Jonny Fuzz Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Help ...I found an old Gibson MK 25 in a storage unit and it doesn't have any serial numbers on back of headstock or anywhere. It only says ALEXI or ALEX 1 under Gibson logo in the sound hole.......what the heck did I find ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I think that is from the Norlin era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 No serial number that I can see. It's likely an employee built MK35 from sometime 75-79. (Not MK25) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Fuzz Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 2 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: I think that is from the Norlin era. Thanks for the help !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Fuzz Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 2 hours ago, ksdaddy said: No serial number that I can see. It's likely an employee built MK35 from sometime 75-79. (Not MK25) OK , Thanks ...I will start digging deeper into MK 35 .....do you think there is any value in this guitar ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 It's not a collector piece. Gibson went out on a limb in the interest of science and not many people followed them out onto that limb. They preferred traditional Gibsons. It was Gibson's version of New Coke. Not saying they're bad. Just not accepted by Gibson's traditional customer base. Or anyone else. The MK series typically brought prices of $500-1000 up until very recently when everyone thinks their guitar is suddenly worth 3-4 times as much. Maybe it's the Rona making people stupid or people are paying attention to what the price gouging Japanese dealers are demanding to sell us back our own guitars. In any case, people are stupid lately and most MK's are over $1000. Which I will say again, is stupid. A MK35 over the last 10 years or so has realistically sold for $500, a MK53 for a hundred or two more, and a MK72 up in the 1000-1300 range. There were also MK81s and MK99s but they are scarcer than a virgin in a trailer park. The fact that it is likely an employee built guitar may or may not change the pace of the sale. Employees did make their own instruments from time to time but I'm betting they got to pick their materials from the reject pile. Just my thought, no proof, documented or anecdotal. It wouldn't surprise me if this guitar were employee built after the run was over in '79.... they may have just let employees loose on the leftovers. But there I go connecting dots. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash_Starkiller Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 I’ve always wanted to try one. There’s two local to me. A 35 and 53. But a shop here in atl had an 81 for a time. I had never seen one in the flesh. But yea they’re all sitting at around $1000 and j doubt anyone will buy at that price. Now for $600 I might take the chance… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Years ago I tried a MK-72, The feel & tone of that guitar was amazing! I bought it & even though I’m more of an electric player, it has remained my main acoustic. The concept was well engineered & it was the first attempt to improve the tone of acoustics in many years. Due partially to the inconsistency of wood, the results varied quite a bit. I try them when I come across them, most have little or no tone compared to my MK-72. I bought a MK-35 for cheap to use as a wall hanger, it sounds thin & cheap. If you do find one that sound & feels good to you, it’s a bargain compared to many vintage Gibson acoustics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Fuzz Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 On 1/7/2022 at 6:05 PM, ksdaddy said: It's not a collector piece. Gibson went out on a limb in the interest of science and not many people followed them out onto that limb. They preferred traditional Gibsons. It was Gibson's version of New Coke. Not saying they're bad. Just not accepted by Gibson's traditional customer base. Or anyone else. The MK series typically brought prices of $500-1000 up until very recently when everyone thinks their guitar is suddenly worth 3-4 times as much. Maybe it's the Rona making people stupid or people are paying attention to what the price gouging Japanese dealers are demanding to sell us back our own guitars. In any case, people are stupid lately and most MK's are over $1000. Which I will say again, is stupid. A MK35 over the last 10 years or so has realistically sold for $500, a MK53 for a hundred or two more, and a MK72 up in the 1000-1300 range. There were also MK81s and MK99s but they are scarcer than a virgin in a trailer park. The fact that it is likely an employee built guitar may or may not change the pace of the sale. Employees did make their own instruments from time to time but I'm betting they got to pick their materials from the reject pile. Just my thought, no proof, documented or anecdotal. It wouldn't surprise me if this guitar were employee built after the run was over in '79.... they may have just let employees loose on the leftovers. But there I go connecting dots. OK Thanks KS for the insight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Very cool guitar. Not a traditional Gibson of course, but the MK series were an interesting experiment. Mark Kasha and Richard Schneider, who designed the line, wanted to port the fan bracing principle from classical guitar building across to the steel string format, and after a number of exploding prototypes they (primarily Kasha) perfected the design. Some years ago I was offered a MK99 spec prototype which was hand built by Kasha himself and presented to the Gibson board as a design brief. The thing was literally astonishing. A really, REALLY stellar sounding and playing guitar. Way too expensive for my pocketbook, but a real gem. The Gibson iterations that went to manufacture were more heavily built and braced than the prototype, but still decent and interesting instruments. I’ve played a few, an MK53 (Maple) and an MK72 (Rosewood) which were both good, and an odd duck MK35 which was X-braced for some reason-possibly an employee build, which, as KSDaddy said, I suspect yours is, OP. Perhaps have a look inside with a mirror and phone torch and see what bracing is under the hood-we’d love to know more! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 (edited) Years ago I had contacted a guy that had a prototype, with a normal Gibson neck. He also had prints that went down to Nashville when the plant first opened. The Mark Series was supposedly one of the early builds in Nashville and I believe it didn’t go well. I’ll try to post a photo of my Mark Series store display. To the left is my MK72 and to the right is my MK35 that I bought as a wall hanger……… Edited January 12, 2022 by Grog 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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