Tim Kill Custom Weissenborn Acoustic Lap Steel Guitar 2004
Tim Kill Custom acoustic lap steel, natural finish, made in Australia 2004. Tim Kill is a one man operation based out of Melbourne. He trained under renowned luthiers Merv & James Cargill, as well as cello and upright bass builder Benedict Puglisi. Tim's lap steel offerings enjoy an excellent reputation with Australia's pro players, finding favour with artists like Jeff Lang, INXS, The Living End, Xavier Rudd and many, many others. This is an early example, and it's a gorgeous instrument. The body and square neck are made from solid Victorian blackwood, a gorgeous acacia family timber that shares some aesthetic and tonal properties with Hawaiian koa. The maple and ebony binding is especially impressive, I hate to think how many hours that would take to execute. The tone on offer is articulate, dry and balanced, with a gorgeous understated tuneful low end, warm wide mids and a snarly, responsive treble. These fetch A$6-7k new and seldom pop up used, so it's quite the opportunity. It will surely make a gorgeous new family heirloom.
Model: Tim Kill Custom WS
Made: Melbourne Australia, 10th March, 2004
Serial: #0004
Finish: natural, gloss nitro
Body: solid blackwood top/back/sides, weissenborn style spe
Neck: square hollow neck, blackwood, macassar ebony fretboard
Weight: 1.820kg
Mods: nome
Pickup: none
Accessories: used Maton hard case, pretty good fit, no tone bar/slide
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples on the end. The neck has a scuff on the treble side near the nut and some rub wear on the back. The back has dimples in the middle of the body and some light scuffs on the back, bottom and top edges. The sides have dimples in the elbow area and bottom corner and a hole from a since-removed pickup where a rear strap pin goes on a standard acoustic. The front has some scuffs around the bridge and play wear around the sound hole.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)
Playing Condition Notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 13/56 strings and tuned to open D.
Fret Life: 9/10, minor wear only