Kalamazoo KG-21 Archtop 1936, Gibson-made SOLD

MartinB · April 16

NOW SOLD LOCALLY

Kalamazoo KG-21 archtop guitar, these were a lower priced line in the 30s and 40s made in the same factory as the full fat Gibsons. This one has a factory order number stamped inside ending in B, which most sources say means 1936. It's a small bodied archtop, solid spruce and mahogany, with a rosewood (likely Brazilian) fingerboard and bridge. The top arching on the Kalamazoo models is formed by pressing the tops over an X brace rather than carving them, which is probably the main difference from the Gibson badged models - the materials seem to be of equal quality.

Like all archtops, it can take a while to attune yourself to getting the sound out of it, and it takes a different touch to most flat tops. But once you get into it, it has bags of midrange character and a punchy, characterful sound that's great for just about any older American style - blues, ragtime, early country, swingy stuff etc. Robert Johnson's travelling partner Johnny Shines has said that Johnson played a Kalamazoo archtop for a while, and some think he used it on one of the recording sessions. It would be especially good in a duo situation or recording with other acoustic guitars where you want a part to sit in it's own spot in the mix - think David Rawlings with Gillian Welch.

It has a big V neck with the original small frets. The action is a reasonable 2mm high E to 2.6mm low E at the octave, and it's currently wearing John Pearse pure nickel medium strings. The neck is straight and it's been stable with these gauges the whole time I've had it (since 2008). Regarding the general condition, I can't see any obvious wood repairs. There's some checking and dings to the finish, and finish wear to the back of the neck, but pretty good for approaching 90 years. The tailpiece is a replacement, but the (broken) original is still with the guitar. Tuners are original though the gear and worm for the low E may have been replaced, keeping the original button. I think the bone nut is a replacement too, since these are usually a black material on this model. There are three small screw holes on the top near the bridge where I suspect an aftermarket surface mount pickup was once attached. It has a Hiscox Pro II case, with an added pad at the bottom to fit this guitar better.

It feels like a big decision, but I'm selling because although this is a cool guitar, it has quite a specific character, I don't have a huge collection of guitars and I feel a really good flat top would serve me better. With that in mind, I'd consider certain trades. I'm not keen on cutaways or side mounted preamps, something OOO, OM or mini jumbo size might suit me best (parlors probably not, dreadnoughts - try me). Something in the UK/Irish "celtic" sort of vein might be particularly interesting. I'm in Glasgow - with the Hiscox case it wouldn't be impossible to box it up and courier it, but I'd want it to be an insured service. And of course you're welcome to check it out here.

[img]https://i.ibb.co/p4Yvskw/DSC-3074.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.ibb.co/3sT5j8J/DSC-3083.jpg[/img]

Here's a quick video of some stylistically appropriate noodling;

mgaw · April 16

Love it and nice playing too glwts

MikeP · April 16

Damn that's really nice. Is that really the original bridge?

MartinB · April 16

MikeP said:

Damn that's really nice. Is that really the original bridge?

Hard to verify, but I think so. The bridges on the Kalamazoo archtops have a wider base than most replacements, and it does look like others I've seen.

MikeP · April 16

Yeah sorry had a look around on the Internet, I'm sure you're right. Very nice guitar.

guitarjack66 · April 19

They have a very unique sound. I like it myself.

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Kalamazoo KG-21 Archtop 1936, Gibson-made SOLD

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