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So sad to hear about the loss of Kim and the grief his family must be dealing with. First of all, I'm just another guy, no one special. I met Kim last spring when I had the chance to buy this really great sounding 72 Custom. It has a crack in the finish near the back of the headstock and I was afraid it could be more than cosmetic. Historic Makeovers was only an hour away so I called to see if he would have a look at it an give me an estimate if the guitar needed to be fixed. Kim said come on over and we will have a look. I had never been to the shop and my GPS had me on the wrong street so I call Kim and he walks me in while I'm driving. When I get there he is standing in the driveway waving. We walk in , he introduces me to the guys and puts my guitar on the bench. He and Ken both spend time looking at the guitar. Not just the finish but anything else they can see that would help me decide if I should buy it. Kim puts it on the scale. 9.5. He grins "it's a light one". I showed him that the bridge was collapsed and asked if he had a source for a gold bridge. He says " I think I have one" he digs around and pulls out a bridge of the same era. He and Ken swap the saddles, Kim tunes it up and plays some Zeppelin riffs. All the while I'm asking questions about 50's Les Paul's and everything else I can think of. This goes on for 45 minutes. After that we chat for a while about his live rig and he tells me how proud he is of his sons and to be playing with them in their band "Panic Station" and sends me a link to some video of them playing live. Kim says " I'm sorry I can't stay but I have to meet someone and I need to head out". He then says Ken will show you around and tell you about everything. If you read this, Thank you Ken for your hospitality that day. I really feel like I got the VIP treatment. I say to Kim, "what do I owe you for the bridge and Everything?" He says " nothing ". I say " I have to pay you for the bridge " Nope. Wouldn't take anything! I am so grateful to this day for the generosity he showed me not only with my guitar but also with his time and freely sharing knowledge about the old Gibson's we all love. What a great guy! This is such a loss to all of us in the guitar community, but especially to his family and close friends
Kim in spades.
He loved people.
I will tell the rest of this. When I was in town I would typically be buzzing through Lake Mary- I would ping Kim "Hey I will be there around 11". His reply at least twice was "OK- I don't have much time, but stop by".
I never got the nudge that he had to leave- every time I was the one who had to beg off (damn work).
I got to play his '53 conversion a couple times. Ruby might have a better neck but it is close...
I worked with Kim on many projects over the last 15 years and spent countless hours chatting with him on the phone, however I never did meet him face-to-face. I often thought to myself that I should schedule a vacation to Florida and take out an afternoon to swing by the shop, but its one of those things that I just never got around to, which I now deeply regret. Although I never met Kim personally, I will always consider him to have been a friend.
I met Kim in Arlington I think. I saw a faded sunburst that had greening and that look. We met and Ive had this beautiful guitar for 14 years. I play it more than my ‘52 Conversion. Lol