Kalamazoo Sport Model KG 3/4 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1937)
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Kalamazoo Sport Model KG 3/4 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1937), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 219C, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck; spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, black gig bag case.
The "Sport Model' is a delightful little 3/4 guitar, a relatively late addition to Gibson's budget Kalamazoo line available from 1937-41. This is a first-year example, with a Factory Order Number on the heelblock indicating fabrication in mid-1937. While no production figures are available these "Sports" appear to be rarer than the other Kalamazoo flat tops, the full-size KG-14 and the truncated KG-11. Like those it is built with a ladder braced top and does not have an adjustable truss rod.
Built on the body pattern of Gibson's 1920s TG-1 tenor guitar, the just over 12" wide "Sport" is a dainty tight-waisted design, a more attractive guitar than to the rather stumpy looking familiar Kalamazoo KG-11. The neck is fairly slim with a narrow nut carved to a typical mid-1930s "V" profile. The pointed-top peghead is fitted with the very earliest Kluson strip tuners and is adorned with the standard Kalamazoo silkscreen logo.
The top "sports" a typically lighter mid-'30s style wide sunburst, with single binding on the edge and sound hole rim and a small firestripe celluloid pickguard below. The sound is bright and tight; this is a cool little blues picker and would make a great high-strung "Nashville" tuned guitar. While somewhat toy-like in size and originally intended primarily for young students this is still a very nicely made guitar. It is fully the quality equal of other Kalamazoo instruments, and represents an unusual value in a pre-WWII "travel guitar" with full Gibson appointments. This is a fairly rare small-body Gibson and dare we say an awfully cute little guitar.
Overall length is 36 3/8 in. (92.4 cm.), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This is a slightly worn in but excellent playing "Sport", having just emerged from a neck set, refret and heat press. The finish shows some light wear, with some moderately heavy checking and dings, dents and scratches overall. The back has a couple of repaired grain cracks and there is one longer grain split to the treble side, all sealed solidly with only some very light touchup.
The top has some typical arching but that is common with these lightly ladder-braced guitars; the bridge is a very nicely done repro. Internally the guitar is original and unaltered. A strap button has been added to the heel. While not perfectly preserved this Sport is fairly clean for a pre-war Kalamazoo and all original, one of the nicer playing examples of this diminutive shop favorite we have had. Very Good + Condition.
The "Sport Model' is a delightful little 3/4 guitar, a relatively late addition to Gibson's budget Kalamazoo line available from 1937-41. This is a first-year example, with a Factory Order Number on the heelblock indicating fabrication in mid-1937. While no production figures are available these "Sports" appear to be rarer than the other Kalamazoo flat tops, the full-size KG-14 and the truncated KG-11. Like those it is built with a ladder braced top and does not have an adjustable truss rod.
Built on the body pattern of Gibson's 1920s TG-1 tenor guitar, the just over 12" wide "Sport" is a dainty tight-waisted design, a more attractive guitar than to the rather stumpy looking familiar Kalamazoo KG-11. The neck is fairly slim with a narrow nut carved to a typical mid-1930s "V" profile. The pointed-top peghead is fitted with the very earliest Kluson strip tuners and is adorned with the standard Kalamazoo silkscreen logo.
The top "sports" a typically lighter mid-'30s style wide sunburst, with single binding on the edge and sound hole rim and a small firestripe celluloid pickguard below. The sound is bright and tight; this is a cool little blues picker and would make a great high-strung "Nashville" tuned guitar. While somewhat toy-like in size and originally intended primarily for young students this is still a very nicely made guitar. It is fully the quality equal of other Kalamazoo instruments, and represents an unusual value in a pre-WWII "travel guitar" with full Gibson appointments. This is a fairly rare small-body Gibson and dare we say an awfully cute little guitar.
Overall length is 36 3/8 in. (92.4 cm.), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This is a slightly worn in but excellent playing "Sport", having just emerged from a neck set, refret and heat press. The finish shows some light wear, with some moderately heavy checking and dings, dents and scratches overall. The back has a couple of repaired grain cracks and there is one longer grain split to the treble side, all sealed solidly with only some very light touchup.
The top has some typical arching but that is common with these lightly ladder-braced guitars; the bridge is a very nicely done repro. Internally the guitar is original and unaltered. A strap button has been added to the heel. While not perfectly preserved this Sport is fairly clean for a pre-war Kalamazoo and all original, one of the nicer playing examples of this diminutive shop favorite we have had. Very Good + Condition.