Guitar Identification

Subject: Guitar Identification
From: reggie miles
Date: 02 Sep 03 - 12:16 PM

Hey all, I stopped by a garage sale the other day and found two folks selling their grandfather's guitar. I couldn't help myself. The price was right, so I bought it. It was a well made, quality instrument on the level of a Martin or Gibson but not a fancy model. It has mahagony back, sides and neck with simple white binding around the top and on the inside of the sound hole. It has a spruce top, a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, an ebony nut and a bone saddle. The bridge is similar to the pin bridge on a mid 20's Martin I've seen and it has a tortoise shell style pick guard. It has some playing wear on the fingerboard in the first position. I can't be certain but it seems as though it could be from the 30's or 40's. It has a folk style body shape, 19 5/16" long, 14 3/4" lower bout width and 10 3/16" upper bout. There are 14 frets from the nut to the body and the frets and fingerboard are arched. It has a solid head with through the head strip tuners. The headstock is cut to a point shape, like that of a shallow pitched roof. It didn't have a case and is suffering from a fracture down the center of the spruce face, a slightly lifting bridge (and top below the bridge), and a bad refinishing job. There is also one small repair on the side. The problem is, when the guitar was refinished the name decal (I'm assuming it had one on the headstock) was removed. Fortunately, (I hope anyway), the serial/identification number decal is still intact on the back of the headstock. It reads in gold 3/16" tall, DK 429.

My question is, dear Mudcateers, have any of you a clue to what brand guitar might use such a serial number?

Your musings are mucho appreciated, Reg

Subject: RE: Guitar Identification
From: Mark Ross
Date: 02 Sep 03 - 12:54 PM

Any way to send pictures?

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Guitar Identification
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 02 Sep 03 - 01:12 PM

The pointed headstock is a good tip-off. Without doing any research through my books, it could be from the Kay-Harmony family of Chicago.

Also, a budget gibson product is a possibility.

Cheers

Rick

Subject: RE: Guitar Identification
From: GUEST,Reg
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 05:37 AM

Mark, I've got one of those cheezy computer cams but I doubt that the thing is worth messin' with.

Rick, yep that was one of my first guesses. I've had a bunch of that stuff from Harmony and recently had two identical guitars with different brand names. One was a Harmony the other a Galiano. This one that I have now is definitely a step upward in quality from anything I've ever had made by the Harmony company.

Reg

Subject: RE: Guitar Identification
From: mooman
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 06:52 AM

Dear Reg,

This rather sounds like a Kalamazoo to me. The white binding and tortoiseshell pickguard would fit, and the designation sounds rather like their style although isn't a model I've seen personally.

If I find out any more I'll post back.

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: Guitar Identification
From: mooman
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 06:54 AM

P.S. The strip tuners and pointed headstock are also typically Kalamazoo.

Peace,

moo