Klein M43 Acoustic Guitar Start Price USD 10,500.00 Current Price USD 10,500.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, June 29, 2008 End Time Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Location Rochester, NY See more about 'Klein M43 Acoustic Guitar' Description Steve Klein is, perhaps, the most innovative builder/designer of flattop guitars alive today. His creations, built on the acoustic principles of Michael Kasha, are guitars with architecture like no other. And sound like no other. Each is exquisitely hand made from the finest woods - in this case, Engelmann Spruce and Figured East Indian Rosewood. The width of the neck at the nut is 1 3/4 inches. Scale is 25.5 inches, and in typical Steve Klein fashion, the nut is a zero fret.Steve Kauffmann is to be credited with building the Klein M43s. They were made for a short time in the late 1990s and were sold as quickly as they were made. There are an infantesimally small number of these guitars out there, and since I bought this 8 years ago, I've not seen one for sale.Steve Klein has not been building for many years now, but has recently announced he will start again. His starting price for guitars will be $25,000. At that price, this is a steal. It's in exactly the shape it was in when I bought it, which is just about mint. There are some slight, small, surfaces scratches around the top of the sound hole that Steve acknowledged when I bought it.This guitar is equipped with a Highlander pickup system with both under saddle pickup and a condenser mic. You can hear samples that I recorded for my CD 11:11 at http://www.bobmartin1111.com/music.html . What you'll hear there was the Highlander system directly to Cubase. Pretty amazing.Anyway, if you are reading this, you probably have a good idea what this guitar is, what it will do, and how rare it is. It comes with a custom white Calton case the has Steve Klein's signature embossed into it.1. Playability - because of the ability to easily reset the neck on the Klein (it's removable and can be shimmed, as you know), the playability on it is fine tuned. I have light gauge strings on it and the action is better than any flattop guitar I've ever owned. I use Elixir Nanoweb strings, and they really seem to be happy on the guitar. The 1 3/4" width allows for an easy transition from standard 1 11/16 guitars for fingerstyle. 2. Sound - the balance of the sound is just about perfectly neutral. There is no big bass, and it's not trebly. It's got a very lively sound that can cut through just about any group setting. It's VERY VERY responsive, as you've seen with Steve Kauffman's guitar. This makes it an absolute joy to play. The recorded sound on my cut Treefrog from 11:11 is the sound of this guitar with no EQ - just a touch of reverb. This is the best sounding flattop for recording I've ever played. I think, reading what Juber and Simpson have said about the Oval Hole, a typical response. 3. Ergonomics - the size of the lower bout and the contours of the guitar make very comfortable and physically balanced. It, to me, is the perfect sized Klein.Ask as many questions as you like. I am the original owner and would be happy to answer them.   Place a Bid!