“Handpicked” Ep. 1 | “Song for George” - Eric Johnson (Brazilian Walker SJ)

Happy to share a new series “Handpicked” where I choose an exceptionally-great handbuilt guitar that has stood out to me over at Dream Guitars in Asheville, NC and pair it with a tune I've been working on. A short writeup on what I think makes the guitar special will be included with each video!

For the first episode I wanted to showcase a heavy-hitter, so I've chosen this phenomenal 2004 SJ model in Brazilian rosewood and Adirondack spruce from the legendary Kim Walker. The tune performed is my re-work of a cult-classic “Song for George” by Eric Johnson. (DADGBD tuning)

Kim Walker’s guitars are the stuff of legend. Usually when I hear his name come up in conversation it's at a guitar festival or on the phone at Dream Guitars where someone is describing their story of the “best guitar they’ve ever played”. I remember just laughing out loud the first time I played one of his guitars, it was ridiculously good beyond my expectations. Since then I've played a dozen or so and they are all remarkably consistent in their responsiveness and uncluttered sound.

This Brazilian Rosewood/Adirondack SJ from 2004 is the perfect storm. The treble strings have a round, singing quality to them that fills the air in a beautiful way and the basses are like clean, independent registers with strong definition and fretted sustain. Zero shrillness anywhere—just musically-rich, singing wood with depth to spare. 21 years, going strong.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jerre Haskew (former President and CEO of Guild Guitars) over the phone and he said hiring Kim to take over the custom shop at Guild before he went off on his own was one of the best business decisions he ever made. Even then he said he was making guitars that already sounded like they were 20 years old, right off the workbench. My experience playing some of Kim’s newest guitars from 2024 have been exactly like my experience playing this 2004, if you can believe that. The kind of guitars that leave nothing to be desired.

In closing, I think there are a select few builders I would compare to a modern “Stradivari” equivalent in guitarmaking—Kim is one of them.
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