around the room. This guitar is a poser. It is a 800 dollar or better diamond hiding in a 200 dollar price bracket.

The guitar is set up very well from the factory, but I will be lowering the action a bit. just a bit high to suit me. The quality of the guitar is great. shiny smoothfinish, everything on this one is properly aligned, well glued without excess anywhere on it. the frets are uniform, no buzzing or hight frets. I have noticed that one of the imitation mother of pearl fret dots is set a little low in the rosewood, but that's about it.

I have already tested the durability of this thing twice, dropped it on the carpet once, and banged the headstock into the door frame while turning around. No damage either time. It looks like it will hold up very well under day to day use. The strap buttons are well anchored with screws (not push in). I wouldn't gig at my stage of expertise, but if id did, I would not worry about using this guitar.

5 year factory warranty. haven't had a need to contact the company. I wish they had a way to register your guitar on their site though.. Hear that Kona?

Only been playing for a short time This time. I also won a very old checkmate 5 string banjo and a very old Linden Mandolin. Gonna take them up again too.
I took a chance and bought this guitar sight unseen, based on reviews and pictures. I am not sorry I took the chance.
If this guitar were stolen or lost, I would definately get another one. In fact my plans right now are to get a Kona K2 thinbody as soon as possible. I wouldn't mind having three or four of these. I compared this to numerous other makes and honestly, for the price nothing came close, even guitars priced $600.00 or more higher were no nicer. In fact, most were not as nice.