NK Forster Tom Kimber Tenor – Top of the range, powerful, distinctive.

If you’ve been following my tenor guitars for a while, you’ll probably know the English musician Tom Kimber. Together, we’ve come up with a new version of my tenor guitar—combining the Session King shape with a bunch of upgraded features.

The Tom Kimber model features an SS-style soundboard, similar to the classic Sobell guitars of the 1990s. It gives the guitar extra midrange punch and a thicker, richer treble.

The first one I built had a torrefied Sitka spruce top, with a striking dyed burl maple rosette as standard. The neck is New Guinea rosewood, with ebony head veneers on both sides. The body is figured Queensland silkwood—lightweight, a bit like mahogany, and lovely to work with. It’s fully bound in Rocklite Ebano, finished in a high gloss lacquer, and looks every bit as good as it sounds.

This model includes many of the upgrades people often ask for when ordering a Session King tenor—only now they come as standard. A genuine step up in both tone and finish.

P1120397
P1120422
P1120438
RW Tom Kimber tenor rosette 1
P1120414
P1120416
P1120432
RW Tom Kimber tenor body
P1120433
RW Tom Kimber tenor back full
P1120406
RW Tom Kimber tenor neck 2
RW Tom Kimber tenor neck angle
RW Tom Kimber tenor close full
  • Material

    Soundboard - torrefied sitka spruce with dyed burl maple rosette.

    Back and sides - stunning figured Queensland silkwood, many other upgrades are possible.

    Neck - New Guinea rosewood.

    Fretboard - rocklite bound bog oak or Royal blackwood.

    Bridge - ebony.
  • Hardware

    Tuners - Gotoh gold banjo tuners

    Frets - Evo gold hand polished frets

    Nut and saddle - hand polished bone.
  • Dimensions

    body width: 395mm 15 1/2″
    body depth - 110mm 3.9″
    scale - 24.75″ or 22" or custom
    nut - 32mm or custom
    tuning - GDAE, GDAD, ADAD or similar