1930s Kalamazoo KG-32 Archtop Guitar

I've worked on tons of old Gibson-made Kalamazoo KG-32 archtops and, even though this has no factory order number or serial number, the "open book," Gibson-style headstock shape and rounder, easier neck profile clearly mark it out to me as a 1939-1940 model or very close to it.

Jose gave this one a level/dress of the frets, some extra compensation added at the bridge, cleaning, and setup work as well as a new bone nut. I think we might have had to replace a few tuner buttons from our spares-pile, too. It's now playing spot-on and has a warm, chunky sound to it that's perfect for retro chord-chopping and the like.

These have solid spruce tops and solid mahogany back and sides, a mahogany neck, and rosewood board and bridge. They have a weird, hybrid, fan/ladder/x bracing system on the top and the top itself is quite thin but with heavy-duty braces. For whatever reason, this design often yields a warmer, fuller sound than many Gibson carved-top guitars.