KG-11 marked Phillips School of Music Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Gibson (1937)

 KG-11 marked Phillips School of Music Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Gibson  (1937)
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Item # 8909
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KG-11 marked Phillips School of Music Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Gibson (1937), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck,spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.

This is an unusually marked example of the smaller-bodied flat-top model from Gibson's pre-WWII budget Kalamazoo line, the KG-11. It was apparently made for private sale for the Phillips School of Music, and carries no Kalamazoo markings. Apart from the "Phillps School of Music" stenciled on the headstock face, this guitar is a standard KG-11. We have never seen another one logo'd for this particular customer, so likely this was part of a small order in 1937, making for a rarity today.

The KG-11 instrument was a Kalamazoo exclusive, and has no equivalent Gibson model. It features a shorter body with a truncated upper bout compared to the otherwise similar KG-14 or Gibson's full-line L-00. The KG-11 is built of the same quality materials as period Gibsons but is ladder-braced and has no adjustable truss rod. The top is single-bound with a sunburst finish showing the fairly large highlighted area typical of the later 1930s, with a single-bound sound hole edge and firestripe celluloid pickguard. This model has a bright and barky sound and is popular with fingerstyle blues players, or anyone wanting an authentic pre-WWII Gibson-made flat-top at a relatively modest price.
 
Overall length is 38 in. (96.5 cm.), 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).

This guitar shows general wear overall, and a number of repairs. The finish has dings, scuffs, and scrapes overall, with the heaviest on the back. There has been a neck set and a number of visible repairs to the top, with a number of spruce grain cracks sealed up solidly but visibly. The longest runs all along the length of the top just above the bass side of the bridge. The bridge is original and unaltered, with a newer saddle. The guitar on the whole remains original except for newer repro tuners. This is not the cleanest KG-11 we have had but is a decent player with a bigger, chunkier sound than some. Very Good Condition.