Kalamazoo Solid Body

I've a red 'strat' KG2, she was made in Kalamazoo in the late 60s' I can't be more certain on the date, the serial number on the back of the headstock '793824' is not in the serial number lists I've seen. As far as I can tell she is all stock, well I did replace a lost screw from the 'B' machine head. 22 Frets in rosewood on a maple neck, STRAIGHT as an arrow. Has a 3 position slider switch, bridge - both - neck. separate 500k volume pots, and separate 250k tone pots. She has the original Melody Maker single coil pickups, passive electronics. I guess it has a Satin finish (shiny but not very reflective) The bridge is a stopbar with staggered 'frets' for each string, and the vibrola tremolo system, complete. The 6-inline tuners, plastic knobs, as are the strap pegs. I had an old leather strap for it, lost in some move. I still the original case.

I used to have a Peavey backstage plus amp I ran it through, very clean and bright, never had any effects other than what I could get out of the Peavey, reverb and pre and post overdrive. I could finger pick on low volume very smooth and clear, power chords with everything cranked to '11' and it still sounded good. But it would hum when I let go of the strings without turning the volume pots down to zero. The vibrola tremolo always went back to where it started, but the tuners would slip if I pulled up too much, and the bridge would shift or fall off if I pushed the whammy bar right to the pick guard! I loved all the sounds I could get out of it, part of it was the amp, only 20watts but it had a nice 'tube' like pre-amp and was well matched with the KG2.

The action was a bit high when I got it, I took it into Axe Music in Edmonton and the guitar tech cleaned it up and adjusted it, it had not been played in a few years. He was quite amazed how straight the neck was, and he just loved the tone of the melody makers on it. other than cleaning and relaxing the neck tension a touch it was all good, no flaws anywhere. But that was more than 20 years ago. The pots are all scratchy when they turn, one is totally frozen, the selector switch is as likely to turn off both the pickups as it is to select either. the tuners are stiff and stick and squeak when tuning, and they don't stay in tune very long

Right now, it is playable, but not to its fullest or best. The tuners, pots, selector switch and nut need to be replaced, the bridge needs some grooves polished out of it, and I need to figure out how to make it stay put when using the tremolo. But these parts are 40+ years old! Once I get her fixed up she will be one solid, dependable machine.

I sent Gibson an Email, no reply yet, but that was only today. =8-] Warranty? I think that may have expired recently. =8-]

I've been noodling around with it for over 25 years, my step-father Lance gave it to me, it is like a piece of him. He past away in 2000 and I have his guitar and his father's conductors pocket watch. Two classic pieces of technology that will always remind me of him. And somewhere at my Mothers is the lap steel he gave me, but can't find it.=8-]

This is what I've come to call the "Doug Ritterling" model, because the first clues I found to the guitar's heritage were in his review on this site. Mustang-style body, two Melody Maker (not Charlie Christian) pickups. I bought the thing in pieces at a Kansas City thrift shop around 1978 and have been modifying it ever since. At present it has a Leo Quan Badass bridge (replacing a non-adjustable stop tailpiece -- no Vibrola, sadly); individual on-off-on switches for both pickups, allowing phase change; series-parallel switch; master volume and tone pots (500k replacements from Stew-Mac, I believe); extensive aluminum shielding under the hood; Schaller strap-locks; and a Strat-style string tree. I had to shave the neck pocket to get the angles right, and two tuner knobs are mostly epoxy. As purchased, it was a 3 -- unplayable, but interesting raw material. Now it's an 7. Better tuners, fretwork and a bone nut might make it an 8 or 9. There are no 10s.

There are lots of sonic possibilities with series-parallel and phase options, but the neck pickup by itself is where I spend most of my time. It's sweet. Not a Strat sound, but not a P-90 sound, either -- somewhere between the two. Tube amps love it. I love it. The bridge pickup alone is a bit thin. The sound is affected by the fact that the strings are a little higher from the pickups than they want to be (hence the thin bridge pickup). Heavy strings help. The guitar prefers clean to slightly distorted tones and cleans up nicely with the volume control. It's noisy as hell plugged into a high-gain/heavy-distortion amp, although phase and series-parallel tweaks quiet it down.

As noted, the guitar was unplayable when purchased. It took chisel work to get the neck and the bridge to line up. That shouldn't happen. But this was made before the days of great budget guitars. Lots of us learned to play on crappy instruments with barbed-wire action. We didn't know better. Today the Kalamazoo with D'Addario EJ21s (.012-.052) intonates perfectly right up the neck. People who play Super Slinkys on a Chinese Squier might think the action is heavy.

The tuners -- and my own inept soldering -- are the big weak points.

I've called Gibson USA about other second-hand guitars (not this one) and they've been remarkably patient and helpful.

I've played more than 40 years. My guitar stable includes a '68 SG Junior, a Charvel import with two Jackson humbuckers, and Yamaha and Takamine acoustics -- nothing special. The Line 6 Pod 2.0 is my workhorse "amp," but there's nothing I've found anywhere quite like the Kalamazoo or the Junior into my prewar National tweed combo....

If you find a Kalamazoo solid more or less in working order, give it a chance. You might be surprised.

Kalamazoo KG-2, 1965
It has the 'strat' style body, not the SG style.
Gibson Vibrola Whammy bar. (I love those things!)
I bought it from a high school friend in 1968 for $40, used.
It burned up in a fire in 1972.
I was given an SG style one with 1 pick-up shortly there after and used the neck from it to rebuild the burned one.
It's had literally dozens of different pick-ups on it, lots of different pick gaurds, the body has been lots of different colors, etc. over the years.
When I get the time, someday I'm gonna restore it to original with 2 really good single coils on it.
It currently has 1 humbucker.
It plays and feels great, just like a real Gibson!

It sounds good if you use a real hot amp, though the high E string has always been weak, no matter what pick-ups I've put on it. I guess there's just no alternative for a body made of real wood.

I saw one last year at a guitar show for $150, but it was missing the Vibrola, and I think one is enough.

I have the single-pickup version of the kalamazoo solid body. From what i know, it was made in the mid to late 60's in kalamazoo, michigan. it was gibson's budget line of guitars that first appeared in the great depression and was revived in '65 or so. it has the red finish, which i think looks cool because it's not shiny, although i might paint it to look like the baby blue ones. it's all original except for the pickguard [someone replaced it with a nice 3-ply white/black/white pickguard] and the knobs [strat knobs forced onto course-grained pots]. it doesn't have the original tremolo, but i think it was pretty genious of kalamazoo to build in a one-piece stop peice, which is very useful in adjusting the action. the action is okay for a vintage, budget line guitar, but i'm probably going to take it to the local shop to make it better and to fix the humming, which isn't that bad. i love the neck and the rosewood fretboard. there are 22 frets. the electronics are a little weirded out. the volume and and tone are switched around [but that's just for me because i'm used to playing a strat]. when the volume pot is turned all the way down, the guitar can still be heard through the amplifier [i'm not sure if that's typical for these guitars, or mine's just different]. there is a pretty annoying buzzing sound, which i'm not sure is from the pickup or from the output jack, but i'm going to fix it. the single coil bridge pickup sounds wonderful, both clean and with distortion. definiately sounds better than my stratocaster, although i miss a neck pickup for variety. when you get up to high volumes, there is some feedback, but not horrible. i took off the pickguard and found some kind of yellow stuff that might be mold [yummy]. i like the fenderness of this guitar and the vintage vibe of it. its hardware is very compareable to melody makers of the same era.

1965 Kalamazoo Solid Body "Melody Maker" Made in Kalamazoo, MI at the original Gibson factory. Gibson's answer to Fender. Mustang-style design with two uneven horns, bolt-on neck, pickups mounted to white single-ply pickguard with three position slide switch. This guitar was manufactured between 1965 and 1968, an "SG" version was made 1968 to 1970. 22 frets with abalone dot inlay, 3/4 size MDF solid body with very cool opaque Powder Blue finish. Maple neck with "Kalamazoo-Made in USA" carved into the headstock. Two Charlie Christian-style single coil bar pickups with with three position slide switch. Vibrola, which, like most Kalamazoo Solid Body Electrics and Gibson Melody Makers, has been replaced with a stop tailpiece. This guitar was a low-cost alternative to Gibson and Epiphone

The combination of MDF body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and 35-year old single coil bar pickups give this guitar a really groovy vibe. Very much like a vintage Danelectro, yet a different percussive, surf's up, bright, lead guitar sound. very hip! I lived in Kalamazoo during the 60's, so when I saw this guitar in a vintage shop, I purchased it for $135 and restored it with up-to-date components.

This guitar was marketed in 1965 as a low-end guitar. As such, it was sold new with unsealed tuners, plastic strap buttons, and inexpensive Vibrola. Interestingly though, it also has some higher-end features such as abalone dot inlays, a very nicely made Hard-Maple neck. After 35-years, the neck is still as straight as it was in '65. As a tribute to their uniqueness, many of the surviving Kalamazoo Solid Bodies today have been refurbished with higher quality components. I have replaced the tuners with Fender Vintage 6 in-line machines, chrome strap buttons, Gibson Stop Tailpiece, and heavier gauge single-ply pickguard. I also refinished the neck with a glossy Polyeurethane and refinished the body with PPG Eurethane matched to the original color. This guitar has a very beautiful form and surfy sound...an unusual guitar well worth restoration!

Isn't it strange that a budget guitar built in the 1960's retains an ultra-straight excellent playing neck and still feels very solid? I recently played four new Gretsch re-issue guitars at a well-known guitar store in Atlanta; ALL had warped necks! I think the problem with many newer (and expensive) guitars is that the wood is used before it is properly seasoned. These guitars from the 60;s just seem to have more personality!

I sent an e-mail to Gibson to find out more about Kalamazoo Guitars. I received a very quick response from Gibson; very little information has survived on the Kalamazoo range of guitars. They are very interested in receiving images and information from present owners. Gibson even sent me what little information they had on them. Needless to say, I am very impressed with Gibson's service 35 years after the sale! Excellent!

I purchased this guitar as a project. Although it has been well-used for three decades, I was very impressed at the quality of this cheap guitar...it still is very solid-feeling. I found a 60's Gibson Melody Maker at the same vintage shop for $500 and discovered that the hardware is nearly identical. If you're looking for a great vintage surf guitar with a Gibson pedigree, steer yourself to Kalamazoo!