Gibson Kel Kroydon KK-1, L2 style (1931) Spruce-Mahogany, Amazing guitar, Case,

I could really blabber on for hours about this guitar becuase it's an amazing piece of work that truly sounds amazing, i bought it from a good american friend and luthier who meant it to be his private guitar, so he restored it first before i came along, then he couldn't resist my offer on a number of his guitars, and now it's mine.. Well i don't hang on to guitars, but if i did- this one would be very high on my favorite list. First of all, these are extremely rare guitars, Kel Kroydon was one of the first Gibson branded instrument lines that was meant to be a lower priced alternative, but Gibson didn't really have the experience with 'lower quality' so they simply build a darn fine Gibson with a different logo. They were sold between approx. 1930 and 1932. Yes it all had to do with the Great Depression, instruments didn't sell like they used to, and the Kel Kroydon branded instruments that included also Banjo and A style Mandolin were sold at lower prices than their Gibson equivalents to encourage sales. I'm not sure it worked for Gibson because the project only lasted 2 years. After that other 'new Gibson brandnames' took over, like Kalamazoo and Recording King to name a few.

Why am i so enthusiastic about this guitar? well first of most all the very impressive tone, it's truly something stay up for all night.  And it's probably the lightest build Gibson ever, partially due to a lack of adjustable trussrod, but also due to extremely thin bracing that is different from normal Gibson guitars. Body shape and looks are in many ways similar to the very rare Gibson L2. The L2 with pin-bridge is one of Gibson's most collectible flattop guitars together with the Nick Lucas model, The L2 again is in many ways a plainer version of the Nick Lucas, actually you could say the Kel Kroyden is the most plain version of the three. The L2 and Nick Lucas are considered the best sounding small Gibson guitars ever produced. And that's what make these Kel Kroyden guitars so sought after as an alternative for the very expensive L2. 

So.. you understand why this guitar is in my book truly something special. Now to the features, it features a ONE piece red spruce top, mahogany back and sides, a wonderful only slightly V shape mahogany neck, the fingerboard is original and the frets are changed probably once with correct small frets, the wear on the frets is modest. The braces on this guitar are very thin, during the restoring process that was done over a year ago, the area around the bridge- where someone had previously replaced the bridge- was cleaned and retouched with lacquer before re-gluing the bridge. However, i truly believe the bridge might be the original one, as is the saddle, and if not, it's a darn nice copy, i really can't tell. The X-brace and some small braces were reglued and a few small braces were replaced in the correct manor, a thin spruce reinforcement was added under the very thin bridge plate and a short flat brace was added under the fretboard extension to reinforce the top. A treble side crack and a small back crack were repaired, The top that looks quite rough but is in fact more or less crack-free, we spotted a few suspect smaller cracks but under close inspection from the inside we can't trace any glue residue were it should be, still one or two are suspect of having been repaired perfectly, The finish is all original except for the touch up around the bridge, No other finish work was done. The tuners are original, and so is the nut, the fingerboard, the bridge pins on this guitar were changed at one point. If you are looking for a very fine fingerstyle 12 fret guitar,  this might be a golden chance...!

Including: 

• 1 Year Extended Guarantee to the follow up Owner.
• Original case
• Includes 21% VAT/BTW/MwST. Fully deductible on purchase for Outside EC inhabitants and Outside NL entrepreneurs with a valid VAT number. 

 Need more information Call us on 0031523-232205, or send a message. Our service includes

• 5 years of TFOA guarantee, unless otherwise specified.

• 1 year of TFOA guarantee on used guitars, unless the guitar is sold as a project guitar (sold as is)
• 14 day return warranty
• free set-up of your instrument to your liking
• free shipping in the Netherlands (25 Euro for the rest of Europe, 95 Euro to the USA and Japan)
• pickup of your trade guitar can be arranged for.
• We are obligated to our on-line customers.