I am the very happy second owner of a Kinnard mahogany baritone. This instrument was ordered new last year by one of our UU members. He has been bitten by the madolin bug and asked me if I would like to buy this baritone, "yes sir" I said.
It is unique in the fact that it has a 19" scale length which leads it to sound very good tuned Bb. I have had this about three weeks, it came tuned DGBE and it sounded too mellow and almost dull to my ears. Tuned B flat it really comes alive, so too in B tuning. At some point I may try it in GCEA, just as if it were a big bodied long neck tenor.
This is my first Kinnard and everything that has been said about John Kinnard as a meticulous builder is true. It is the base model with a few up grades. It is built with honduran mahogany, it has Gotoh UPT tuners, a side sound port, rosewood tail graft, headstock and mother of pearl logo. The 19" scale length is shorter than standard making it easy to play and versatile with different tunings. After I bought it I talked to Kevin Beddoe who represents Kinnard and he could not have been nicer. His reputation is well earned and deserved as he welcomed me into the Kinnard family even though I had not ordered it from him.
It is unique in the fact that it has a 19" scale length which leads it to sound very good tuned Bb. I have had this about three weeks, it came tuned DGBE and it sounded too mellow and almost dull to my ears. Tuned B flat it really comes alive, so too in B tuning. At some point I may try it in GCEA, just as if it were a big bodied long neck tenor.
This is my first Kinnard and everything that has been said about John Kinnard as a meticulous builder is true. It is the base model with a few up grades. It is built with honduran mahogany, it has Gotoh UPT tuners, a side sound port, rosewood tail graft, headstock and mother of pearl logo. The 19" scale length is shorter than standard making it easy to play and versatile with different tunings. After I bought it I talked to Kevin Beddoe who represents Kinnard and he could not have been nicer. His reputation is well earned and deserved as he welcomed me into the Kinnard family even though I had not ordered it from him.
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I speculate that Bb and B generally do work best with 19" scale baritones, and the 4th string won't be so flabby, either. Enjoy!
