1936 Carson Robison (Gibson) 1281 (Kalamzoo KG-14) Flattop Guitar

Carson Robison guitars were sold by Montgomery Wards under just the Robison name (from '36-'37) and then later their Recording King brand. This is the earlier model with the simple Robison branding stenciled on the headstock and that makes it a 1281. Just judging on build, finish, and the whiff of a bleached-out factory order number, I'm pretty sure this is a '36 but it certainly could be a '37. Gibson made these and it's simply one of their rebranded Kalamazoo KG-14 models.

Cool features of this guitar include a brutal amount of wear and tear, Mr. Harold Henderson's name on the upper bout (beats me!), lots of pickwear, the tiger-stripe pickguard, and a friendly disposition. KG-14s tend to be loud, snappy, direct, country-blues boxes and that's just what this one is.

Work included the usual fussing for one of these, but this one also got a board plane and refret with jumbo wire. This gives it a smoother, more-modern feel. It's a consignor's guitar but it's pre-sold and so I think the new owner will also be fitting a DeArmond soundhole pickup and K&K acoustic pickup as well.

As usual, the top is solid spruce and the back and sides are solid mahogany. The fretboard and bridge are Brazilian rosewood. It's all-original save for tuners and pins -- I even managed to salvage the original saddle, which is rare as most are missing, chipped, or shaved-down.

Repairs included: neck reset, board plane and refret (jumbo wire), bridge reglue, side dots install, new tuners (StewMac Golden Age), new bridge pins, setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 52w, 40w, 30w, 22w, 16, 12

Neck shape: medium-big V

Board radius: ~10"

Truss rod: none

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: jumbo

Scale length: 24 7/8"

Nut width: 1 13/16"

Body width: 14 5/8"

Body depth: 4 3/8"

Weight: 3 lbs 6 oz

Condition notes: there's lots of scratches and tons of pickwear. The back has a repaired hairline crack and the side has a small repaired one, too. There are previous seam repairs and a gross-looking lower-bout back brace repair (functional) as well. Everything on the guitar is original save the pins and tuners. There are two repaired small holes on the top from where electronics must have been installed at one point. There's a hairline crack in the sides to either side of the endpin but it's a non-issue and sealed -- the block is not split.