1934 Gibson-made Kalamazoo KG-11 Flattop Guitar

I'm slowly weeding-out the horde of consigned Kalamazoo KG-11s that've been on my racks. This one has been here a while and I've wanted to get to it for a while, too, as I find these older, "small burst" KG-11s super-attractive and often just that little bit more woody and warm than the '37-on-up versions. The later ones tend to be punchier and louder, but these slightly-older ones bring the sweetness-goods if you're a flatpicker as well as a fingerpicker.

There's not much more to say -- the body shape is super comfortable on these (it's a squashed 00 size), the short scale makes them handle quick and easy, the wider nut is great for fingerpickers and old-time players, and they look killer all at the same time. This one is lucky enough not to have any cracks on the top or back, though it does have a long (repaired) one on most of the treble-side side panel extending from the endpin area through the waist. Fortunately it's on the "knee" side so it's not obvious to anyone peeking at it from the audience.

After work it plays bang-on and sounds the biz.

Repairs included: a neck reset, repair to that aforementioned long side crack, a new bone saddle with proper compensation, fret level/dress, much cleaning, new ebony endpins and bridge pins, side dots install, new StewMac Golden Age repro/relic'd tuners, and a setup.

Setup notes: it plays perfectly with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret. The neck is straight and it's strung with 50w-11 gauges -- which I suggest as the heaviest one uses for standard tuning as the tops on these are pretty lightly-built. The frets are low and small (just like normal for this era) but have some decent life left in them, for sure. The saddle is nice and tall and has plenty of room for adjustment up/down.

Scale length: 24 13/16"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

String spacing at nut: 1 9/16"

String spacing at bridge: 2 3/8"

Body length: 17 3/8"

Lower bout width: 14 5/8"

Waist width: 8 7/8"

Upper bout width: 9 7/8"

Side depth at endpin: 4"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: solid mahogany

Neck wood: mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, ebony nut

Bridge: Brazilian rosewood, bone saddle

Neck feel: medium-big V/C shape, ~10-12" board radius

Condition notes: there's a ton of pickwear on the top and general usewear throughout. The tuners, pins, and saddle are replacements. There's a long hairline crack on the treble side panel extending from the waist to near the endpin. It's been repaired. There's an old filled strap button screwhole on the side of the heel.