Jonathan Braun's Custom Hill Guitar

615mm Performance Standup

We just completed a custom Performance Model instrument for Jonathan Braun, a good guitarist and old friend from Marin County. He asked me to make very special instrument designed for comfort and ease, a Performance Model guitar, but with a Stand Up style tapered body, an ergonomic arm rest, and a 615 mm string length.
 
The very short 615 string length was the biggest departure for me. I have built guitars a small as 630 mm, and I've also had guitars even shorter, but generally those instruments are smaller body, designed for children or other small people. In this case we were pushing the limit if how- short-can-you-go. The best way I know to discover what a "limit" is, is to pass it. I thought maybe this would be past the limit, but no. This 615 scale concert guitar is really magical.
Honestly, the bass, the volume, the trebles and the overall presence are completely acceptable, wonderful actually, with no obvious sacrifice of sound. What is unusual about this guitar is the incredible playability because of the shorter fret spacings, and the a remarkable sustain, kind of supernatural, due I suppose tot the low tension on the top. 

Wedge

Whatever it is, the overall affect is very appealing, and it extends the horizon of what's-possible once again. There's nothing like a good old 650 mmm concert classical guitar, but more and more we are finding variations that suit a lot of special desires, needs or curiosities, and sacrifice nothing in the process. Pretty cool. I'm going to make a couple more similar guitars right away, both to test some further variations, and to discern whether the magic of this guitar was a lucky anomaly, or whether it is a reliable formula. Keep in touch.
Kenny Hill

November 2012 






Jonathan tries his new custom 615mm Performance at the
Hill Guitar Showroom Ben Lomond, CA

Custom Performance     Specifications:

• Double top: spruce/Nomex/cedar
• Fan bracing
• Standard Performance size body
• Stand up wedge body profile
• Ebony fingerboard, 51mm @ nut, 615mm string length
• Sound ports
• Truss rod
• French polish finish



For more special features, check out our Features and Options page.



Check out the Amazon Rosewood on this 640 Hill Performance Model

640 Hill Performance Model

FEATURES:

640mm: Short string length

Double top: Spruce/nomex/cedar

Lattice Bracing

Sound Ports

Get the details here.

Back and sides feature a new alternative to endangered Brazilian rosewood: Amazon Rosewood.  Lower priced than Brazilian, but offers similar sound qualities of Brazilian rosewood.   Find out More info here

Call 800.262.8858 to place your special order.

New World Player Series Fingerstyle-C Revied by Acoustic Guitar Magazine

Five Hybrid Nylon-Strings Reviewed


Acoustic Guitar reviews five acoustic-electric classical guitars with narrow necks from Alhambra, Córdoba, Hill, Martin, and Taylor.

Featured here, the New World Player Series Fingerstyle-C


Headquartered in Ben Lomond, California, the Hill Guitar Co. operates under the guidance of luthier Kenny Hill, who has been building classical guitars since 1972. The company’s high-end classical guitars are highly regarded by serious classical players, but Hill also consults with Córdoba Guitars and has developed his own line of more affordable instruments that are built in China and sold under the New World Guitars name.

Our review guitar is a Fingerstyle-C model from the New World Players series. It has a 17⁄8-inch nut width and cutaway but has the overall look and rich, warm tone of a traditional classical guitar and is built with conventional classical construction techniques like fan bracing and a Spanish-foot neck joint. The high gloss finish, along with the dark cedar top, rich Indian rosewood back and sides, and understated look of the purfling and three-ringed rosette pattern creates an air of elegance.

Our Fingerstyle-C came equipped with an optional L.R. Baggs Anthem SL Classical electronics package, which includes an undersaddle pickup, microphone, and onboard preamp with a crossover circuit (click here for our review of the Anthem system). In contrast to other guitars in this article, the Anthem does not have controls in the side of the guitar (its volume control installs inside the soundhole).

Both acoustically and amplified, the Hill Fingerstyle-C delivers the full-bodied tone one expects from a classical guitar, with a warm resonant midrange. The guitar is quite responsive and produces plenty of volume when played hard. I appreciated the combination of the very playable neck and warm traditional tone. I was happy with the sound of traditional classical pieces as well as jazz and Latin tunes, and the guitar’s plugged-in sound was warm, full, and surprisingly feedback resistant. Fiore commented on the Fingerstyle- C’s dark tone and spent a lot of time exploring single-note melodies in the bass, as well as the wide range of tones created by varying his pickinghand position.

NOTEWORTHY FEATURES:
Anthem SL Classical pickup.
Traditional classical tone.

SPECS: Solid cedar top. Solid Indian rosewood back and sides. 12-fret mahogany neck with Spanish-foot neck joint. Venetian cutaway. Ebony fingerboard. Rosewood bridge. Bone nut and saddle. 650-mm (25.59-inch) scale. 17⁄8-inch nut width. 21⁄4-inch string spacing at the saddle. L.R. Baggs Anthem SL Classical electronics. D’Addario Pro Arte strings. Made in China. Left-handed version available without a cutaway.

PRICE: $1,995 ($1,795 without electronics).

MAKER: Hill Guitar Co.: (800) 262-8858 www.neworldguitar.com.

View Video Review

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HILL GUITAR ADDS SPECIAL FEATURES

In response to many Frequently Asked Questions, we've started to add specific information regarding the features and options on our guitars with hopes we'll provide a knowledge base for those interested.

The first 3 sections we've added are regarding Double tops, French Polish and Kenny's Stand up Signature model. You can find these pages here:

Double Top

Why a French Polish

Stand Up Model

In the coming weeks we will be adding information regarding the following subjects:

Why we install truss rods

Lattice and Fan Bracing

Sound Ports

Elevated Fingerboard

Smaller Body Sizes

Short Scale Lengths

Why an Arm Rest

What's different about a Crossover

Woods

What else do you want to know about?

Johannes Moller in concert in Monterey, CA

Hill Guitar Company and The Carmel Guitar Society with Freidman Eye Center, is proud to bring you the 2010 1st place GFA winner Johannes Moller in Concert in Monterey

Johannes will be performing at the Maritime Museum of Monterey on Columbus day Monday October 8th at 7pm. Tickets are $20 and membership renewal to the Guitar Society gets one free ticket. Click here for Tickets


Kenny Hill states, "Johannes plays guitar in another realm. He uses the guitar with a delicate, sensitive, powerful touch. His own compositions carry a sincerity and emotional impact that is irresistible, and his approach to traditional classical repertoire is refreshing and inspiring, shaped by his own enhanced skills as a composer. His understanding of the fingerboard, the harmonic possibilities and the resonance of the instrument are truly unique and profound. He is a charismatic performer, and shares his love for the music in a way that is personal, compelling and elevating."
Johannes plays a lovely cedar top Hill Signature Model guitar, made in 2011.

Johannes Moller is an artist you don't want to miss. If you are anywhere in the Monterey Bay or greater bay area it is definitely worth your while to travel to downtown Monterey. If you are farther away, he will also be playing in Sacramento on October 5th and in Los Angeles on October 11th. Johannes' Concert Schedule  

Here playing "Ananda"  Live in Sarasota, Johannes displays a wonderful, personal example of the expression of the guitar.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kMq_uF8W5Cw

Hill Guitar Company...another new era.

Hill Guitar Company is in yet another new era, maybe the best yet. My sons are both working in the company. I'm happy to say they are working hard to absorb our past and experience, and push forward to do more good work.

What else could a dad ask for?

 

 At this time, Simon is assembling the guitars up to the bindings, and I am doing neck, fingerboard, frets, etc.

Quillan is sanding and French polishing.

But we are only part of the team. Francisco Hernandez has been with me for around 20 years, first in Mexico and now here in California. He is a great, great, guitar maker, and I can't imagine where we would be without him. He has been making guitars for over 60 years with great skill and patience. He is really from an old world, and a true treasure.

 

 

Haiying Jiang has been with us for many years doing French polish, and she is passing along the process. She is very, very good at this, generous in teaching. Haiying and Quillan are both doing French polish, a slow but happy finish process.

Ben Lamdin has been with us for about 5 years, doing bridges, finish buffing and set up and repairs. He's dedicated and he's good. He is the person that brings all the guitars to completion and perfection.

Together we are making some of the best guitars ever, and with any luck, you'll get one!

 

Radio Interveiw with Kenny Hill on KPIG 107.5

Tune in this Sunday 10/7 from 10 to Noon PST to hear



Check out more video samples of artists playing our guitars, recordings and interviews with Kenny here: http://www.hillguitar.com/website/video/video.html