Doc_J
Well-known member
Like all great artists, John Kinnard continues to refine his work. I recently received his latest baritone creation.
A few pictures are attached.
First the obvious, it’s gorgeous. The looks are really clean, simple yet well thought out. Nice composition, simple elegance! I’ve always been drawn to maple fretboards. This beautiful blonde baritone has all the other normal Kinnard attributes, including a flawless build and easy playability. It felt very comfortable.
Actually, it felt better than just comfortable in my arthritic left (fretting) hand. I don’t know what the magic formulas are for my comfort, but it was easy to tell in a few minutes how comfortable it was. Hard to believe it, but my left hand actually felt good after playing for nearly a half hour straight. I’ve had to sell some awesome ukes because of hand discomfort. Comfort trumps all else. If it hurts when you play it, you won’t play it. This is a very enjoyable baritone, indeed. Funny after playing this wider neck a while the standard baritone neck width began to feel a little crowded.
Love the sound. Impressive how responsive this baritone is even with the lighter gauge strings on it (Worth CMs with a .033” smooth wound Oasis warm on the 4th). Interesting how some songs sound a lot better on a great instrument. With these light strings I have been a half step to a full step above DGBE. It sounds terrific in all those tunings, but the lighter gauge strings play better with higher tension. It has opened up nicely and really does sing. I really enjoy how the notes are clear and distinct, yet blend well and warmly as a chorus. Every note on each strings sounds exactly as it should. Perfect intonation and depth!
This baritone truly seems to play outstanding in all modes finger style or strummed. The strings blend amazingly well on the main chords when strummed. On other baritones those chords can be a little harsh, or muddy. It’s surprisingly warm and crystal clear at the same time. This baritone seems to excel at whatever style I play on it. Great on Silent Night strummed or Hotel California played finger style. It has a wonderful blending of individual strings when strummed- you can hear the note separation in strums. It's a great mixture of harmonics and single note clarity.
I hear better projection from this baritone than most other baritones. By that I mean the sound gets outside the box or has no ’boxy’ element to the sound. Quite a few baritones have a little boxy/boomy/constrained component to their sound.
KinnardUkes has definitely advanced and refined their baritone design since an early Kinnard baritone I had a few years back. This current model is more responsive, clear, harmonic, and projecting than earlier model Kinnard baritones and most other custom baritones. Physically there are key differences in this latest Kinnard baritone, compare to one I had from 2015. The current top bracing is cross braced vs. fan bracing. The scale is 19-7/8 vs 19” on the 2015 model.
I’ve played quite a few baritones and I can’t think of anything I would want to change on this latest Kinnard baritone. The fit, feel, sound, looks are terrific. It's difficult to compare instruments as each builder has a different sound and strengths. This might be the best baritone I have played. It lacks nothing and has many strengths.
BTW I had not been thinking about a Kinnard baritone before I tried it. After playing it, I felt like it was designed and built just for me. Had to have it. Currently, it’s my favorite uke.
Recorded some samples of this baritone:
1 step up
https://app.box.com/s/w28lsooa0o0ico3jdwx5uglpd4vug9kp
1/2 step up https://app.box.com/s/rs345nflcy0fc1mpx3vw4grwu3ppl7bn
dgbe https://app.box.com/s/u0l32t9oirqg4l3f3kc4kljzgirljkux
Harvest Moon https://app.box.com/s/vtgqpu52dq81set7br5muco6bqoq84qf
Specs:
19-7/8 scale
Curly Maple body with cut away
Sitka Spruce top
Maple neck
Ivoroid binding Top and Fretboard.
Maple through-hole bridge,
Compound radiused maple fretboard 1-1/2” width at the nut
Quilted maple faceplate
Gloss body, Satin Neck finishes
Side sound port
Gotoh open gear tuners
Bone nut and saddle
P1090458 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090457 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090456 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090454 by hejenkins, on Flickr
A few pictures are attached.
First the obvious, it’s gorgeous. The looks are really clean, simple yet well thought out. Nice composition, simple elegance! I’ve always been drawn to maple fretboards. This beautiful blonde baritone has all the other normal Kinnard attributes, including a flawless build and easy playability. It felt very comfortable.
Actually, it felt better than just comfortable in my arthritic left (fretting) hand. I don’t know what the magic formulas are for my comfort, but it was easy to tell in a few minutes how comfortable it was. Hard to believe it, but my left hand actually felt good after playing for nearly a half hour straight. I’ve had to sell some awesome ukes because of hand discomfort. Comfort trumps all else. If it hurts when you play it, you won’t play it. This is a very enjoyable baritone, indeed. Funny after playing this wider neck a while the standard baritone neck width began to feel a little crowded.
Love the sound. Impressive how responsive this baritone is even with the lighter gauge strings on it (Worth CMs with a .033” smooth wound Oasis warm on the 4th). Interesting how some songs sound a lot better on a great instrument. With these light strings I have been a half step to a full step above DGBE. It sounds terrific in all those tunings, but the lighter gauge strings play better with higher tension. It has opened up nicely and really does sing. I really enjoy how the notes are clear and distinct, yet blend well and warmly as a chorus. Every note on each strings sounds exactly as it should. Perfect intonation and depth!
This baritone truly seems to play outstanding in all modes finger style or strummed. The strings blend amazingly well on the main chords when strummed. On other baritones those chords can be a little harsh, or muddy. It’s surprisingly warm and crystal clear at the same time. This baritone seems to excel at whatever style I play on it. Great on Silent Night strummed or Hotel California played finger style. It has a wonderful blending of individual strings when strummed- you can hear the note separation in strums. It's a great mixture of harmonics and single note clarity.
I hear better projection from this baritone than most other baritones. By that I mean the sound gets outside the box or has no ’boxy’ element to the sound. Quite a few baritones have a little boxy/boomy/constrained component to their sound.
KinnardUkes has definitely advanced and refined their baritone design since an early Kinnard baritone I had a few years back. This current model is more responsive, clear, harmonic, and projecting than earlier model Kinnard baritones and most other custom baritones. Physically there are key differences in this latest Kinnard baritone, compare to one I had from 2015. The current top bracing is cross braced vs. fan bracing. The scale is 19-7/8 vs 19” on the 2015 model.
I’ve played quite a few baritones and I can’t think of anything I would want to change on this latest Kinnard baritone. The fit, feel, sound, looks are terrific. It's difficult to compare instruments as each builder has a different sound and strengths. This might be the best baritone I have played. It lacks nothing and has many strengths.
BTW I had not been thinking about a Kinnard baritone before I tried it. After playing it, I felt like it was designed and built just for me. Had to have it. Currently, it’s my favorite uke.
Recorded some samples of this baritone:
1 step up
https://app.box.com/s/w28lsooa0o0ico3jdwx5uglpd4vug9kp
1/2 step up https://app.box.com/s/rs345nflcy0fc1mpx3vw4grwu3ppl7bn
dgbe https://app.box.com/s/u0l32t9oirqg4l3f3kc4kljzgirljkux
Harvest Moon https://app.box.com/s/vtgqpu52dq81set7br5muco6bqoq84qf
Specs:
19-7/8 scale
Curly Maple body with cut away
Sitka Spruce top
Maple neck
Ivoroid binding Top and Fretboard.
Maple through-hole bridge,
Compound radiused maple fretboard 1-1/2” width at the nut
Quilted maple faceplate
Gloss body, Satin Neck finishes
Side sound port
Gotoh open gear tuners
Bone nut and saddle
P1090458 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090457 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090456 by hejenkins, on Flickr
P1090454 by hejenkins, on Flickr
Last edited: