Will Kimble profile

[verbs4us]

The Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association magazine has my profile of Will in the April issue. PDF here.

[Dave LaBoone]

Excellent reading - thanks for sharing!

[brent1308]

As a Kimble owner-in-waiting, I have done my research and knew most of the basics, but this provided that little bit extra. Seemed to capture his voice a little more than that i've read before, too. Nice work!

[DataNick]

Great read!

Much thanks!

[verbs4us]

Thanks guys. Will was a delight to interview--thoughtful and spontaneous at the same time, and patient with a lot of my dumb questions. Brent--would love to hear your Kimble when it comes in, to see if it really sounds like "my hand is in front of my mouth" when new.

[brent1308]

Thanks guys. Will was a delight to interview--thoughtful and spontaneous at the same time, and patient with a lot of my dumb questions. Brent--would love to hear your Kimble when it comes in, to see if it really sounds like "my hand is in front of my mouth" when new.

Yeah me too! That quote made me laugh. I've only heard one brand new Kimble, but I'm thinking that is a pretty big mouth behind a pretty small hand.

[JeffD]

Really great read. You were able to elicit some very important insights (well, important to me) generalizable to any evolving craftsperson, indeed any creative effort. The interview was just a lot more than I expected.

One surprise for me (a confirmed non craftsperson) was the revelation that there is so much more than skills acquisition involved. Knowing what to do and being able to do it are hard enough. But the added mental/emotional layer of deciding how much to emulate, how much to innovate, the importance of mentors, the importance of self confidence, the importance of a goal, the influence of customers and their priorities, and how to mix and balance all this together. All these decisions, and then to reevaluate ones answers periodically.

Verbs - great job. I will read anything you write.

I have only played two Kimbles and only one could I spend significant time with - and they were really killer.

[Skip Kelley]

That is a great article! Thanks for sharing!

[sgarrity]

One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet!

[verbs4us]

Really great read. You were able to elicit some very important insights (well, important to me) generalizable to any evolving craftsperson, indeed any creative effort. The interview was just a lot more than I expected.

One surprise for me (a confirmed non craftsperson) was the revelation that there is so much more than skills acquisition involved. Knowing what to do and being able to do it are hard enough. But the added mental/emotional layer of deciding how much to emulate, how much to innovate, the importance of mentors, the importance of self confidence, the importance of a goal, the influence of customers and their priorities, and how to mix and balance all this together. All these decisions, and then to reevaluate ones answers periodically.

Verbs - great job. I will read anything you write.

I have only played two Kimbles and only one could I spend significant time with - and they were really killer.

Thanks Skip. Other luthiers I've talked to have commented on the solitary nature of the work, which foments doubt. One thing they are unanimous about is that there are no secrets and the community is incredibly open and generous. Everyone knows everyone else and they seem to be talking all the time. Like Will indicated, you can't "give away" a secret because the execution is what matters, and that execution is hard to verbalize. I have an upcoming interview with Fletcher Brock and he put it so concisely, quoting a classic guitar maker: "your hands know more than your brain."

[Skip Kelley]

That is so true! It is a community of like minded individuals who are willing share what they know to help another on his or her journey. There are no secrets. Everyone wants each other to succeed and be successful!

[DataNick]

We should be so "thankful" for the incredible mandolin "age" of luthiery today. Can you imagine knowing what you know today and being stuck say in the 60s-70s?

Wow,

Thank God for all these guys!

[Jim Garber]

Excellent article, Jim. You asked the write questions and Will gave some interesting answers. I like his description of the process of shipping the mandolins back and forth between him and his dad. I did not know that. I also liked his description of the process of finding his sound or the one that he has settled on. He is definitely on my short list. I have played a few of his and had a borrowed mandola for a month or two recently.

[verbs4us]

We should be so "thankful" for the incredible mandolin "age" of luthiery today. Can you imagine knowing what you know today and being stuck say in the 60s-70s?

Wow,

Thank God for all these guys!

We really do live in an incredible mando-renassiance. I think never before has there been such a supply of so many superb instruments. It is a very tough livelihood for these guys--the market is saturated. Players reap the benefits. When I grew up, my dad played a third-rate Strad-O-Lin. Late in life, around age 70, he splurged for a mid-range Weber and suddenly we weren't asked to "go play downstairs" any more. He hadn't gotten any better (probably worse) but it sounded like an entirely different instrument. That would not have been possible--or certinaly more difficult--in, say, 1970.

[tburcham]

Will is definitely one of the Modern Masters of the mandolin. Maybe one day I'll be fortunate enough to own one of his fine instruments. Great article.