1933 Kalamazoo KG-11 (Gibson) 00-Size Guitar

This is an early KG-11 and shows "first year of production" features like a flat, ebonized fretboard (probably maple or some sort of fruitwood), shorter scale length (24 1/4" here vs. 24 3/4 or 24 7/8"), no pickguard, flat-top headstock, triple-bound soundhole, and a black finish with very small sunburst on the top.

While this sounds a lot like your "average KG-11" build, to my ear it's slightly sweeter and woodier-sounding and, of course, the flat fretboard and shorter scale give it a different feel. I do like it a lot -- it's a little more mellow and less straight-up punch and snap but still very much in the same vein. It doesn't hurt that it has excellent looks, too.

Ancel did most of the heavy work on this but we did tag-team it a bit. The neck joint was a bit troublesome but it was eventually convinced to be reset. Post-repairs it's playing spot-on and it's ready to serve for years to come.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, hairline crack repairs to top and back (cleated/filled), back removed and braces all reglued and then back reglued, side dots install, new bone saddle, new bridge pins and endpin (ebony), cleaning, and setup.

Weight: 2 lbs 14 oz

Scale length: 24 1/4"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Neck shape: medium V

Board radius: flat

Body width: 14 5 /8"

Body depth: 4 1/8"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: ebonized maple or similar

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 relief: straight

Fret style: medium-narrow

Condition notes: so much... first of all it has a ton of light scratches all over and small dings and dents and scuffs and whatnot. Ancel cleaned it up pretty well, though, because its finish was essentially "matte" when unrepaired and now looks nice! There are fingernail divots in the fretboard in first position but they're not enough to throw-off your playing unless you're a neck-squeezer. We've modified the saddle slot to be a "drop-in" for ease of use. Bridge pins and endpin are unoriginal, though the rest is original. There are two repaired hairline cracks in the top below the bridge. There are three longer and several other very short hairline cracks in the back near the edges, all repaired. There's a ton of pickwear near the soundhole on the top. Because the back had been mostly off this guitar for so long, it was essentially impossible to get it to line-up perfectly with the sides when Ancel reglued it. There are thus some trimmed edges to show for it, though they've been aesthetically touched-up so it's not noticeable.

Also: the fretboard extension, by the way, has a number of hairline cracks and fill in it -- it was completely dried-out when it arrived and had a number of hairlines in it to begin-with. Pulling it up to reset the neck meant it splintered a bit as is usual for these ebonized boards (they get a little mealy-like). It's all patched-up, now.

It comes with: sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: A26