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Topic: Kalamazoo KEH or Oriole lap steel |
Brendan Greaves
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2024 4:08 pm |
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| I'm looking for a Gibson-made Kalamazoo KEH or Oriole (or similar) lap steel from the 1930s or early 40s, preferably with a Charlie Christian pickup. Please let me know if you have one for sale or are aware of a reputable seller elsewhere. Thank you! |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 6 Jun 2024 6:06 pm
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To the best of my knowledge (but I've been wrong before), Gibson switched from the bar-magnet pickup (aka "Charlie Christian") to the U-magnet pickup ("horseshoe") in all of their steels in early 1938 before the first KEHs were produced in late 1938.
(See Gibson Electric Steel Guitars 1935-1967 by AR Duchessoir, pages 31 & 46.)
Most likely you're aware of the KEH Oriole with the U-magnet pickup presently listed on Reverb.com:
https://reverb.com/item/71953433-vintage-kalamazoo-by-gibson-oriole-lap-steel-guitar |
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Brendan Greaves
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2024 6:24 am
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Thanks very much for that intel, Jack. I wasn't aware of that distinction. I was under the impression that the blade pickup pictured was the Charlie Christian, or at least a substantively similar descendant. I may very well be wrong about that. But that Oriole model on Reverb is indeed one I'm looking at.
I've been watching eBay auctions, and the going price there seems to be more in the $300–$400 range, so hoping for something a bit less than this listing.
Thanks again for your help. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2024 9:34 am
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| Brendan Greaves wrote: |
| I was under the impression that the blade pickup pictured was the Charlie Christian, or at least a substantively similar descendant. |
From the outside of the guitar, they both look the same, with their six-sided top bobbins that come to a point on the ends and their protruding metal polepieces. But they are constructed quite differently. I have never played an early EH-100 or EH-150 with a bonafide bar-magnet pickup, so I cannot personally comment, but lots of people love their sound. I once had an early KEH (not an "Oriole") with the U-magnet pickup. It sounded alright, but nothing exceptional. I much prefer my 1941/42 KEH-7 Oriole with its metal-covered pickup:
 
These pickups, which Gibson opted not to use after the war, are very common on early postwar Harmony, Airline, and Silvertone Hawaiian and Spanish guitars -- among others. The later "Melody Maker" pickup (aka PU-380) used on the Skylark lap steels as well as Gibson, Epiphone, and Kalamazoo Spanish guitars, are the direct descendant of the prewar metal-covered pickup.
Good luck in your quest, Brendan! I am also a big fan of KEH lap steels and the postwar KG solid-body guitars and KB basses:
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Brendan Greaves
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2024 10:01 am
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| Fascinating, thank you! This is helpful to know. I've never played one of those KG guitars or basses, but they're very cool-looking. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2024 11:35 am
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You're very welcome, Brandan. Sharing knowledge is one of the features that makes this Forum so great. I have personally learned lots of helpful information here. Most of what I've learned about Gibson and Kalamazoo steels is from this wonderful book by the late AR Duchossoir:
Highly recommended.
I'm not adverse to modifying vintage instruments that are in less than mint condition, especially if the mods are easily reversible -- such as on the maroon postwar KEH above. As Gibson's bottom of the barrel, budget-priced, entry-level student model instruments, the postwar KEHs were shipped with a hard-wired cable and a single volume control. I took the liberty of installing a dual-concentric pot, which added a tone control, and a jack and jackplate to replace the hard-wired cable. Both are huge improvements, in my opinion.
The Las Vegas Blue KG-2 was purchased as separate body and neck, both stripped of all their fittings. I made a pickguard, ordered a pair of new P-90s from Jerry Sentell in California, and installed all new hardware and electronics. It rips!
The Flame Red KB was purchased as an intact body and neck, stripped of its bridge and all its electronics. I fabricated a new pickguard, added the aftermarket pickups and bridge, and wired it up like an EB-2. I love it, but so does my brother -- who won't give it back! So, I've procured another derelict KB body, a separate KB neck, and am slowly working on another KB bass guitar to keep for myself.
I'm always on the lookout for loose bits and pieces of old mid-1960s Kalamazoo KG electric guitars and KB basses. I have a half-dozen or so KGs that I've rescued and set up in different configurations. Here are a few of my favorites:
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Brendan Greaves
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 7 Jun 2024 2:29 pm
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| Wow, those guitars are beautiful ... now I need to keep my eye out for KGs as well as KEHs! Very curious how they play and sound. |
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