Chris Stern
2010-03-26 00:06:08 UTC
In 2005 I spent a day playing a ton of acoustic guitars at Mandolin
Brothers. One guitar stood out. It was a Kinscherff High Noon in
Madagascar/Adirondack. I couldn't put it down. From memory the price
was above $7,000 and I couldn't afford it. I had pictures of that
guitar on my computer desktop for months until it was sold. I saw a
header on this newsgroup around the same time along the lines of "I
played the best guitar I've ever played today" and before I opened the
email I knew which guitar it would be about AND IT WAS! I am not
making this up.
Having owned some truly great guitars in my time, including 2 Olsons,
a Tippin (still have it), Lowdens, Martins Taylors, a Granata (still
have it) Gallaghers, Larrivees a Gibson J50 and many others (over 45
years) I now own, as well as the Tippin and Granata, 4 guitars built
by Jamie Kinscherff. As far as I know I have the entire European
collection!
For me, this is the end of the search. Jamie KInscherff is a genius at
building guitars but outside of Texas is hardly known and for some
reason his guitars are not selling.
How I got them is a long story involving luck, friends, and some deep
breaths.
They are
2003 High Noon (SJish) EIR/Adir When I got this guitar (May 2007) I
couldn't put it down and played almost all night the first time.
2006 High Noon Mad/Adir Got this Jul 2007 and was bitterly
disappointed at first. Compared to the first High Noon and the one of
similar construction I had played at Mando Bros it sounded awful. I
could not envisage it playing in to anything like a comparable sound.
2007 High Noon 12 string Mahog/Adir Ordered after Lance McCullom told
me how wonderful Jamie's 12 strings were/are. It's AMAZING!
2007 Troubadour (Gibson L00 ish with 24.9 scale) EIR/Adir. I first
played tis at Hill Country Guitars in Wimberley in October 2007 and
fell in love (I have witnesses). Amazingly in Oct 2008 it was still
there and a deal was done.
So, what can I say about them? Well, the disappointing Mad/EIR got a
lot of bashing in open G and D, as Al Evans said, "Bash hell out of
it!" and I did. It didn't seem to be making much of a difference and I
talked to Jamie about drastic action being taken such as having a new
top put on. It got left for a few months hanging on my wall and one
day I took it off, more to dust it than anything else, played a few
notes and WOW! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! It had quietly opened up on
it's own.
The original 2003 High Noon got written about as the best guitar at
the 2007 Cheltenham Acoustic Guitar show. Can't argue with that!
The 12 string gets better and better and even manages to stay in tune.
The Troubadour, well, all I can say is that two friends of mine, both
professional players, one the owner of my former Olson SJ and the
other, the owner of the Sobell that Martin Simpson played before he
went and ordered his first, both put the Troubadour in the same league
as their guitars. (Also the 2003 HN, they haven't played the others).
If I had to pick one guitar to take with me to heaven it would be the
Troubadour.
The point of writing this? Jamie seems to have gone off the radar
these days except for those of us who know about his wonderful
guitars. Anybody reading this who is considering having a guitar built
for them PLEASE think about a Kinscherff. I, and others will send
mp3's pictures and if you are in my neck of the woods you can come and
play them. If you want a guitar that you can't put down get a
Kinscherff.
That's it......anyone else going to add more.......
Oh yes and the spin off is that I've made a ton of great friends at
the TX gatherings too.
Chris
Brothers. One guitar stood out. It was a Kinscherff High Noon in
Madagascar/Adirondack. I couldn't put it down. From memory the price
was above $7,000 and I couldn't afford it. I had pictures of that
guitar on my computer desktop for months until it was sold. I saw a
header on this newsgroup around the same time along the lines of "I
played the best guitar I've ever played today" and before I opened the
email I knew which guitar it would be about AND IT WAS! I am not
making this up.
Having owned some truly great guitars in my time, including 2 Olsons,
a Tippin (still have it), Lowdens, Martins Taylors, a Granata (still
have it) Gallaghers, Larrivees a Gibson J50 and many others (over 45
years) I now own, as well as the Tippin and Granata, 4 guitars built
by Jamie Kinscherff. As far as I know I have the entire European
collection!
For me, this is the end of the search. Jamie KInscherff is a genius at
building guitars but outside of Texas is hardly known and for some
reason his guitars are not selling.
How I got them is a long story involving luck, friends, and some deep
breaths.
They are
2003 High Noon (SJish) EIR/Adir When I got this guitar (May 2007) I
couldn't put it down and played almost all night the first time.
2006 High Noon Mad/Adir Got this Jul 2007 and was bitterly
disappointed at first. Compared to the first High Noon and the one of
similar construction I had played at Mando Bros it sounded awful. I
could not envisage it playing in to anything like a comparable sound.
2007 High Noon 12 string Mahog/Adir Ordered after Lance McCullom told
me how wonderful Jamie's 12 strings were/are. It's AMAZING!
2007 Troubadour (Gibson L00 ish with 24.9 scale) EIR/Adir. I first
played tis at Hill Country Guitars in Wimberley in October 2007 and
fell in love (I have witnesses). Amazingly in Oct 2008 it was still
there and a deal was done.
So, what can I say about them? Well, the disappointing Mad/EIR got a
lot of bashing in open G and D, as Al Evans said, "Bash hell out of
it!" and I did. It didn't seem to be making much of a difference and I
talked to Jamie about drastic action being taken such as having a new
top put on. It got left for a few months hanging on my wall and one
day I took it off, more to dust it than anything else, played a few
notes and WOW! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! It had quietly opened up on
it's own.
The original 2003 High Noon got written about as the best guitar at
the 2007 Cheltenham Acoustic Guitar show. Can't argue with that!
The 12 string gets better and better and even manages to stay in tune.
The Troubadour, well, all I can say is that two friends of mine, both
professional players, one the owner of my former Olson SJ and the
other, the owner of the Sobell that Martin Simpson played before he
went and ordered his first, both put the Troubadour in the same league
as their guitars. (Also the 2003 HN, they haven't played the others).
If I had to pick one guitar to take with me to heaven it would be the
Troubadour.
The point of writing this? Jamie seems to have gone off the radar
these days except for those of us who know about his wonderful
guitars. Anybody reading this who is considering having a guitar built
for them PLEASE think about a Kinscherff. I, and others will send
mp3's pictures and if you are in my neck of the woods you can come and
play them. If you want a guitar that you can't put down get a
Kinscherff.
That's it......anyone else going to add more.......
Oh yes and the spin off is that I've made a ton of great friends at
the TX gatherings too.
Chris