lscottk
Experienced
I have a Knaggs Severn X that I just haven't been able to bond with. I have 3 other Knaggs, but they're all shorter scale length (24.75"). The Severn X is 25.5" scale. I've been playing 24.75" scale length for so many years that I just haven't been able to get comfortable with the Severn. So I'm looking to trade it for either a Les Paul or 335 style guitar. I'm willing to include some cash on my end for the right guitar. But this isn't a fire sale, so please keep that in mind if you're tempted to send me a lowball offer.
The electronics were in sorry condition when I bought the guitar, so I rewired it, replacing the volume pot with a 500K CTS pot because the original had dropouts, and replacing the failing 5-way switch with a Seymour Duncan Hyperswitch. The original pickups had been changed by the previous owner. I contacted Knaggs support and they told me that this guitar shipped with David Allen P51 humbuckers. The guitar had vintage Maxon Humbuckers in it when I bought it. The Maxon pickups only have two connector wires, so I replaced them with 4 conductor Vineham Sweet 59s so that I could make full use of the Hyperswitch. I looked into buying a set of David Allen P51s, so that I could bring it back to factory original specs, but I found out from a dealer listed on the David Allen website that David Allen no longer is with the company. The David Allen Pickups website was also unresponsive when I attempted multiple times to contact them. So I decided to go a different direction.
The middle pickup is the original Seymour Duncan SSL-3 (I was told this is the original middle pickup via email by Peter Wolf, from Knaggs Guitars customer support). The tuners are the original locking Gotoh tuners. The original Knaggs case and Knaggs tremolo arm are also included, as is the key for the original Knaggs case.
Installing the Hyperswitch required taking a small amount of wood out of the pickup cavity in order to get the Hyperswitch to fit. It isn't visible without removing the Hyperswitch (see pics), but I'm mentioning it in the interest of full disclosure. The Hyperswitch requires a 9v battery. There is ample room in the pickup cavity, so bracing the battery in place with foam is a non-issue (see pics).
The top is in excellent condition. The finish is called "Winter Solstice", and it sets off the grain in the maple nicely. The wear on the back is difficult to get pics of. There are a number of scratches in the Nitro finish. One small stratch (about 1" long and about as wide as the head of a pin) breaks the finish showing some wood. I'll see if I can figure out a way to take pictures of the wear if you need them. The wear is visible in person. But you can see from the pics that the wear isn't dramatic either. It lowers the overall condition of the guitar from Excellent to Very Good. The top is clean, so the wear is not visible while you're playing the guitar.
The neck and action are great. The frets have very mild signs of wear but it plays just fine as is. The action is low and it has excellent intonation. I did some minor adjustments of the truss rod and the truss rod adjusted properly with no issues.
This is a fine guitar that someone will love. It just isn't the right one for me.
I'm interested in trading for a 335 or Les Paul. I am not attached to the Gibson brand, and would considering adding some cash on my end for the right guitar. I recently bought a new Knaggs Sheyenne off of Reverb, but returned it because it had an upper mid focus that wasn't what I wanted from the guitar. For this reason, my preference is to meet someone locally. I live an hour South of Seattle. I'm willing to drive as far North as Vancouver, BC or as far South as Eugene, OR for the right deal. I would consider shipping. Make me an offer if you want to buy the guitar outright, but making a trade is my first choice.
Let me know what you've got for a trade. Please reach out if you have any questions.
The electronics were in sorry condition when I bought the guitar, so I rewired it, replacing the volume pot with a 500K CTS pot because the original had dropouts, and replacing the failing 5-way switch with a Seymour Duncan Hyperswitch. The original pickups had been changed by the previous owner. I contacted Knaggs support and they told me that this guitar shipped with David Allen P51 humbuckers. The guitar had vintage Maxon Humbuckers in it when I bought it. The Maxon pickups only have two connector wires, so I replaced them with 4 conductor Vineham Sweet 59s so that I could make full use of the Hyperswitch. I looked into buying a set of David Allen P51s, so that I could bring it back to factory original specs, but I found out from a dealer listed on the David Allen website that David Allen no longer is with the company. The David Allen Pickups website was also unresponsive when I attempted multiple times to contact them. So I decided to go a different direction.
The middle pickup is the original Seymour Duncan SSL-3 (I was told this is the original middle pickup via email by Peter Wolf, from Knaggs Guitars customer support). The tuners are the original locking Gotoh tuners. The original Knaggs case and Knaggs tremolo arm are also included, as is the key for the original Knaggs case.
Installing the Hyperswitch required taking a small amount of wood out of the pickup cavity in order to get the Hyperswitch to fit. It isn't visible without removing the Hyperswitch (see pics), but I'm mentioning it in the interest of full disclosure. The Hyperswitch requires a 9v battery. There is ample room in the pickup cavity, so bracing the battery in place with foam is a non-issue (see pics).
The top is in excellent condition. The finish is called "Winter Solstice", and it sets off the grain in the maple nicely. The wear on the back is difficult to get pics of. There are a number of scratches in the Nitro finish. One small stratch (about 1" long and about as wide as the head of a pin) breaks the finish showing some wood. I'll see if I can figure out a way to take pictures of the wear if you need them. The wear is visible in person. But you can see from the pics that the wear isn't dramatic either. It lowers the overall condition of the guitar from Excellent to Very Good. The top is clean, so the wear is not visible while you're playing the guitar.
The neck and action are great. The frets have very mild signs of wear but it plays just fine as is. The action is low and it has excellent intonation. I did some minor adjustments of the truss rod and the truss rod adjusted properly with no issues.
This is a fine guitar that someone will love. It just isn't the right one for me.
I'm interested in trading for a 335 or Les Paul. I am not attached to the Gibson brand, and would considering adding some cash on my end for the right guitar. I recently bought a new Knaggs Sheyenne off of Reverb, but returned it because it had an upper mid focus that wasn't what I wanted from the guitar. For this reason, my preference is to meet someone locally. I live an hour South of Seattle. I'm willing to drive as far North as Vancouver, BC or as far South as Eugene, OR for the right deal. I would consider shipping. Make me an offer if you want to buy the guitar outright, but making a trade is my first choice.
Let me know what you've got for a trade. Please reach out if you have any questions.
