Update: It seems this guitar is currently (2022) nearly impossible to find, so I removed the links that used to be here. Sorry.
In some of the pictures you see of the Kona K2TBL, this acoustic electric guitar may look kinda green. It’s not. It’s a deep blue. That’s what the “BL” in the model name stands for.
If a blue acoustic electric sounds like your cup o’ tea, read on. (I think it looks pretty cool myself.)
Pick Your Own Guard
The most unusual feature (in my opinion) about this guitar is that it comes with 2 pickguards – neither attached to the guitar body – in the box.
I think the styling of the pickguards depends on which two the manufacturer decides to throw in. You get to choose one of them and stick it onto the appropriate place on the top of your guitar.
I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with the other one. Save it for when the first one looks bad and needs replacing? I’m not sure I’d want to risk damaging my guitar by pulling the first one off.
It’ll be your call.
As to why the manufacturer (M&M Merchandisers) chose to include two pickguards, my guess is that it was cheaper to do so than to spend the time lining one up properly on the body and pasting it on themselves. In other words, I think it was a cost-saving measure, and they figured, “As long as we’re throwing one in the box, let’s give them two to choose from.”
Or something like that.
The rest of this blue guitar has much more standard features. There is one point of confusion though. I found two references to mahogany and one reference to spruce as the wood being used for the top of the instrument. I’m going to go with the majority – unless someone corrects me – and say that the whole body (top, back, and sides) is made of mahogany.
Actually this would make sense if they wanted the transparent blue (TBL in the model name) finish to look the same overall.
The fretboard and bridge are rosewood, a common material for the same.
There seems to be some confusion as to how long this guitar is. According to the manufacturer (I don’t have one in front of me to measure it), the length is 41 inches. The body is just 3 inches deep, making this what most consider a “thin body”.
This Dreadnought cutaway has a 25 ¾ inch scale with 20 frets along the board. It has gold diecast tuners, and you get D’Addario strings (my favorite brand).
The electronics feature an EQ-505 3-band active Piezo pickup system. Nothing real fancy, but it does the job. You can adjust the sound to your liking.
Extras, in addition to the pickguards, are a polishing cloth for keeping that blue nice and shiny, a neck wrench in case you need to adjust the truss rod, and a warranty (which is 10 years) and care guide.
From the manufacturer:
“This guitar is the perfect crossover instrument for the electric guitarists looking for a true, balanced acoustic sound without large body adjustment, or the smaller player that is uncomfortable with the deep dreadnought stretch.”
What I think they’re trying to get at is that this is a full-sized guitar without that full-sized feel. You should be able to play the standard Kona acoustic electric instead of looking around for a classic sized instrument.
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