One thing I wish to say immediately: Tim has all four guitars on their way to California right now in perfect condition, and no one would have been the wiser if he kept mum. That Tim's willing to openly, publicly share this story demonstrates, in my mind, a great deal of integrity and humility. It's one of many reasons why I ask him to build my guitars.
My side of the story is short: I arrived Friday late afternoon and had the chance to play some marvelous guitars that evening for Mary and Tim. Eight hours later, I found myself in the shop with that ugly blue apron on, a can of stripper in my hand, and that horrified expression on my face. Gooping thinner on a beautiful-looking, beautiful-sounding guitar in the price range of eight big bills upward is one thing; watching that thinner spread like fast-moving golden fungus across the guitar is quite another. I treat all my guitars, not just my two McKnights, gently and lovingly, and to find myself taking a hard-edged scraper to a finished McKnight guitar was, shall we say, a new and different experience. I'm appreciative Tim trusted me enough to allow him my help in the shop and grateful I could be there to assist that first long day.
Yep, we were to have been on the golf course. But I knew that morning, when Tim came up to the loft, this concern was eating at him. And, to be quite honest, the bit of "film" that was appearing on the surface of the guitars was all but impossible for me to notice. But Tim saw something amiss with the finish, albeit small and seemingly insignificant, and I've learned long ago that if it's not perfect, then it's not acceptable to Tim and Mary. So, scrap the golf game, don the aprons, pour out the stripper, and start scraping.
If this is even remotely true, then the four of you picking up McKnight guitars at Healdsburg better take a sedative before you pull your instrument from the case for the first time. I mentioned in another thread that John's 'award' guitar is spot-on with the Diamond, and that these two are now my all-time McKnight favorites. The other guitars were also remarkable, and I'm having a difficult time recalling just which belonged to whom at this point. I'm a sucker for LS redwood, own one myself, and both of these builds didn't disappoint one bit, reminding me of exactly what I hear in my own McKnight "Petoskey" guitar; I probably didn't play them as much simply because the tone of these two was so familiar to me. The one that truly surprised me, though, was the '50s Redwood guitar. It made me itchy to have Tim build me one with this top wood and, along with Cotten's, was a guitar I just didn't want to put down.
I want to add how even-keeled Tim remained during that extremely long, gut-wrenching first day in the shop. It was obvious he was heartbroken and distraught -- who wouldn't be? -- but he went at the necessary repairs with determination and resolve. Yes, I would have been on that plane to Cuba with a long exile ahead, as one person suggested. I appreciate and deeply respect that Tim is willing to share some truth about what happens behind the shop-room doors with us all (even if he did have to put my picture in this thread!
).
Just a hunch: These little "disasters" happen to every luthier; we, the consumer, just don't hear about them and aren't informed of them.