Ukulele Eddie
Well-known member
I've had the pleasure of playing many great ukes. One of the absolute stand-out instruments I've ever played was the very first Kinnard baritone (Cedar/EIR). This uke was not sold, it traveled to shows. I watched quite a number of people's faces light up up when they played it as I've sat with Kevin at a few shows (no I don't work for John Kinnard, I'm just a bonafide Kinnard fanboy!). I've played well over 20 Kinnards. Practically all have been at least incredibly good and flawlessly finished. But we're talking about one of those very, very special instruments (I put my spruce/maple Hive in this very rare category). Here is the sound sample of that first Kinnard baritone.
I decided to commission a baritone from John & Kevin. Rather than use the same woods, I wanted to use my beloved spruce and maple. Knowing I'm a sucker for finely figured wood, Kevin sourced some crazy quilted maple for me. And I mean crazy. Man, I was really excited.
Then, not too long after I committed, that very first baritone was offered on HMS. I almost burst a blood vessel in angst as I had to keep my finger from clicking "Check Out" since I kept adding it to my HMS cart. It was pure torture. I agonized over grabbing it and then switching my existing order to a tenor. Thankfully, it went lickety split to a wonderful buyer that I know (who owned other Kinnards) so my suffering was quelled.
But alas, I won't really know until I get mine if I made the right decision. It's now just 3-4 weeks away from completion. Gulp.
This cutaway quilted maple baritone features a torrefied spruce top. Torrefication uses roasting to achieve the same effects as greatly aged wood. I doubt one could tell in a blind test, but what the heck. The spruce is beautiful even if there isn't any tonal benefit.
I'll post a few more pics along the way and then hopefully by mid-August, a NUD!
I decided to commission a baritone from John & Kevin. Rather than use the same woods, I wanted to use my beloved spruce and maple. Knowing I'm a sucker for finely figured wood, Kevin sourced some crazy quilted maple for me. And I mean crazy. Man, I was really excited.
Then, not too long after I committed, that very first baritone was offered on HMS. I almost burst a blood vessel in angst as I had to keep my finger from clicking "Check Out" since I kept adding it to my HMS cart. It was pure torture. I agonized over grabbing it and then switching my existing order to a tenor. Thankfully, it went lickety split to a wonderful buyer that I know (who owned other Kinnards) so my suffering was quelled.
But alas, I won't really know until I get mine if I made the right decision. It's now just 3-4 weeks away from completion. Gulp.
This cutaway quilted maple baritone features a torrefied spruce top. Torrefication uses roasting to achieve the same effects as greatly aged wood. I doubt one could tell in a blind test, but what the heck. The spruce is beautiful even if there isn't any tonal benefit.
I'll post a few more pics along the way and then hopefully by mid-August, a NUD!