Kalamazoo Sport Model KG 3/4 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1937), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 587C, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck; spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, original black chipboard case.
This is a somewhat played-in but still attractive example of the somewhat obscure Kalamazoo "Sport Model". This delightful little 3/4 guitar was a relatively late addition to Gibson's budget line, available from 1937-41. This is a first-year example, with the Factory Order Number on the heelblock having a "C" suffix indicating fabrication in 1937. While no production figures are available these "Sports" appear to be rarer than the other Kalamazoo flat tops, the full-size KG-14 and the truncated KG-11. Like those it is built with a ladder braced top and does not have an adjustable truss rod.
Built on the body pattern of Gibson's 1920s TG-1 tenor guitar, the just over 12" wide "Sport" is a dainty tight-waisted design, a more attractive guitar than to the rather stumpy looking Kalamazoo KG-11. The neck is slim with a narrow nut carved to a typical mid-1930s "V" profile. The pointed-top peghead is fitted with the very earliest Kluson strip tuners and is adorned with the standard Kalamazoo silkscreen logo.
The top "sports" a typically lighter mid-late '30s style wide sunburst, with single binding on the edge and sound hole rim and a small firestripe celluloid pickguard below. The sound is surprisingly and punchy; this is a cool little blues picker and would make a great high-strung "Nashville" tuned guitar. While somewhat toy-like in size and originally intended primarily for young students this is still a nicely made guitar. It is fully the quality equal of other Kalamazoo instruments, and represents an unusual value in a pre-WWII "travel guitar" with full Gibson appointments. This is a fairly rare small-body Gibson and dare we say an awfully cute little guitar.
Overall length is 36 3/8 in. (92.4 cm.), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This is a just slightly worn in "Sport" with some wear and repair but nothing tragic. The finish shows typical general wear, with checking (heaviest on the back) with small dings, dents and scratches overall. There is hardly any pick wear to the top, just some random dinks and scratches with a deeper press mark back by the bottom edge. The only crack repair is a long split to the lower back sealed solidly with minimal touchup so plainly visible.
The top has some light arching but that is common with these lightly ladder-braced guitars; the rosewood bridge has been reglued and cut down quite a bit with a low saddle but the action is comfortable. Internally the guitar is original and unaltered. It has had a heat press to straighten the neck and the original frets lightly dressed. The tuner plates have some corrosion but still work fine.
While not perfectly preserved this Sport is still relatively clean and original for a pre-war Kalamazoo. It is one of the better sounding examples of this diminutive shop favorite we have had with a deeper, richer tone than expected from such a small guitar. It lives in a solid original chipboard case. Overall Very Good + Condition.
