Describe your most rewarding build experience.

[Guitars44me]

Hey Fitness! That is a nice outcome to a looooong story! Four years seems like a wait and a half... glad it worked out in the end.

Do you feel comfy giving us the names of the couple who helped so much and became your dear friends? The others may remain nameless.... haha

Also, my experiences with my two John Kinnaird builds echo what the Bard Rocks said. A lovely (and wood crazed) man! I have learned that we both would prefer to talk on the phone and follow up via email. That is great with me as JK is a hoot to talk with and generous with his time when possible.

The giant plus for me in building with John Kinnaird is the ability to help design the structural elements of my guitars. Not just the appearance, but so many design ideas. John has been open to almost everything I have suggested, and actually has done most of the elements before at least a few times. He has also wisely suggested passing on a couple my ideas that may have proved less beneficial! Haha

This has resulted in a couple guitars that are uniquely suited to me. Which is what it is all about from my point of view. I am 66 and still gigging a LOT. These JKs are helping extend my low paying and under the radar career! Thanks John!!!

May everyone find the axe of their dreams and play the heck out of it! More music for everyone! Right away!!!

Cheers

Paul

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Hey Fitness! That is a nice outcome to a looooong story! Four years seems like a wait and a half... glad it worked out in the end.

Do you feel comfy giving us the names of the couple who helped so much and became your dear friends? The others may remain nameless.... haha

That would be the Mcknights - Tim and Mary. I may also add that in the first segment they worked on my guitar (I'm sure putting in some late nights) he was still working full time plus at Whirlpool and they had just shut their own build list down due to being backed up with orders. He found a way to get his portion of the work done and the guitar off to Vancouver.

When we got it back a year plus later and nothing had been done, he finished it very quickly and they were no less busy then.

That is the kind of integrity you can expect from my dear friends.

I will add that Brock Poling joined and braced the back and sides (which were from his stash of wood) and got that to Tim. He also did the binding work on the body which was more than his share of the original agreement.

The other two builders will remain nameless, which doesn't matter now as they are no longer building instruments to my knowledge.

[jt1]

Originally Posted by Teleplucker

My wife and I had the opportunity to stop in and visit John Thomas and his guitars this past summer. He is a gracious host and his guitars are really really nice. The maple Walker, I think it was an SJ was one of the nicest guitars that I have ever played.

And, you were both charming guests! It was a pleasure meeting you both.

That guitar:





Also a very rewarding build process. I drew a crude "S" and asked Kim to inlay something in that shape from the 7th to 14th frets on the fingerboard. The result:

[jaymarsch]

First of all, that Howard Klepper guitar is wonderful and I am not surprised that it was a good experience with Howard. He knows his stuff and is very personable and will work with a customer to get the desired result.

I have only had one build experience and it was stellar. Working with Kathy Wingert 14 years ago when I ordered my custom E 12 fret was a positive experience in every regard. I love the guitar that I have, I am thrilled with the inlay by Jimmi Wingert, and appreciate that Kathy and I have become friends over the years.

I think that the best part of it was how knowledgeable Kathy is about music as a player and how she asked questions and assessed my playing and then translated that into an instrument that meets my needs and passion.

I know that some folks do not always have good experiences with custom builds and there are no guarantees but I found that knowing what you are looking for and trusting the luthier's experience goes a long way toward a great result.

Best,
Jayne

[colins]

I can’t chose a best build as they have all been special. So I’ll pick up on a related theme in this thread (and many others), which is the great times we can have with builders and other players.

My first custom build was by Mike Baranik. I’d played his guitars and talked and emailed him since 2004…and in mid-2006 it was crunch time. The guitar was ready, so I visited Templeton to pick up my new CX in Italian spruce and claro walnut, and to finally meet Mike himself for the first time. Mike had made the whole build process really enjoyable and finally meeting him in person I could see why. To meet Mike, see his shop and hang out for hours, then drive away with an amazing guitar showed me just how much fun a custom build can be.

I don’t have a lot of really good images of this CX, but here is one showing Mike’s fantastic workmanship and the inlay, by Jimmi Wingert.



Mike made a second guitar for me in 2008….another CX but with different back and sides. Then in 2011 I attended the first Baranik “Gathering”, largely organised by AGF’s very own Riorider. What a great day! Meeting other Baranik players (there are some well known AGF members in this photo, taken outside Mike's shop) and playing about twenty different Baranik guitars.



Our second official gathering was in 2013. I’ve been fortunate to catch up with a lot of these good people at other times since, and I hope a lot of us can get together again at SBAIC in 2018.

Col