Kinnaird Guitars Student Build: Because One Isn't Enough

[vpolineni]

Originally Posted by Hanter

My my so jealous of your experience(s) and your guitars Vasu. Great looking build, looking forward to Number 3!!!

Thanks Hanter. I'm excited to play this one but a potential #3 does help pass the time!

Originally Posted by CarolD

Such a cool story! I’m sensing a second career 😁😁😁

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Congrats again! Looks like we know what your retirement will look like. LOL

Retirement will hopefully consist of playing guitar all day. That's why I picked a 00 and made sure this guitar has a wedge so that even when I'm old and decrepit, I'll still be able to play as bad as I can today!

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

This is proving to be our specialty: training our competition!

Steve, the saying is "those who can't do, teach" so you're off base. I think of it more like pro-am golf, where a professional teams up with an amateur. Much to my surprise, I'm not holding you back too much and we hit another hole in one .

[nootis]

Vasu,

I am sooo jelly. I'm sure you've already heard, but just in case you haven't, you are my hero.

Dan

[vpolineni]

Originally Posted by nootis

Vasu,

I am sooo jelly. I'm sure you've already heard, but just in case you haven't, you are my hero.

Dan

I came back to update this thread, that the guitar should be arriving at the finisher tomorrow and I somehow missed this. Thank you Dan!!! It was hard to pay attention with your 00 staring at me during the build. Given how amazing your end graft turned out, your tuner buttons are going to be outstanding!

[vpolineni]

Through no fault of Steve or Ryan's, the guitar arrived back at their shop last week and I spent Friday with them learning the setup process and putting strings on the finished product. I wanted to wait a couple of days before posting my thoughts.

1) Shape matters. It's taken some time for me to realize this but the shape of the guitar greatly influences its tone. It's why I chose a dreadnought and to no surprise, it sounds like a dread. It is great for strumming and I'm really enjoying using a pick with it which is not the norm for me these days. I bought a gravity pick (sunrise standard 2) and was surprised at how much of a difference it made. Please post any suggestions on other picks I should try! Another item worth mentioning about the shape is the wedge. It's very comfortable to hold and for me personally pushes it to the edge of my comfort level in terms of ergonomics. With that said it's less depth overall than the standard 4-7/8" but oh boy is it loud!!! The red spruce top has limitless headroom

2) The string to string note separation is very prominent but on top of that, it has balance and clarity as well. It has really great bass but the mids are prominent and the trebles have no problem keeping up. They really stand out during single line runs. It does the grand piano sound in spades (I'm sure the abw bridge plays a part here) but if I flat pick the notes get out of the way of each other but still stand on their own.

It's only been 48 hours at this point but I'm thrilled with the guitar and am really looking forward to hearing it settle in over the rest of the year. I love the red spruce/honduran rw combination but also know that the top will take longer to break in.

Here are a couple of pics once we had it dialed in. Thanks to everyone who followed this build thread and chimed in and of course thanks to Steve and Ryan for making another dream come true.

[TomB'sox]

Congrats, it looks great and from your description sure seems to sound great too! BTW, had breakfast today at Darlene's. Gotta love me some candied bacon!

[vpolineni]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Congrats, it looks great and from your description sure seems to sound great too! BTW, had breakfast today at Darlene's. Gotta love me some candied bacon!

Thanks Tom for kind words and I'm glad you ate at Darlene's. That candied bacon was the icing on the cake that is B.I.G!!!

[BrunoBlack]

Simply outstanding! Great experience working with such accomplished and generous pros. You did a great job. Excellent!

[Guitars44me]

Way to go gentlemen!!! What a beauty.

Vasu, you RAWK

Have FUN with this

Paul

[mhw48]

Another great looking build! Comgratulations! What tuners are those?

[vpolineni]

Originally Posted by Haasome

Simply outstanding! Great experience working with such accomplished and generous pros. You did a great job. Excellent!

Thank you that's really nice of you to say but as you noted, it's really due to the talent and generosity of Steve and Ryan. With their help, it's possible to have a lifetime heirloom as an everlasting memory from a great experience.

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Way to go gentlemen!!! What a beauty.

Vasu, you RAWK

Have FUN with this

Paul

Thanks Paul! I'm really enjoying the guitar but after seeing your cedar build thread, I'm thinking cedar might have to be in my future as well!

Originally Posted by mhw48

Another great looking build! Comgratulations! What tuners are those?

Thank you Martin! I'm positive the tuners are Alessis but am not certain. I bought them used and it wasn't specified but they certainly look like and behave like my other Alessis.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Thanks, all, for the kind words. And of course many thanks to you, Vasu, for your continued kindness and persistent good will. And I’m stoked you are enjoying your new guitar! Only, when you come back next time, the shop will be cleaner.
(I hope…)

[doodahdoug]

Congratulations Vasu on your second guitar completed under Steve and Ryan's supervision. The 00 you made with them looks and sounds amazing.

I hope you'll bring this one over for show and tell once you've had a chance to break her in.

[difalkner]

Great story and build, Vasu! Steve and Ryan are excellent hosts and it's easy to see how much you enjoyed the build process. Congrats on a very nice instrument!

[Nemoman]

Looks awesome, Vasu--congrats on another winner!

I primarily use a Wegen 1.5mm mando pick as my go to flatpick these days--love the tone and control it gives me.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Looks awesome, Vasu--congrats on another winner!

I primarily use a Wegen 1.5mm mando pick as my go to flatpick these days--love the tone and control it gives me.

Yes, I have been introduced to the Wegen pick, same one, but I went with a 1.0 mm, narrowest I could find.