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Kalamazoo KM 21-what vintage?


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Here's another pic.

I think it's definitely a c1940-42 KM-22. Nice mandolin. Gibson used their "open-book" peghead style on the Kalamazoos only during this period of time, so it has to be a KM-22. The KM-21 was discontinued in 1939. I also think the open-book peghead adds a little to its value. Looks more like its Gibson big brother the A-00.

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Here is the KM-22 from a 1940 Kalamazoo brochure. Gibson never showed the Kals with the open-book peghead in any of the brochures, except the Kalamazoo "Oriole" guitars like the KGN-12 & KGN-32.

 

cfe1604f3413ab0974f4dd64309398ac58a7faa4.jpg

 

There is no binding along the fingerboard. Maybe it is a KM 12N from the early forties.

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Here is the KM-22 from a 1940 Kalamazoo brochure. Gibson never showed the Kals with the open-book peghead in any of the brochures, except the Kalamazoo "Oriole" guitars like the KGN-12 & KGN-32.

 

cfe1604f3413ab0974f4dd64309398ac58a7faa4.jpg

 

The slant on the "Kalamazoo" is like mine.

post-41452-029156800 1331492874_thumb.jpg

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You can't rely on the brochure illustration too much. Both the KM-21 & KM-22 illustrations from Kalamazoo brochures of the late 30s & early 40s show bound fingerboards & no dot at third fret. The c1940-42 KM-12 (different model all together) which has no bound FB, but does have a completely different type of sunburst finish than the KM-22, plus it had black tuner buttons & an unbound pickguard.

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