K-Line Springfield | A Review

Real speakers or headphones strongly recommended.

A non-sponsored unpaid review featuring the guitar straight in to a nice amp, well recorded, with no effects.

It'll never catch on...

Specs and options on K-Lines:

Timeline:

00:00 Intro
00:57 Basic Specs
02:13 The Neck
02:30 Radius and Shape
02:47 Frets
03:17 The Neck Pocket
03:31 The Nut
03:47 The Tuners
04:02 The Neck Finish
04:13 The Guitar Finish
05:01 The Bridge
05:29 Fender Bridge
05:43 Gotoh 510 Bridge
05:53 Callaham Bridge
06:01 Wilkinson Bridge
06:19 Bridge Setup
06:34 Vibrato Tension Adjustment
06:46 The Wiring Job
07:10 The Jack
07:15 Shielding
07:28 Truss Rod Adjustment
07:58 The Playing Tests
11:12 Preview of the Second Video
11:34 The Playing Resumes
20:13 The Verdict

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

These are things I get asked about a lot :

Amp Tech Gear Used :

Hakko FX-951 soldering station
Weller SPG 80L soldering iron (chassis work)
Rigol DS1054Z digital oscilloscope
Thsinde 18B+ digital multimeters
Kester 60/40 solder
Techspray #4 No-Clean Desoldering Braid

Below are things that make this channel possible that people don’t usually think about. If any of these companies want to send me new and wonderful toys, I’m open to that. I can’t take free stuff when it comes to the amps I review, etc, but for the stuff below, bribe away!

Microphones/Audio Equipment :

Guitar Amps : Royer R-10 Hot Rod and/or Shure SM57 (noted in videos)
Voiceover Bench : sE Audio sE8 (small diaphragm condenser)
Voiceover Streaming : Shure SM57 with shockmount and windscreen
Voiceover Mic Arms : Elgato Wave Mic arms
Guitar Mic Stand : Gator Frameworks short weighted base stand with boom
Mic Cables and Guitar Cables : Mogami/Neutrik
Mic pre : MOTU M2
DAW : Logic Pro II on MacBook Pro 16 running Sequoia 15
Plugins : No effects other than level matching/normalization unless a recording
specifically has reverb etc added in post (rare, various Waves plugins)
Monitors : Yamaha HS7s
Monitor Stands : Gator Frameworks Desktop Clamp-On Stands
Monitor Isolation Mounts : IsoAcoustics Iso-Puck Minis
Headphones : Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (main)
Headphones : Sony MDR-7506 (alternate)

Video Equipment :

Camera : Sony ZVE-10 with SmallRig Cage (main)
Lens : Sigma f2.8 18-50mm (main)
Lens : Sony ZVE10 kit lens (rarely used)
B Camera : Apple iPhone 13 Pro (rarely used)
Tripod : SmallRig 71” with SmallRig Fluid Video Head
Streaming Mount : Elgato Master Mount S with SmallRig Ballhead
Bench Light : SmallRig RC 120D
Bench Light Diffusor : SmallRig Lantern Softbox
Bench C-Stands (light and overhead camera) : Neewer Pro SS Heavy Duty
Streaming Light : SmallRig RC 120B
Streaming Diffusor : SmallRig Parabolic Softbox
Streaming Light Mount : SmallRig 148CM Wall Mount Boom with Triangle Base
Various Other Lights : Neewer LED Panels with Neewer Softboxes

Video Software :

Davinci Resolve 19
Inkscape
GIMP
Because seriously, screw Adobe
Ecamm Live (streaming software)

[k-lineguitars]

That you all for the review. I have to say I had the pregame jitters leading up to the review. As the one being reviewed and not knowing what the video was going to say, I felt like I was 10 years old in the face-off circle back in my hockey days. Thanks again!

[dash]

I've got three K-Line guitars within the last 2 yrs. Two springfields, one with the 64 pickups and the other with the 58s, and one truxton t type in a rose gold red. Unbelievable guitars!

[rexcushman]

K line has got some kahoonas sending Lyle a guitar! Great under the "hood" view, .. more than just kicking the tires! Logan's performance was wonderful! Great Show! TYVM 👍🏼👍🏼

[DeadHeadJohnny]

Had my Springfield for about a year & a half now. Been playing guitar 20+ years. Hands down the most playable, sweetest sounding & inspiring guitar I’ve played in my life. Thanks Chris!

[Kazwell]

Too expensive for my taste, but this might be one of the best Strat recreations in the world, magnificent work. Kudos to you as well for your narration and editing. Really nice review!

[v.d]

Frankly, I was fascinated by this instrument and this video. Rarely do I see such honest playing on a test that is so engaging and not the usual strato licks.🙏 It was very inspiring. I've thought about K-Line guitars and a Fender CS before, but I think I'll add another tick to the K-Line column this time.

[fivewattworld]

Great review and great guitar playing. Sounds great!

[David.S.]

Never forget the n+1 rule, n being the number of guitars one needs. Great review, sounds great.

[GratefulSam-etve]

This is a nice addition and compliment to the channel. I look forward to the second video with the comparisons. Always learning something useful here! Witness points. Nice playing as well, and of course a great sounding amp!

[ConnerForrest]

WOW, 18:30 is the sound! Incredible playing, gorgeous tones and wonderful review. K-Line Springfield is undeniable.

[ditchgator]

Had my attention at "Clay Dots" . . .😁👍
Thanks Lyle.
Always open minded with interesting instruments 😎👍

[midwaymonster]

I just bought a K-Line Springfield in Olympic white a few days ago. It just arrived today! I haven't even been able to open it up yet.

[jrdhrpr]

I bought a K-Line Springfield from Reverb this summer. It was a gamble, because like you said you really _should_ try such an expensive guitar in person. But, I’m telling you it’s *the* Strat for this Tele guy. I ordered and received a custom K-Line Truxton not long after. Chris is not only an amazing builder with high attention to detail and a real talent for understanding what makes a guitar work, but he’s also an outstanding person. I can’t say enough about K-Line guitars. One of these days I might try a K-Line amp… but I have too many amps.

[k.tucker]

Nifty. The Ramen Empire thanks you for your sacrifice!

[ksharpe]

Great and Thorough review. John Nathan Cordy is K lines no. 1 salesman, he SWEARS by them, his number one is light Ice Blue.

[martinreid]

A fine sounding guitar with some great playing and we knew the amp would sound good.

[paulwatson]

Wow - what a treat! If I lived in Memphis I'd set up a lawn chair in Logan's living room.

[thatampguy]

I’ve always been curious about that brand. I believe the owner was a really solid contributor over on the gear page back when I used to haunt the place. Edit: that’s one solid picker. Love that guys style.

[allu]

Simply beautiful looking and sounding! Thanks Lyle! Always appreciate the content you bring. ❤
Seeing the inside along with the high resolution b-roll of the craftsmanship that goes into it...that enchants me. Just like your work and channel. The fact that someone took or takes pride in what they were or are doing, to offer their best to their customer. I think that goes a long way to customer satisfaction and pride of ownership. Especially an item that is an invest price for most. Like you said, their are a lot of Strat Style builders doing good work but; K-Line seems to be doing something right. I first came across them stopping into Killer Vintage for the first time in St. Louis and I fell in love with their LP-Jr Style model. It was outside of my price range but; I wanted to know more about them. Then realizing Chris was building them right there in STL.
That same visit I also learned of another local STL builder making compact Tube Amps, Khan Audio. The KLine sounded fab through the Khan! I'm still dreaming about that combo 🤤 Hope you get to do a video for your thoughts on one of the KHAN PAK Amps

[CellZealot]

I really appreciate the clean, quiet playing demo by your guest. He plays a Strat the way I do, which is not the way most players approach them. I am not in the market for a custom made guitar right now but it's nice to see a thorough and well presented review of a beautiful instrument tastefully and well played without anything in the way of the sound of the guitar itself. Thank you!