Former head of the Private Stock Division at PRS, master luthier Joe Knaggs founded his own boutique guitar brand in 2009. Based in Maryland, Knaggs Guitars produces high-end, handcrafted electric guitars, emphasizing design, quality, and innovation. With refined body shapes, sophisticated details, and premium finishes, Knaggs appeal to players who seek both artistic craftsmanship and sonic excellence.
This 2024 Knaggs Chena A H Custom is an artfully-crafted guitar loaded with intriguing features that expand its versatility and deliver unique sounds. It starts with a thinline archtop body constructed of a Tier 1 Flame Maple top and Mahogany back and sides. The scale length measures 24.75" and the nut width is 1-11/16." It has a semi-gloss nitro finish with Knaggs' "Fire" sunburst top finish. The binding around the top is dark Onyx, which complements beautifully, and the Ebony fingerboard is inlaid with elegant pearloid blocks.
For pickups, this 2024 Chena sports two Bare Knuckle Mule humbuckers, which are straightforward and expressive with the archtop fully-hollow design. But what's especially interesting is an additional Fishman Powerbridge piezo pickup in the bridge, which has its own volume control. The jack can be plugged in mono, sending both sources to the same amplifier, so the individual volume knobs blend the two sounds together. But you can also use a stereo Y cable (included) and separate the magnetic and piezo pickups into two different sources. This delivers a wide world of tones and possibilities!
This 2024 Knaggs Chena A H Custom is gently used, and it shows some faint signs of play and use. See photos—general wear to the playing area and minor scuffs on the treble side, but nothing too offensive! It includes its original case, which is certainly protective but overbuilt so kind of a pain in the ass. It's essentially an oversized rectangle case, so it weighs 29 lbs with the guitar inside.
This Knaggs Chena A H Custom has an impressive spec sheet, and the result is an expressive instrument that brings a lot to the table. The setup is excellent, and the frets are pristine, so it feels like a blank canvas—or perhaps better described as a wide open range of sound for exploration!