Bristol-based brothers Simon and Jonny Kinkead have been quietly but firmly building up a reputation for themselves in the acoustic guitar market over the past few years. How do their guitars fare among the doyens of top-quality acoustics? KATY 88 finds out...

When The Ed pointed me in the direction of a brand-new Kinkade Kingsdown and commanded, 'Go forth even unto an quiet place and dedicate thyself diligently to an review' (or something along those lines...) I was very intrigued by the chance of a good look at what is, perhaps, one of the lesser-known marques among pro-quality acoustic guitars.

The Kingsdown is a medium/small-bodied beast, similar in its narrow/waisted shape to the classic Martin 000 series, and visually it's a handsomely modest guitar - no fancy abalone, no glitter or glamour; just a refined and plain (though very high quality) matt cellulose finish that lets the natural wood show through. That wood consists of a Sitka spruce top with mahogany back, sides and neck, and rosewood fingerboard, bridge and headplate. The body has a pale-coloured plain boxwood binding, and the decor, so to speak, is completed by a subtle black-and- pearl purfling and pearl dot-markers.

Machines on the Kingsdown are Schallers, and there was nothing whatever to complain about in that department; they were very responsive and smooth in operation. Strings (Rotosound Country Golds, which I have to confess are a favourite of mine and which the Kinkeads use as standard) ride via plastic bridge-pins over a bone compensated saddle and through a bone nut - the slots cut and finished to perfection.

Settling the Kingsdown on my lap I found the small body very comfortable indeed. For a smallish or lightly-built player (and I'm not that much of a shortarse!) a Jumbo or even Dreadnought-sized acoustic can on occasion prove a bit of a physical liability, especially if you play standing up, and frequently it's a case of deciding whether not to sacrifice comfort and manoeuvreability for the greater volume and projection that can be achieved with a larger-bodied instrument. Much, of course, depends on your style of playing; as a rule of thumb I'd personally reckon that Jumbos and Dreadnoughts suit chord work and plectrum style (come on, you must have seen/heard Pete Townshend playing his Gibson J200!), while smaller bodies are perfect for intricate fingerpicking. But personal preferences aside, I was amazed, when I began playing by the Kinkade's sheer versatility in that department!

More of that in a moment: meanwhile a couple of final points about the Kingsdown's construction. Neck width was a very usable average - but I found the profile delicinusly shallow and slim, making for plenty of left-hand agility and the chance to play Martin Carthy ripoffs much faster than usual.

But over and above any eulogising about the constructional quality of the Kingsdown, it was the sound that really impressed me. Mahogany, by nature, produces a brighter, 'toppier'-sounding guitar than its traditional rival rosewood, but this Kinkade has to be one of the best-balanced instruments of its kind that I've ever tried. The small body produced tremendous volume and projection, and the balance all the way across the strings was superb - plenty of base to give warmth and richness to the tone, but at the same time a top-end response with enough snap and bite on lift-offs/hammer-ons to satisfy the most demanding style (and allow you to be lazy with the left hand, to boot!). Gloriously bright at the top, delectably warm at the bottom, I can only give the Kingsdown absolute full marks here!

Just to be sure I wasn't going completely over the top (enough's enough, chaps!) I thrust the Kingsdown under the nose of a blues/rock chord-player who favours heavy-gauge picks rather than fingers, then sat back to listen to the results of an utterly different approach. Again, the Kinkade passed with flying colours, giving enough meat to keep the IT cat fed for a week (you haven't seen our butcher's bills...). Seriously though, it's very satisfying to find an acoustic guitar as versatile as this; one that'll double-up for both nifty fingering and hefty chording, plus all points in between, and carry the lot as though born to it.

Maybe in one sense I owe IT readers an apology - a 100% rave review can seem a bit of a bore at times, and everyone loves to read a tasty slag-off now and again, or even just a criticism or two. Sorry - where this beastie's concerned, I simply can't fault it! A handmade guitar at this price has to be good news, and one that oozes class in the way the Kinkade does ought to be announced from the rooftops.

For a solely acoustic player, or anyone who has serious occasional use for an acoustic guitar on stage, in the studio or for the hell of it at home, you'd have to go a long way to beat the Kingsdown. I'll readily admit I haven't tried anything like all the top-quality acoustics available, but of those I have had personal experience of, I'd now name three as, in my view, the very cream of the handmade brigade - Martin, Manson - and Kinkade. And for such a seemingly crazy price (£355 for a craftsman-made instrument, for crying out loud???) the Kingsdown just has to be on your list if a top-ranking acoustic guitar is what you want or need.

RRP £355 INC. VAT

Further details from Kinkead Brothers (yes, the spelling is different!), (Contact Details).