My initial impressions: McKnight Highlander OM-D.
Build Specs:
McKnight Highlander OM-D
Top: Adirondack Spruce
Hollow-back/sides: Ziricote (outer), brown wood of unknown origin (inner)
Venetian Cutaway and Manzer Wedge Body
Macassar Ebony binding/purfling
First Impression out of the box: Light. Responsive. Incredible sustain. String to string articulation and note separation/clarity. Tons of headroom. With the first big strum, it felt like every inch of the guitar was vibrating… felt it through my arms and into my chest. This immediately brought a huge smile to my face. I told myself… “now that is what a well-made guitar is supposed to feel like.”
Build Quality / Aesthetics: Opening the box from shipping, I wanted to make sure that I inspected every inch of the guitar to make sure there were no issues. NO issues. The build quality is flawless. I found myself exploring the inside of the guitar, mesmerized by the guts of the guitar (especially the carbon support rods that you can see through the sound port). I appreciate the fact that Tim finishes the inside back wood as well – really high quality and thoughtful work. Also I really appreciate his use of innovative build features. The wood on this guitar is really something special. Adi top with gentle bear clawing and tight straight grain. Wild ziricote back and sides. I really wanted the wood to shine and really be the statement for this guitar (more so than any inlay design). Tim was able to bring out the true beauty in each piece of wood masterfully! I am blown away by the way this guitar came together and the beauty on display through Tim’s master hands.
Feel: Like I shared earlier, the feel of the guitar is something special. Light, responsive, with tons of sustain. The manzer wedge is very comfortable – can play this guitar for hours… No set up adjustments were needed out of the box post shipping (However, Tim did provide a few bridge shims just in case). Given it is a smaller body guitar, it is comfortable to hold and easy to get a little aggressive with…. Leading me into my thoughts on response.
Response: Sensitive to light touch, but also huge headroom that allows me to really dig in. The string to string articulation and note separation is amazing. This was one of the things that I specifically asked Tim for and he delivered! I can back off the guitar and the guitar responds to a gentle touch, but the guitar seems to be able to handle anything I throw at it.
Sound: The first thing I did after tuning the guitar up was play the low E over and over again. The bass is tight and present, not boomy. You can hear overtone after overtone as you let the string ring out. I attribute this to the inner back… rings like a bell. When strummed, this guitar has a natural sparkle/shimmer to the high end. Obviously, I need to spend more time with the guitar for a full review of the sound, but I can assure you that the sound will only get better with time. This guitar will be used primarily in a bigger band setting and given the way that this guitar was built/braced, it will be perfect to cut through the mix. I will give it some more time and write a sound/tone update when I’ve had more experience with the guitar. This guitar is loud.
Working with Tim & Mary: an experience I will never forget. When looking for a luthier, I knew I wanted to choose someone who would build a guitar for ME. Tim and Mary unending pursuit to make sure that I am getting exactly the guitar that I wanted was relentless. They did anything and everything to make sure that this guitar was everything I desired. There were times where I could not decide and I wanted Tim and Mary to just tell me what I should do, but they were patient enough to allow me to really understand each choice/option and make the decision based on the preference of my eyes and ears. (they helped on the education and option value, but ultimately the decision was mine).
Tim/Mary, thanks for making this such a special experience. Glad I am now part of the McKnight family!
