1936 Henry L Mason (Gibson-made) KG-31-style Archtop Guitar

A local customer brought this in to get a back brace cemented in place and some fretwork and setup-side stuff done. Now that it's taken care-of, it's a nice old box that really suits trad-jazz chord-chopping and whatnot. He's got flatwound strings on it, too, which give it a really subdued/half-dead sound that works well with that style.

It's made by Gibson and is basically the same as their Kalamazoo KG-31 model, but with Cromwell-brand styling and "Henry L Mason" at the headstock. This means it's a solid wood instrument (spruce over mahogany) but the back and top are press-arched to shape.

It has a mixture of bracing styles on the top -- X and fan -- which give it a unique tone. These are a bit dark and chunky-sounding compared to the average pressed-top archtop and that makes them closer to the "Gibson" velvety archtop sound. It's a great chordal/accompaniment voice.

This one's all-original save for a slightly-modified and compensated bridge topper.