McKnight Guitars 'The Diamond'

Derek Coombs - San Luis Obispo, California

The guitar is visually stunning with a diamond motif repeated on the neck and body, including the rosette. I generally do not like the look of sound ports but the one on this guitar is beautifully carved reminiscent of a lute rosette. This is the second double top (and double sides and back) guitar I have had the chance to play both share a very even volume on all the strings and frets with no dead notes whatever. Tim's guitar has a deep piano like bass and with the sound port it is one of the loudest guitars I have played from the player's position.

♫ Your Hand In Mine ♫

David Hilyard - Santa Cruz, California

This guitar really puts out with even a light touch. It really fills a room with sound, without pushing at all. Push a little and it's pretty incredible ... The sustain on this guitar is very long. It just seems to ring on and on ... The notes on this guitar, no matter where you are on the neck, all have a very defined sound. They stand out individually, though blend with the other notes at the same volume. Very well balanced sound ... The port, which I am a fan of, seemed to really bring as much volume to the player as the guitar did to the audience ... The appearance of the guitar is very striking. The white spruce top contrasts nicely with the dark chocolate Brazilian Rosewood sides and back ... the overall shape of the guitar is very pleasing to the eye ...

Moon River ♫ Spindrift

Doug Young - Mountain View, California

Others have called out the key elements, a distinctive clarity, long sustain, deep low end that stands out immediately, and impressive volume ... The phrase "piano like bass" easily comes to mind (and maybe someone already said that), and I think this comes from a deep low end, coupled with a nice crispness and definition even on the low E string ... I find it interesting that different guitars have unique sympathetic vibrations, and this one is yet another example. You can play a single note and just let it die out, and listen to what else is going on. With the Diamond in DADGAD, I played the 1st string at the 12th fret, and as it dies out, I can hear a D harmonic an octave higher slowly swell up. Very cool ...

3 Very Short Noodles ♫ Waltz for Rebecca
Loop Using the K&K Pickup

Kirk Spencer - Bartlesville, Oklahoma

I will say I liked the sound of The Diamond a lot, and its tone is so different from my other guitars that it would complement, not compete with, my other instruments ... I like a lush sound, both in compositions (e.g., Debussy) and tone, so when I found out Tim had two sets of that old Braz[ilian Rosewood] - one that he used on The Diamond and one still setting in his stash, it presented a dilemma. After wrestling with this, I finally threw in the towel. Tim is holding the other set of old Braz for me for a few days while he takes pictures and e-mails them to me. If they are as he described (and I have no doubt they are), then I am sending Tim a deposit this week to build a guitar like The Diamond for me with that other set ... I liked the sound of The Diamond that much.

Scott Smith - Tampa, Florida

"Out of the box", you can't help but spin the guitar around in your hands and admire the craftsmanship and unique features. From the dark chocolatey brazilian, to the aged/vintage look of the bone nut, saddle and bridge pins, to the detailing in the luckenbooth sound port, to the diamond inlays on the neck and back - this is one classy guitar! ... Played hard, the Diamond is definitely one of the loudest guitars that I've ever heard yet it can sing softly with a light touch and it maintains its clarity across the whole range ... The guitar has a very rich voice with crystal-clear note-to-note separation, even in the lower frequencies. It does push the mids just a little bit, but definitely not excessively so, and it has a nice, full bottom end ... I feel really weird quoting myself ...

A Waltz for Rebecca (video)
Song for John ♫ The Pond at Woodburn Hill

Jim Farrar - Tampa, Florida  

We regret that our friend, Jim Farrar (Plaid Coyote), who was scheduled next in line to give his review of the McKnight Diamond, is unavailable for comment. He has more important things to do, like walking on streets of gold while admiring his own mansion made with the Lord's perfect diamonds. It fit His schedule better. May you rest in peace, Jim. You are greatly missed.

Marc Durso - Miami, Florida

The Diamond was a lovely instrument, beautifully executed in design, with a flowing spherical contour that is very pleasing to the eye ... I found the neck profile, the gentle C shape, to be very comfortable to my small hands ... The fret work was very clean and exact. This is a very important issue to me, as a player, even one of my amateur status, for the frets is where I make my music, it's where my hands live and work ... Round in the bass which I could pop with my thumbnail and get a distinct snap and clarity to the tone. Strong and brassy in the mids. Though loud, not quite as dense in the trebles ... There was an over all elegance to the instrument's voice. I didn't want to put it down; I didn't want to see it go.

John Hartman - Macungie, Pennsylvania

Ultra responsive, heavily sustaining tone, tone that is awash with color and character that swells and builds and a seemingly topless headroom ... The first thing that grabbed my attention was that this intelligent design seems to produce more of everything. The coloration that good Brazilian gives to tone was there, but there was more of it there. The sound board sang, but sang like Ethel Merman on the stage. The tone you expect from Italian Brazilian combo was there but in an uber-there kind of way ... Playability is just perfect and just as comfortable above the 10th fret as between the 3rd and seventh. Setup is low, slick and buzz free ... To me, the Diamond firmly establishes Tim as very talented world class builder with a unique voice offering a compelling, brilliantly conceived instrument.