Kinscherff Concert

The Kinscherff Concert is our second guitar from Jamie, and it's a home run. He built this with Sitka he's been aging for 20 years, as well as a beautiful hunk of curly mahogany, and some nice flourishes like cocobolo binding and that spalted maple rosette that I've really come to love.

The tone is definitely more focused than the High Noon, which offers a welcome contrast. The signature feature of all of Jamie's instruments is their ability to make every note ring. This is really satisfying as a fingerstyle player, because it means you I don't have to compensate by playing some strings harder or softer. They're all present in every chord, every arpeggio. The ring in this guitar is definitely a bit drier, with more note focus than the rosewood High Noon, but this results in some great articulation for note-heavy pieces. Perhaps the most surprising feature of this guitar is how it lights up under a strum. There's a nice, full low end in this guitar that is unexpected given its size. I'd even go so far as to say that it's as versatile for strumming, fingerstyle, or singing as its big brother.

For my own playing purposes, I still think I prefer the High Noon, but to be honest, I'm pretty much alone in this regard—everyone in the shop who has played both guitars prefers this Concert. Of all the possible dilemmas in the world, I suppose choosing between two Kinscherffs is one of the better ones to be stuck with. I recommend this guitar without reservation.