Muscle Man

The second signature guitar from Knaggs aims to hit the pro-spec workingman’s single-cut spot

- Dave Burrluck

While many makers obsess about the replication of vintage ’Bursts, Joe Knaggs isn’t one of them. As this signature Kenai illustrates, it’s obvious where the inspiration lies. It’s the second Knaggs artist model, after Steve Stevens’, and regular Guitarist readers should be very familiar with the skills of Doug Rappoport who joined us for a blues-rock masterclass earlier this year.

Steve’s signature model slightly downsizes the Kenai blueprint, but here Doug’s uses the original plans with its almost Tele-meets-Les Paul outline measuring approximately 344mm (13.54 inches) across its lower bouts, with a trimmer-than-LP maximum depth of 52mm. It appears even trimmer (and is tapered from base to heel) when you look at the rim: while the top has a beautifully graduated carve, the back is flat with a rib-cage cutaway and noticeable chamfering around the edges, reducing that rim to approximately 43mm.

Neither chambered nor weight-relived, this Kenai weighs a near perfect 8.5lbs. “Very much pain goes into finding the right weight wood,” considers Joe from Knaggs HQ in Greensboro, Maryland. “It is getting more and more difficult. I’m not sure if weight relief or chambering is the future: there are other woods out there that are lighter in weight. I do think harder/heavier woods tend to be a bit more dominant on the treble side, but this is not always the case. I’ve heard great-sounding heavier guitars. I’ve heard crappy-sounding light guitars, too – not ours, I might add!”