2000 John S. Kinnard Frank Hicks Jazz Model

[howard lee]

In 2009, I purchased this Dell Arte guitar, pre-owned, from the late Cotten Music Center, now morphed into Carter Vintage Guitars. It was built by John S. Kinnard in Fallview, CA, circa 2000. I am not a jazz player, but have dabbled in Western Swing and dipped my little toe in Bossa Nova.

This guitar has flame maple back and sides with a sitka top and ebony fretboard, tailpiece, and bridge. It is not a true carved archtop—the arch was pressed under heat and is held in place with parabolic bracing. It is dreadnought depth, so sounds pretty nice unplugged without the Benedetto (Kent Armstrong) humbucker. The lower bout is 17" across, and the neck width at the nut measures 1.75". The neck profile is not as round as I prefer, more of a D than a C shape, but since humans are adaptable, it has not been a problem.

Because of its features, this guitar emits a sound that is deeper, richer, and has more sustain than a traditional archtop. Much more sustain these days, at 24 years of age.

Frank Hicks was a Western Swing/Jazz player whom John Kinnard knew when he lived in Fresno. Frank worked for the railroad for many years, from the 1940s, but also played music, and locally he was know as "the king of the passing chord." This model was the result of Frank describing his ideal guitar to John, who ran with the ideas and built only 29 or 30 of these in his workshop beginning in the late 1990s, also while being a partner in Dell Arte with Alain Cola. Frank died circa 1994. John has scaled down his individual builds to stunning ukuleles.

http://www.kinnardukes.com/

Here are links to the only footage I have found of Frank, home videos with him playing at a friend's wedding, about 31 years ago. The audio should be good enough that you can hear what he was playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbLKt4HrKQ8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnsUwN-ezOY

Here are a couple of photos of the guitar. The shot in its case was taken last December, and the ones with me holding it were take in 2009, when I first received it. I don't look like this at all anymore, thanks to the ravages of time, as Shakespeare noted in most of his sonnets.

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On a side note, I wrote to John Kinnard about its relative value for insurance purposes, in 2009. He replied that for a new build he'd have to charge $6,000. I paid nowhere near that, a fraction of the cost, really. In recent years I have seen two or three for sale preowned on the Web, and none sold for more than $3,000. It's a great guitar. I apologize for the lack of audio samples.

PS: Today is my first day as a retired person, and I think I may bust out an amplifier and plug this baby in. If you have read this far, thank you very much!

[howard lee]

I tried to post a long post about this guitar I have, but none of the YouTube links worked, and none of the links to photos on Imgur... OK, figured it out somewhat.

[wierdOne]

This is one of those guitars that I've been wanting to play ever since I saw it online over two decades ago. I'm a huge fan of John Kinnard's work... enjoy it man.

[howard lee]

Originally Posted by wierdOne

This is one of those guitars that I've been wanting to play ever since I saw it online over two decades ago. I'm a huge fan of John Kinnard's work... enjoy it man.

Thank you! I have been, since 2009. Every time I think I might sell it, I come to my senses and change my mind. It's unique. I have it strung with .012 to .054 D'Addario Chromes. It could easily take .013s, but I like the ease of the lighter strings.

I am also a huge fan of John Kinnard's work. He is definitely an unsung lutherie hero. Plus, he's a really nice man. I sent him a photo of me playing it in 2009 with my daughter, then 2 years old, on my knee. John wrote to tell me he had printed it out and it was hanging on the wall above his workbench. I was honored.

[JGinNJ]

I have a stablemate, it has a 3 piece back like a D35. One of the things about it that first impressed me was that deep, resonant bass sound.
I do think they're undervalued, too. I recently shopped mine around, I love archtops but this one is a bit too big for comfort because it's deep as well.

[howard lee]

Originally Posted by JGinNJ

I have a stablemate, it has a 3 piece back like a D35. One of the things about it that first impressed me was that deep, resonant bass sound.
I do think they're undervalued, too. I recently shopped mine around, I love archtops but this one is a bit too big for comfort because it's deep as well.

Nice! I have seen photos of others with three-piece backs, some with stunning birds-eye maple. They do exude more bass than a traditional archtop, with a surprising amount of sustain.

I am only 5' 8" tall, yet this guitar doesn't feel too big for me. The waist, tighter than a dreadnought's, sits comfortably on my knee and it is easy to play standing with a shoulder strap.

There was an ad for one the other day, online—with some small differences from mine, which declared John had built only 13.

"Only a dozen or so of these remarkable instruments ever left the bench during their brief production run, making them one of the rarest of contemporary luthier built acoustic models."

This contradicts what he wrote to me himself, that he had built 29 0r 30 but didn't keep meticulous records. I don't have that email anymore but remember distinctly that he wrote 29 or 30 had been built. Perhaps a new email to John can sort this out; now I am curious.

If you do manage to find a buyer for your guitar, I hope you can find a smaller, suitable replacement that will be sonically pleasing.

[L50EF15]

Fascinating. I have wondered about exactly this sort of thing, a dread-depth archtop. I tried (unsuccessfully) to custom order an archtop version of a J-45 from Gibson last year.

[howard lee]

I emailed John Kinnard and he confirmed he had built ~30 pieces of this model. He told me that he had made some modifications to mine, which has a different tailpiece, for example.
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[Guitars44me]

Congratulations on your retirement! Now you’ll have way more time to play guitar…

Living in San Diego I’ve heard of John Kinnard Many times, but never never met him. His work is certainly well regarded! Looking at your guitar I can see why.

I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for one of these. I don’t play arch top at all, but it would be fun to try out.

Enjoy your retirement.

Cheers

Paul

[howard lee]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Congratulations on your retirement! Now you’ll have way more time to play guitar…

Living in San Diego I’ve heard of John Kinnard Many times, but never never met him. His work is certainly well regarded! Looking at your guitar I can see why.

I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for one of these. I don’t play arch top at all, but it would be fun to try out.

Enjoy your retirement.

Cheers

Paul

Thanks very much, Paul. This is Day Four of retirement, after 52 years of steady employment, so it's a brave new world for me, and a nice challenge to create a new daily structure. So far I have simply been trying to catch up on some sleep! Also letting the stress of the daily commute and working for incompetent middle managers drain from me.

In my purview, John S. Kinnard (often confused with John Kinnaird of Georgia, three of whose builds I see you have in your possession) is one of those unsung masters of lutherie, known only to a small segment of guitar players. I happened upon this guitar completely by chance (with heartfelt thanks to Kim Sherman, at Cotten Music) after an Epiphone Broadway was sold before I could make an offer. But this one is a honey.

They don't come up for resale too often, but I have seen maybe three or four of them online in the last few years, so you never know. There are a couple that have sunburst finishes, too.

http://guitarsnjazz.com/product/kinn...1998-sn109873/

https://reverb.com/item/34579753-joh...ank-hicks-1999

https://reverb.com/item/37253264-14-...in-electronics



Again, thank you for your good wishes.