The Kalamazoo Electric Guitar was an electric guitar produced by Gibson during the 1960s and 1970s under Gibson's parent company Chicago Musical Instruments. A budget model, it had a body that was made of Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF)[1] and inexpensive components.
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There were two prominent designs. The first, made from 1965 to 1968, was reminiscent of the Fender Mustang; the other, made from 1968 to the early 1970s, bore more resemblance to the Gibson SG. The headstock bore a "Kalamazoo USA" logo rather than Gibson's usual decal.[1] A variety of configurations and pickup options were available, including a vibrola tremolo system, and single coil "melody maker" pickups.[1] The initial run of the Kalamazoo featured the KG-1 single-coil pickup, KG-1A single-coil pickup and vibrola, KG-2 dual single-coil pickups, and KG-2A dual single-coil pickups and vibrola. [1].
Gibson was sold to a different parent company, Norlin. The deal called for further restructuring and the Kalamazoo name was dropped. The Epiphone name took its place as Gibson's budget line marquis, a place it holds to this day.
The Kalamazoo Bass was introduced in 1966 as a companion to the six string guitar. Like the KG, the KB was made with the two body styles resembling the Mustang and the SG. The earlier headstocks were, again, reminiscent of Fender models. Later headstocks bore a resemblance to that of the Gibson Thunderbird bass guitar. Several standard Gibson components were used in the KB, namely a typical EB series humbucker pickup used in many Epiphone basses. Sales were initially good, and during 1966-67 this was by far the best selling bass made at the Gibson plant. Production of the KB ceased in 1969.
At the same time Gibson introduced the Kalamazoo guitar, they also began production of a line of Kalamazoo amplifiers. They were marketed primarily as budget model practice amps to supplement the marquis. The first amp introduced, the Model One, began production in 1965 along with the guitars. It was followed in 1966 by the Model Two. Both used vacuum tubes for power, rectification, and output. Both had a 5W output and a 10" Alnico speaker. The differences between the two were few, with one major exception. The Model 2 was equipped with a tremolo circuit tube to accompany the volume and tone controls shared with the Model 1. The Model 2 proved more popular with this extra feature. By present day standards, these models are not as desirable for use with guitars. However, they are fairly sought after by blues harmonica players for use in amplifying their sound with microphones due to their distorted "fat tone".
Around 1969, solid state versions of the Models One and Two were introduced. The Model 3 and Model 4 respectively, used transistors in place of the vacuum tubes. These models, while novel in their day, ultimately proved unpopular.
The Kalamazoo Reverb 12 was introduced as a larger, more powerful amplifier, boasting a 12W tube driven output through a 10" speaker. The Reverb 12 featured a tremolo circuit like the Model 2, but with depth control along with frequency. The tone was managed by individual bass and treble controls as opposed to the single tone control on earlier models. It also had a reverb, a feature not offered on other Kalamazoo amps. It also differed from the previous Model One and Model Two in the respect that it used solid state diodes for rectification instead of a vacuum tube.
Gibson also produced Kalamazoo bass amplifiers. The Bass 30 and Bass 50 both used a pair of 10" Jensen speakers and were tube driven. The later models of the Bass 30 were configured in an upright cabinet as opposed to the typical horizontal cabinet. The Kalamazoo Bass (with no number attached) was usually made in a solid state form, although some specimens have been found to be equipped with tubes.