1941 Gibson Kalamazoo KG-22 Sunburst, Excellent, Hard, $1,050.00

Kalamazoo represents the Gibson 'budget' line of guitars marketed to help the Gibson factory survive the depression. However, the Kalamazoo line was still built at Gibson using quality materials and workmanship. This guitar likely dates to 1941, since the stamped FON appears to be a 'G', indicating a '41 production year, but the stamp is a bit faded. We know that the factory used the traditional Gibson 'open book' head stock shape in the 40s, which deviated from a variety of other Kalamazoo head stock shapes used through the 30s.

The features on this guitar indicate that it could be either a KG-22 (16" maple body) or KG-31 (16" mahogany body). This example is a 16" solid mahogany body with a solid spruce top, bound in white, all set off by a beautiful Gibson sunburst. The tailpiece is the type used with a typical KG-22. The fingerboard and adjustable bridge are Brazilian rosewood; the neck is mahogany. All components appear original except for the pick guard and its hardware, which were replaced.

The fingerboard is 1 13/16" at the nut and scale length is 25 1/16".

Other than the pg change, there appear to have been no repairs or alterations to this guitar. Frets and fingerboard are excellent. Very little playing wear is evident, with only minimal nicks and scratches from use. There are two short (1 1/2") cracks on the side of the lower bout, and one tuner shaft is bent.

Action is set at a comfortable 6/64", and the guitar plays easily; currently strung with flat wound nickel. The guitar produces the mid-century Gibson archtop tone, great for comping or picking old timey tunes. Comes with a clean hard case.