Comments from Customers

Bryan,

You have some amazing skills. My guitar sounds so much better. It's a
great thing...I got to do some playing with it around the house for a day or two before
our gig--perfect for quietly picking/songwriting while my kids sleep
upstairs. Then I took it a friend's house (Al Murphy--fiddler
extreme--toured with Kenny Baker as his guitar player after Kenny quit
Bill's band the 2nd time) and listened as he played it. He thought it
sounded better than his '59 D-28 (I thought it sounded pretty good, but I
wouldn't have said that, even if it were true--he's got a pretty sweet
guitar). Then I played the NYE gig with the pickup system. I thought it
sounded pretty good, but as I said, I didn't have time to dink around with
the settings before we had to start. We just plugged it in as it was, and
dialed out a little mid on the board. Two other guitar players at this gig
(there were two bands) were using Fishman Aura pre-amps, I believe with
Fishman under-saddle pickups. I was glad to have the K and K. Despite the
Aura's new technology (I believe Fishman sampled a bunch of different
guitars and microphone patterns and they somehow can mimic classic
combos--e.g., a J-200 through a Shure SM-81), I thought they sounded like
squawky acoustic pickups. Mine sounded fresh and woody. You were right
about it boosting up the treble side of my guitar. Then after the gig there was jam til the wee hours in the hotel where we
stayed. In the circle I loved how my guitar still had all of its sweet
tone, yet could rise out above two banjos when I played a break. It's
plenty loud, yet keeps that warm rosewood sound. I like how mahogany
guitars can cut, but they don't sound so warm and balanced--with my D-41 it
seems like I have the best of both worlds.

Anyway--wanted to give you some details about my first weekend with my
new/old D-41, and how I put it through its paces, and how it sparkled
beautifully in each application. Thank you so much. I know I paid you and
everything, but it seems like one of the best Christmas presents I ever got.

Happy New Year. Good luck out there in the desert. Hope I can shake your
hand someday.

Mike Finders
One Happy Customer

Folks, Bryan does fantastic work, at a very reasonable price. The frets are
beautifully shaped and polished and the neck is now set for (hopefully) a
long, long time. He also made a lovely new saddle for me with a very elegant
B string compensation in it. The guitar plays a lot better now than when I
first got it and even seems to be a bit louder, although that could be
psychoacoustics. I'm extremely impressed. I just can't say enough about how
good he was putting up with all my obnoxious e-mails (of the is it done yet?
variety). He is a real first class fixxer-upper (I'm not good at spelling
luthier). In fact, he's probably my new "go to" guy in the realm of guitar
fixes.

Well let me tell you, after an initial visit to New Mexico for a neck set
and resurfacing, new tall frets, and bone accessories my guitar was nicer
than I had ever known. We had decided that the intonation problem would go
away with the neck set. Initially it did, but after I got the guitar back
and it settled in <4 months>, the intonation problem came back.

Bryan said ship her back and he would reset the saddle and reset the action,
no charge. I also had him mount up a Tort-Tis pickguard from Mike. I just
got her back and Holy DUDU, I AM IMPRESSED!!!!!!!!

Bryan not only reset the saddle, but he made a new vintage style
replacement. The intonation is spot on. The action is perfect. The new
pickguard brings it all home. I am one happy camper.

I never realized how good a guitar can sound when the intonation is spot on.
*Every* note rings true! I never realized how sweet it is to play up the
neck on a well set up guitar! I never thought just changing the pickguard
would add so much to the beauty of a guitar <especially a *sunny*burst!>

Yeah, I know some of you are saying "Well, DUH!" but for all you wanna bees
who are picking on poorly set up guitars, GET IT FIXED!!!!! You won't
believe the difference. Now I can't wait to sit down and PLAY!!!!

Needless to say, Bryan is wonderful to work with. Not only is his work spot
on but his communication skills will keep you totally informed as to the
progress. ;-) We also sent him a <new to us> mandolin which he built a new
bridge and nut, cleaned up the frets and set up. He's our MAN, when it
comes to instruments.

Jim Brown:

Can't thank you enough for the restoration
of a late 20th-century Martin you did for me;
my playing has moved up another notch!

Scott Reichert:

The problem was that around here when I'd had work done on guitar set up
before, the repair person would seem to listen to my complaints, seem to
express an understanding, and then go on to do whatever it was that was
in his head about how a guitar should be. Not wanting to have that
happen again, and remembering Eric's post about the Sheriff's good work,
I contacted Bryan about shipping the guitar to him.

After Bryan got it, he sent me regular emails on the progress of the
work. He advised that when he received the guitar, the neck relief was
.012" and the action was very high and inconsistent, as follows:

E = .126"
A = .132"
D = .132"
G = .126"
B = .121"
E = .101"

He offered many comments about what this means and why my guitar felt so
stiff. Through stages, he brought the neck relief to .008", and worked
on the action to come up with:

E = .121"
A = .115"
D = .110"
G = .105"
B = .100"
E = .096"

Although he said this is still higher than any of the pros' guitars he
has measured, I can't imagine the guitar being any easier to play. The
difference is just amazing.

Bryan also replaced the first 5 frets, and did some detective work on
the jangly sound of new strings I had complained about. He found that
the truss rod was loose and was causing the jangly sound, and the new
strings (and he noticed it with the old ones as well) were accentuating
that sound. He did his superglue repair, which I believe he has
described for a similar repair in another post.

Shipping went well without any damage to the guitar. Like I say, it
feels like a new guitar. It's so easy to play, and it doesn't buzz,
even when push it.

Anyway, this is rather long, but being a satisfied customer, I thought
I'd join the chorus on the great job Bryan does. He's got his schedule
organized and can tell you when he'll be able to get right to your
guitar (in my case, he could take shipment the very next week), and had
the job done quickly. As noted, he keeps in touch with you each step of
the way. I highly recommend him for your repairs.

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 14:18:59 -0800
Reply-To: Bullet Bob <boblloyd@LEMOORENET.COM>
Sender: Guitar Flatpicking <FLATPICK-L@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU>
From: Bullet Bob <boblloyd@LEMOORENET.COM>
Subject: Open letter to Bryan Kimsey
To: FLATPICK-L@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU

An open letter to Bryan Kimsey

Dear Bryan,

My baby arrived safe and sound a little after noon today. I've been
playing ever since. It is great to have her back in the fold. Thanks
so much for:

1. Taking good care of her.
2. Keeping me advised at all times about how things were going. I
never felt out of the loop. It helped make the time pass more quickly
too.
3. Doing a great deal of work in a short time.
4. Doing such a good job of fixing all of the things that the
"authorized Martin repair person" screwed up. The fret job, the neck
binding, etc. She just looks great.
5. Giving me sage advice when you could have made more money by
letting me have my way.
6. A really nice setup. She plays like a dream and although I am a
"tin-eared goober", I really think I can tell that she sounds better.

I can't recommend Bryan more highly. I'll be
sending another guitar his way in mid October. Also he is very
reasonable. I can't imagine what this would have cost at a local repair
shop if there was one.

Best Wishes,
Bob Lloyd

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