Ron Kirn Nashville Tele Style

Made in 2008
Body- hand shaped ash, with arm and belly cotours, six saddle tele bridge with a Charlie McVay b-bender, finihed in vintage tobbaco burst.
Neck- Hand shaped maple, medium soft v, pao ferro fret board with rolled edges, 25.5 scale, stainless 6105 frets, Ron's sterling silver nut, spertzel locking tuners.
Pickups- Curtis Novak hand made scatter wound pickups, tele bridge and neck with strat middle. Five way strat switch, with neck+bridge in the middle.

I was looking for a versatile guitar that would do both tele and strat sounds, sort of a "stelly".
This guitar exceeded my expectations. It will go from cut like a knife, pure country, to strat quack and bell like tones with the flip of a switch.
These Curtis Novak pickups are amazing. The bridge pickup is well balanced with good tight lows that bring back memories of Don Rich, and highs that cut through without the ice picks, and will growl and sing when pushed.
I was pleasantly surprised that when blending the bridge and middle stat pup, the bridge did not overpower the middle pup and produced an incredible quack that put many a strat I've played to shame. It's so good I haven't been able to stop playin' sulton's of swing since.
The neck pup was made to sound a bit stratish at my request, and will make beautiful bell tones with a bit more punch than a strat. No mud here. Combined with the bridge in the middle possition, it is a rock and roll machine.
If you like the sounds of decades past, you may want to give Mr. Novak's pups a look. They deserve a review of thier own when I get a chance.

Action- This was an unusuall build for Ron, he usually installs the Bill Bores type bender, but I was set on the comfort of the body contours, so he was kind enough to send to Charlie McVay. Charlie has to dissasemble the guitar to do his thing, so the extra shipping to get it back to Ron was well worth it to get one of Ron's famous action jobs.
The first time I put my hands around the neck, I actually thought he strung it with 9's! Felt like a kids shredder guitar. Nope, it was 10's and after playin' it for a few hours and getting used to it I can never go back to fightin' a guitar again. Play's and feels better than any guitar I've owned, and that's a few.
A word about the McVay-
This is a quality piece of work in it's own right, no routes in the back of the guitar, no apparent wieght added to the guitar, a small lever protruding from the neck pocket that your strap hooks to, and other than the expert machining on the saddle if you look close, nobody can really see it's even there. A hidden adjustment on the butt of the guitar, to adjust lever tension, and a small adjustment screw on the neck heel to adjust pitch, all very tastefully done.
I checked and adjusted tunning when I got it, have been playin' the snot out of it since, and it just never needs messin' with, period.
Finish-
Even though I had heard of Ron's work, I was speachless when I unwraped this guitar. You can't get work like this off the wall at the guitar store for twice the price, custom shop or not.
These are the real deal, hand shaped and hand finished the old way, like they did 50 years ago. It looks like a vintage guitar that was made decades ago and stored all these years. No, not reliced, it wasn't drug behind a truck and coca- cola poured all over it, it looks like a flawless piece of fine finished furniture that has that old world look. The maple neck has just the right amount of tint, and feels like an old friend. The wood grain looks like it's jumping right up through the finish.
The attention to detail on this guitar inside and out, is incredible, way to much to go into here.

This guitar was built to play, and I'm not the least bit worried of taking it anywhere. I know the nitro finish isn't as tough as the stuff the factories are putting on, but I don't plan on draggin' it by a rope either. As far as the hardware inside and out, it's built like a tank.

Ron builds guitars for a lot pro's who make thier living with music. He treated me like I was a friend, and built my guitar like it was the last one he would ever build. 'Nuff said.

I started playing in the sixties, Iv'e spent big money on guitars more than a few times. This is the finest instument I've owned to date. If you miss the way guitars used to be built in the old days, and don't understand the price tags on the stuff comming out of the custom shops, you may want to check out Ron Kirn's work. I'm glad I did.

Body-Hand shaped ash with arm and belly contours, finished in vintage tobacco burst,McVay B-bender,six saddle bridge, 5-way switch,
Neck-hand shaped maple, medium soft v, pao ferro fret board with rolled edges, 25.5" scale, 21 stainless steel 6105 frets, spertzel locking tunners.
Pickups-Curtis Novak tele bridge+ neck, strat middle

This was an unusuall build for Ron. I wanted a versatile guitar that would give the sounds of a tele, with the comfort and sounds of a strat. This guitar far exceeded my expectations.
SOUND- Remember when they first came out with high end sound systems a few decades ago and ya heard what Don Rich's tele or Clapton's strat really sounded like, and your jaw hit the floor? Yeah, it's that good, mines still on the floor.
This thing goes from pure country, to srtat quack, to bell like neck tones with the flick of a switch.
These Curtis Novak pickups are amazing and need a review for themselves when I get time.
Same goes for the Mcvay bender.
Ron usually installs the Bill Bores unit, but I was set on the body and arm contours, so he was kind enough to send it to Charlie.
I could have sent it myself, but the guitar had to be disassembled, and I wanted one of Ron's famous action jobs. I'll get to that later.

FINISH- No matter how much you hear of Ron's work, you will not be ready when you see one of these things. These are the real deal, hand finished like they did 50 years ago. You can't get anything like this off the wall at the guitar store, custom shop or not, for twice the price. Don't fall for thin skin marketing crap- do yer research.
This guitar looks like a vintage guitar made fifty years ago. No....not reliced, or drug behind a truck with coca-cola poured all over it, it looks like a fine hand crafted piece of wood, brand-spankin' new that got stored for half a century, the wood is alive and jumpin' right up through the finish.
The neck has just the right amount of tint to it, and even with the perfect finish, it feels like an old friend already broke in.
The attention to detail on this guitar, from the finish to hardware, to the stuff inside you can't see is way too much to go in to here
ACTION-Ron's action jobs are well known. If your not used to playing a guitar set up this good it'll mess you up at first, but after a few hours of playing, you'll never go back to fightin' a guitar again.

Reliability- I ain't worried one bit.
The finish won't be as tough as the new stuff they put on now days, but I don't plan on draggin'it with a rope either.

Ron build's guitars for real professionals who actually make a living playing music. I ain't nobody anybody ever heard of, but he built my guitar like it was the last one he would ever build. 'Nuff said.

I started playing guitar in the sixties. Like most guitar players I Been lookin' for that "one" most of my life. I'm not writin' this review 'cause I think Ron needs the work, He more than likely has all he can handle, and I ain't much ejoyin' sittin' here typin' with two fingers, I'm writing this for fellow guitar players like myself that really miss the great guitars of the past. These are built by a man who knows his trade and loves what he does. If yer thinkin' of having a guitar built, 'cause the one's on the wall at the store seem like way to much money for what yer gettin', ya might want to give Ron call. I'm glad I did.

Custom designed and built Nashville Tele-style. Solid lightweight-ash body, contoured with belly and arm cuts, finished in vintage tobacco burst nitrocellulose with tortoise-shell pickguard. Curtis Novak pickups - tele set plus strat middle pickup. Callaham six screw vintage style trem bridge. Callaham chrome hardware and switchcraft jack. Tele style controls - tone, volume and p/u selector in 5 way strat style configuration. Quilted maple neck with Brazilian rosewood board, 25-1/2 scale, 22 medium-high nickel frets and plastic clay-look dots. Headstock painted to match body, one vintage style string tree (E and B strings) and chrome sperzel locking tuners. The guitar came in a beautiful Monroe/Morgan tweed case.

I ordered this guitar looking for a versatile gigging guitar to stand in for a prized tele that I don't want to keep subjecting to smoke and spilled beer. I needed a guitar that could cover a full range of roots sounds from country and blues to full out southern boogie.

I use two amps - a Top Hat Club Deluxe and a handwired Hiwatt Custom 7. Effects are an MXR DynaComp, VoodooLabs Sparkle Drive, Guyoatone MicroVibe and Guyatone Reverb, all used sparingly.

The Novak pikcups are not hot at all and I did not expect them to be. Instead the Novaks are remarkably detailed with phenomenal string-to-string definition. They are also are very dynamic and responsive to changes in attack. The Hiwatt's sparkle emphasizes the details with lots of harmonics and pick sounds coming through. When pushed, the bridge pup cetainly gets into ice-pick in the ear territory. That is what I would expect from a fine tele when pushed. But that ssame bridge pick-up characteristic, with the Gain on the Sparkle Drive turned up and some tremolo, also helps nails a Crazy Horse "edge-of-chaos" tone.

The Top HAt reveals much more of the chicken pickin pop of the bridge and the strat-cluck of the middle and neck pick-ups. In the fourth position I can finger pick a very credible acoustic sound. This sound is so good that I don't regret foresaking the piezo bridge I was considering for this guitar - a testament to this guitar's resonant body.

Whatever it is attributable to, the bass palyer and drummer tell me this guitar is cutting through the mix better than any of the other guitars I have been using recently.

The Duncan neck pick-up I have been using for years gets a much rounder jazz tone than this one gets. That's a fair trade-off for the detail and clarity that gets this guitar through the mix.

Ron Kirn is a zealot for fit and finish. He doesn't only talk the talk though.

The guitar showed up in beautiful condition. The only flaws were a hairline crack (less than 1/8 inch) in the finish near the neck-pocket and the switch tip on the pick-up selector fell off (an easy fix). The pickguard and body had some buffing marks, but not beyond what I have seen on other hand finished high gloss guitars.

The frets are beautifully finished with no sharp edges and no file marks.

The neck finish is semi-satin - not high gloss liek my old tele but not the near-bare wood feel of factory issue satin finishes either. The neck gets a bit tacky after an hour or so of sweaty rehearsals, but I could see that dissipating as it gets well broken in.

I bought this guitar for live playing and it will fit the bill.

The Callaham hardware, especially the bridge is rock solid and beautifully machined.

No vintage nitro finish is going to stand up like a modern finish will. I am however fully willing to accept that this guitar might be "reliced" as it is played regularly and hard.

The strap buttons are solid and thoghtfully installed with a felt washer between the button and body to protect the finish.

I would never be silly enough to gig without a back-up - life happens. But this will be the first choice guitar for a long time.

Ron is great to work with. He has very strong views of how a guitar should be built in the classic Leo style. In my experience Ron justifiably insists on building a guitar with old school artisanship and excrutiating attention to details that make the instrument look, sound a play as well as possible. He is not however a vintage idealogue . He lets his customer particpate heavily in specing the guitar. While he did a great job steering me away from bad decisions he also was open to executing non-vintage ideas - like a trem on a tele.

I've been playing for 37 years. My other guitars are: a '73 Telecaster, '89 Strat Plus Deluxe, Parker Fly Deluxe Single Two, Gibson Custom Shop '58 Plain Top, Danelectro 12 string, '78 Guild D-35 and Santa Cruz H-13. The quality and workmanship on the Ron Kirn are comparable to the Santa Cruz.

The road to this guitar began with my search for a Tom Anderson Hollow T Classic. When that search seemed frutiless, I started looking at Suhr and Don Grosh but could not find one speced out like I wanted. I started researching and interviewing builders. It became clear that it was possible to have a guitar custom built by a good builder as good as an Anderson, Grosh, Suhr or Fender Custom Shop but at a much better value. I would have been happy with any one of those great guitars, if I could have readily found find one speced and finished exactly as I wanted.