Kona KS12NE

My Kona was made in China. That being said, it is still a well made lower priced guitar. It has a beautiful satin finish maple top and the mahogany sides and back are very nice. I also own a Larrivee D03 12 acoustic electric that I paid more than $1000 for. I bought this used Kona as a backup for my Larrivee.

I have always loved the 12 string sound. Nothing else in my book can rival the beautiful rolling timbre of a well-tuned 12 string guitar, electric or acoustic. My Kona has a bright, rich sound that suits my style really well. I like music like America, Eagles, early Beatles, etc. I play Christian contemporary mostly on stage and it does a great job plugged or unplugged. It has a boatload of volume and the EQ has a good range. It has a terrific sound that comes very close to the sound of the Larrivee. I have tried other brands of acoustic/electrics, like Takamine, Hofner, Jasmine, and Taylor, but they all sounded like they had a cardboard body compared to the Larrivee. The Hofner actually played better than any of them, but the sound was dull and flat. The Kona is much better and for the price I believe it is the best I have owned. It makes a beautiful rich sound that only a 12 can do, though only a few I've ever played or owned come close to it.

The setup was perfect for me since I do a little picking below the 7th or 8th fret. I detected a little string noise, but my Larrivee has that, too. It is very well constructed and has a beautiful finish and feel. The headstock is a little heavy and effects the balance when I take my hand off the neck, but that is a small trade off for the other features.

The only drawback I have found is it does lose its tune slightly in a twenty four hour period, but not while I am playing. It feels well made and I believe it will serve my needs well.

I love this guitar and plan to keep it for a long time. The only reasons I can't give it a higher rating are that it does lose a little of its tune overnight and, although it is well constructed, it is still made of less expensive materials which bode a shorter useful life expectancy for my purposes. For the money though, it is the best deal I have found.

From www.justguitarsonline.com:

Active pickup system with 3-band EQ
Solid spruce top
Mahogany back and sides
Full binding and rosette
Solid rosewood fret board
Solid rosewood bridge
Includes traditional pick guard
Maintenance allen wrench
Extra strap pin and cleaning cloth
5 year limited warranty

The sound wasn't bad UNPLUGGED. It was fairly full and balanced for a 12-string (which is usually pretty mid-rangey). And the sustain was excellent. BUT played through a PA (which is why I bought it) it sounded tinny. I a/b'd it with a Seagull 12 string and the Seagull (through the PA) blew it away. The electronics must be 3rd-rate.

The action was a bit high, but not terrible. No obvious flaws in the finish, but I don't like the high gloss as I think it makes it look cheap. In fact, the guitar overall did look cheap due to the finish and design.

This guitar seemed solid, however the tuners seemed cheap and didn't hold the tune very well.

I returned the guitar to the on-line dealer (justguitarsonline.com--he was the cheapest on-line, and they don't sell Konas in OKC) and I'm waiting for the credit to show up on my credit card. The guy's emails were cordial, but he was a bit slow to respond. I'm hoping he refunds my money with no hassle.

I have been playing for about 15 years. I own a Martin D-16GTCE, a Tele copy, Strat copy (used to have a '73 Fender Strat) and a 335 copy. I was intrigued about this guitar because I like bargain guitars that sound good, and I had hoped with the glowing reviews on the other Kona models that I would be happy. Well, I ended up returning this guitar and getting a Seagull S12 Quantum EQ because the Kona sounds crappy amplified. Please take my advice: for about $200 more, the Seagull is definitely worth the extra money. You'll spend well over $100 on the Kona just to set it up and put decent tuners on it. Then you've still got a cheap looking guitar with crappy sounding electronics. The Seagull is set up flawlessly, has good tuners, and plugged in and eq'd sounds like a dream--full and lush--it sounds like a $1000 guitar (plus it looks likes an expensive, well-made guitar). I'm amazed they can produce such a quality guitar for $400. The best price I found was from a guy on Ebay "Milkman Music." I pulled the trigger on a BIN and total including shipping was only $414. I know my raving about the Seagull is suspicious, but I assure you I don't sell these guitars--I'm just ecstatic about getting a great 12-string acoustic-electric for $400!