This guitar was designed by our customer Richard in memoriam of his wife and best friend that he affectionately nicknamed “Zoe”. He chose our SDG (Soli Deo Gloria) body of Tasmanian Black Acacia with a Florentine cutaway, double sides incorporating the Linda Manzer Wedge for added comfort and Tim’s unique “Hollow Back” design to increase volume and projection while the player is seated or standing with a strap. Richard is also a fan of 12 string guitars so we accommodated that request as well.
Tim also added another internal design feature that he calls the Re-Echo Disc which is another vibrating surface that increases volume, projection and response at all dynamic playing levels. The top is Colorado Blue Spruce with subtle bearclaw figuring. Inlayed into the top is a mosaic rosette design that reminds us of the Bible story of Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors. Tim also replicated that design element into the peghead and end wedge.
Purple framed New Zealand blue Abalone shell inlays abound in the top and back purflings, back center seam strip, rosette, fretboard purflings, fretboard inlays, bridge pins and peghead which frame and showcase the woods chosen for this one of a kind custom build. The fretboard and bridge are of Mesquite where Richard is originally from. The dual turtle shaped side sound ports are favorite creatures of Zoe and the family kinder. The yellow rose, inlayed in the back side of the peghead was Zoe’s favorite flower with a Lone Star state flag in the background.
Thank you for allowing us to build this wonderful guitar in remembrance of Zoe. It’s been a truly special project for us in which we have not only gained another member of the McKnight Guitar extended family but also a friend.
Mary designed this guitar around her friend’s son Spencer. The MacNaught body of figured Honduras Mahogany back and double sides is trimmed with red Bloodwood bindings. Tim used an Appalachian Adirondack Red Spruce top that is sure to please any discerning bluegrass flatpicker. Mary also designed a red bloodwood tree silhouette for Tim to inlay into the Wenge fretboard and a white Mother of Pearl dove flying high above.
Mary designed this HighLander guitar to be a very comfortable couch guitar but also “glitzy” to compliment the extremely figured “eye candy” African Ziricote back and double sides. The Italian Fiemme Spruce top is highlighted with blue Abalone shell inlays in the outer perimeter and rosette. She also chose to showcase additional abalone shells that Tim inlayed into the fretboard and fingerstyle peg head.
Mary designed this guitar to have a Southwest theme. She chose blue Arizona Turquoise and Green Banded Malachite for the fretboard and bridge pin inlays to compliment the New Zealand Abalone shell used in the rosette and top purflings. The Slope MacNaught body back and double sides are of African Makore wood with a Appalachian Adirondack Red Spruce top.
Mary designed this MacNaught guitar around the gold Mother of Pearl Tim inlayed into the fretboard. The back and double sides are Honduran Mahogany with a beautiful Appalachian Adirondack Red Spruce top. The simple rosette is Curly Maple and Ebony.
Mary designed this guitar around the mythical and playful Kokopelli guitar player that Tim inlayed into the fretboard. The Slope MacNaught body is E. Indian Rosewood with a Appalachian Adirondack Red Spruce top.
Tim’s father had given him a Black Walnut board that was given to his him in the early 1940’s by a local cabinet maker from a nearby town. Tim decided to re-saw that board to build a guitar of and when he was milling the wood something shiny caught his eye and he was immediately disappointed thinking he had hit a nail and ruined his expensive band saw blade. Upon closer examination Tim discovered it was not a nail but rather a lead bullet. It seems someone had shot the tree which he thinks was sometime in the late 1800’s since the tree had grown around the bullet and there was no sign of an entry hole in the wood. Tim was going to throw the wood away when Mary had the brilliant idea that he use the wood and she would design a theme around the bullet feature so he reluctantly agreed.
Tim took the board, with the encased bullet, to a professional ammunition reloader and he took several measurements of the bullet and determined it was a 25-20 from a cartridge that Marlin designed in 1889. It got its name of 25-20 because it was a 25 caliber bullet loaded over 20 grains of black powder. Tim was given a few empty brass cases by the reloader and Tim used those case heads for position marker inlayed in the fretboard. Tim used a MacNaught body style and a unique Alaskan Yellow Cedar top that was reclaimed driftwood that had washed up on the beach in north west British Columbia. That top was likely from the same time period as the Black Walnut that Tim used for the back and sides of the guitar.
Our customer Teri has been friends with Mary since their elementary and high school days. Teri comes from a family of musicians and she wanted us to build her Deacon guitar with a theme in mind in remembrance of her grandfather who was a very accomplished pianist. Teri had fond memories of her grandfather making joyful music on his piano but as in all things in life his piano had seen better days and was beyond repair. Teri had the foresight to remove the ivory piano key caps before the piano was disposed of with hopes of doing something special with the ivory at a later point in time.
Teri and Mary got their creative minds together to use “Gramps” ivory as inlays in the rosette and fret board. Teri chose Pau Rosa for the back and sides and 1950 Redwood for the soundboard. Teri has a fondness for angels so we incorporated those design elements into the design of her very special guitar she affectionately calls “My Angel”.
