Airline Unknown Acoustic

50's-60's Made in the usa (its really a Kay) because of the music stand decal on the back of the headstock. It is a laminate Round hole. Small sholdered, large waist and a bolt on neck. Honeyburst in color

Sounds awsome. one of the best nonsoild tops I heard. Nice projection

Action is a bit high, but not unplayable like some harmonys/kays of the day. The neck is really cool V shaped.

Solid its about 50 years old and still has a lot of life in it.

out of buisness

been playing about 10 years Ive had many, many guitars this ones a keeper. Great vintage mojo lots of comments when people see it. cool guitar it would be a 10 if the action was just a bit lower.

No idea what year she was made, a safe bet would place it between 1955 and 1965. Neck built of 3 pieces. There are 19 large brass frets on the rosewood board with huge pearloid dot markers, thin white binding surounds the entire fretboard. The body must be cheap laminated spruce or similar wood, tobacco burst spray all around, thin binding on the edges, large f-holes unbound. The body depth is 3 1/2 inches, body width is 15 1/2 inches, and the entire lenth of the guitar is just over 41 inches. Thick rounded neck, comfortable, but not real fast. Plain headstock, spraypained Airline in script. Trapieze style tailpiece and cracking plasic strap knob. I don't believe the tuners or bridge are original. Missing the pickguard, but the screwholes are there. No labels anywhere, but three inked marks inside body, P-3 in black, N-1 in red, possible serial # L7447 in black.

It was purchased for folk county blues, but the sound really lends itself to county with a distintive twang in the high end but a bit dullness on the low end. The sound reminds me of an Ovation acustic electrified. Its not as loud as the high quality archtops I have heard or played, but not too quiet to jam with others.

This guitar has aged very well, mostly poor care has blemished it, but even the mass production techniques that cheapen it aren't too horrible. The neck is still straight and no fret buzz is there. At some angles I am shocked by its attractiveness, not unlike the lines of the archtop Gibsons.

I doubt I will ever get to gig with this. It would be fine in a Really intimate setting. Obviously there was something that caused the bridge and tuners to be replaced, but I don't know what it was. Its probably never going to need much to keep it playable.

I have been playing 11 years. I own a Gretcsh hollowbody electric from the mid seventies, a reissue 50's MIM Fender Strat, and an old fender bassman amp. This guitar is a steal if you can find it in a yardsale or pawnshop and its still in good shape. Its plays well, feels a lot better than it looks (and it don't look too bad!)and can really bang it around if you like, its sturdy!

I'm submitting this review in case you see one of these at a pawn shop or garage sale. This is a six string standard round hole acoustic guitar with Airline printed on the headstock. It is date stamped inside the body 1965. This guitar was given to my family when I was a little kid back in the late 60's or very early 70's. It has been strung with both steel and nylon strings (mostly nylon). After sitting in a chip case in my basement for over 10 years I decided to get it out and re-strung since lately I have been learning electric blues.
The guitar body is slightly smaller than a full size (3/4?) auditorium type guitar. I've heard the terms "folk guitar" and "parlor guitar" applied. I'm having to guess on the woods here. By the color and grain pattern I'd say maple top and back with mahogany sides. I think the neck and headstock is a solid piece of mahogany. The back and top have a weird dark flame pattern which I believe is painted on and looks nothing like real figuring. All it does is add some visual interest. Over everything is a nice sunburst which starts with a natural golden honey color and fades to a dark brown. This actually looks very nice. Sides are a reddish-brown mahogany. There is very little clear finish, it is almost like a satin, and allows the woodgrain to stand out. White binding around the body and soundhole, no floret. Wooden floating bridge to a chrome plated trapeze type tailpiece.
The neck has 18 frets and is joined to the body at the twelve fret. Frets are small and thin and have a tarnished brass look to them. Neck width is fairly narrow but with considerable thickness. No standard fret markers. Instead, the appropriate fret spaces are painted white. This must have been a factory job because the paint quality is good and this really gives the guitar a "different, stand out" look. Tuners are standard non-sealed variety which do a good job of holding but are extremely stiff. Tuning buttons are white oval shaped plastic.
This guitar doesn't have any more or less features of any other standard acoustic axe.

This guitar's sound is a very subjective thing. I opted to have it strung with some lighter guage Martin "Silk and Steel" strings. I wanted steel strings but was afraid to put too much tension on the neck joint of a 34 year old cheapie guitar. Actually, the sound is pretty decent if a little hard to describe. Not much bass, lots of middle, and a pretty good high end. It sounds like a guitar that has been e.q.'d for recording. Think Heart's Nancy Wilson playing "Dog and Butterfly" to get an idea. More twang than bell-like tone, with a flat sound that's good for strumming and picking chords. I have to think that age has probably increased the resonance as it's quite good.
String bends are extremely difficult and not worth the effort due to the narrow neck and tiny frets. This guitar is more for strumming and flatpicking, jazz, folk, and pop.

This is a 34 year old guitar which was a bargain model to begin with. It's in pretty good shape for it's age. Frets and tuners have a gold oxidation on them, the tailpiece is in very good condition. There are only a few shallow dings here and there. Binding is showing some rough spots. The bridge has some chips to the top and there have been various grooves cut for the strings. I was going to have the music shop manufacture a new bridge, however, they ended up flipping the old one around 180 degrees and it works well enough that they said it wouldn't be worth the expense of building a new one. The strings stay put in all but the heaviest strumming, which the guitar wasn't designed for anyway.
Neck is straight and true up to the joint. At the joint the neck is slightly off. I presume this was caused by the upper portion of the neck bending toward the body. The bass strings cannot be fretted past twelve without buzzing out on the frets above. What a bummer. The top strings can be fretted progressively higher with high E all the way up to the top fret. The neck/body joint appears solid though. The shop said usually the necks rip away from the body on these guys, and mine probably would have had it been stored with steel strings at full tension. The neck intones accurately. Action is medium. I have a problem with barre chords at the headstock end of the neck. Again, I think this is due to the puny frets. I have an electric with much heavier strings that doesn't give any problems. Some minor rippling on the back of the instrument. Top is as solid as the day it was made.

I would say this guitar is best left to home playing. However, if you wanted to play an acoustic in public that has a different and vintage look, then this might be it. The smaller size also makes it fun to play. Just don't try any Pete Townsend stuff and I think you'll be okay. I have to wonder what it would sound like with a good soundhole pickup. As I said before, it does an admirable job of staying in tune.

Right.
I really don't know much about the manufacturer. It is stamped U.S Made. A little web surfing uncovered that Airlines were manufactured for Montgomery Wards back in the 60's. Anybody know who actually made them or where at?

I've only been playing a few months on an electric. I was going to get an acoustic but thought I'd try getting this out of the basement and putting on new strings before spending some big dough. I've been pleasantly surprised. The guitar has a nice sound that I wasn't expecting. I will eventually get a better acoustic, but I probably won't sell this. It's sound is unique and there is too much sentimental value. If it were lost or stolen I'd be really bummed because it would be very difficult to replace, although it wouldn't be the end of the world. I really like the twangy, resonant sound but the small frets are bad for barre chords.
If you see one of these for sale at a cheap price, it might be worth checking out. Look for a straight neck and a good neck joint. Don't underestimate the improvement of new strings. Also, you might find these with nylon strings. Try the Martin "Silk and Steels" for a nice bright sound. Good Luck.