VINTAGE 1947-49 GIBSON KALAMAZOO LG-1. Extremely RARE!!

ALL ORIGINAL (with the exception of 3 buttons) 1947-49 Gibson LG-1 under the Kalamazoo name! NO CRACKS!

One of the last of the flat top ‘Zoos. One of the first of the LG-1’s!

ALL MAHAGONY BODY with RARE NATURAL FINISH

RARE ORIGINAL KLUSON TUNERS with cross-hatch peaned brass barrels

FON (Factory Order Number) 4125. No serial #

RARE PRODUCTION: The body has all the telltale signs of a ladder-braced Gibson logo LG-1, but the blackface headstock is a tapered rooftop design with the Kalamazoo screened logo. The 4125 FON may indicate production of this guitar between 1947-49, meaning it's one of the last years Gibson made flat tops under the Kalamazoo name. However, after extensive research and with the help of several experts in the field I could find no official records indicating production of this particular Kalamazoo guitar, much less the exact date of production, making it an extremely rare model.

According to most records, the last year Gibson made flat top acoustics with the Kalamazoo logo was in 1941 and those were KG-11’s not LG-1’s.  But by most sources, the LG-1’s weren’t produced until 1947 (with the Gibson logo). However, The Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide states LG-1’s were produced as early as 1943. According to the Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, “In 1949, a four-digit FON was used, but not in conjunction with any code letter indicating the year.” It's important to point out that during and shortly after WWII FON and shipping records were notoriously ill kept so the FON alone may not be a good indicator of when it was made. However, some other clues can be used to help narrow down a range of the model and date such as its ladder-bracing, sound hole inlay, and bout & scale measurements. Another clue is that these original Kluson tuners first appeared in 1945 and were used till the late '40s.

This guitar obviously wasn’t produced under a specific model’s standard nomenclature making it a great collectible ... a really unique piece of Gibson history.

DETAILS:

• Kalamazoo logo on headstock (the screen finish has faded)
• Ladder-bracing gives it that old-time bluesy sound akin to Robert Johnson
• Absolutely NO bowing of the neck!
• No truss rod
• Tortoise shell pickguard
• Black bridge pins and black nut
  
• Rosewood straight bridge
• Rosewood 14/19 fingerboard (14 frets to the body, 19 total) with pearl dot inlays
• Scale – 24 7/8” (to middle of slanted saddle)
• Lower Bout  - 14 3/8” (precise measurement 14 5/16”)
  
• Upper Bout - 11 1/8”
• Nut – 1 5/8”
• Sound hole – 4”
• C-neck – makes for great playability on upper frets
• Bridge is SOLID, but needs some work on the string holes. It holds strings well, though.
• With the exception of 3 buttons, it’s ALL ORIGINAL. It looks like three of the white tuner buttons were replaced because they are slightly larger and cleaner than the 3 older looking buttons.
  
• String it up with some light strings and it’s ready to go!

TUNERS: Kluson open back strip tuners as found on most Gibson flat tops shortly after the war years. These tuners have the standard Kluson plate shape, nickel finish, brass crown gears that are “waffle” peaned to brass barrels. The plates, barrels, gears and shafts are all in good condition and the tuners function smoothly. The plates show a little age related wear but are in very good shape overall. According to the folks at Kluson, “these tuners did not use bushings per se, they are more like an eyelet with a rolled edge.”

Exceptional Condition for a roughly 60 year-old guitar with no luthier work done to it! NO Cracks! No deep dings. A few scratches. Plays like a dream! When I got this guitar it was strung with old corroded strings, but I strummed it once and knew it was something special. Even with the old strings it was almost perfectly in tune! I put some new light gauge strings on it and was amazed at the sound … deep, throaty bass, soulful midtones and clear trebles. The high action makes it perfect for slide play, too. Unfortunately I don’t know the personal history of this particular guitar, but it looks like it was stored incredibly well. There are a few scratches and a couple of capo marks on the neck, but none very deep. It looks like it’s seen a lot of giggin’ by the scratches on the topside bout (see pic) and it could use a new saddle and a little bridge work, but there’s nothing a good luthier couldn’t very easily repair to make this guitar as good as new.

If you want to get an idea of how the guitar sounds, here’s a couple of links to guys playing with similar, but later, guitars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1gowBGt-b0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVysbaUVy-w

I will make sure the guitar is packaged safely and securely and I require you purchase insurance for this one and it's included in the cost of shipping. I will ship USPS or FedEx to the lower 48 states only.

Includes Redon Soft Shell Case

Serious bidders only. No negative feedback bidders.

***RECENTLY REVISED:  I've heard of a couple of earlier guitars similar to this, but with a "KG-1" stamp and different tuners. Which is strange. First, because mine has no stamp. Second, because (supposedly) the KG-1's were actually electrics models first produced by Gibson in 1965. The Vintage Guitar Price Guide or Google or Wiki search will attest to that. I've heard arguments for and against it being a rare prototype model, but if it is, chances are it was a prototype of the LG-1, but obviously not the electric KG-1 model. It's also possible it could have been an experimental model, or even a batch produced to fill a specific order. Who knows? (I'm sure someone does ... or did).

If you email me, I can provide pics of the guitar pretty much as I found it. I wiped it down with a lint-free cheesecloth and I can send the pictures I took  just after that. Then I used some Virtuoso Premium Cleaner and then Martin's Guitar Oil to bring out the natural mahogany finish and those are the eBay pics. As you can tell, it hasn't been refinished ... just cleaned up with some high end products and some methods that came highly recommended.