Floyd Riggs's $21 Kalamazoo
An archtop Gibson on a workingman's budget
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
This gutsy little archtop is one of 14 instruments once owned by Floyd A. Riggs (1923-2001), who was raised in St. Marys WV (pop. 2,201 in 1940).
One of eight kids in the family and all of 14 years old when he acquired it, Riggs spent a hefty $21 on this guitar when it was new in 1937. Riggs played this archtop sunburst 'Zoo for the rest of his life.
During World War II Riggs served in the U.S. Army. In 1947 he wed Lucy Dearth of St. Marys and relocated 23 miles to Parkersburg WV (pop. 30,103 in 1950).
Most of his adult life, however, Floyd Riggs resided in Vienna WV, a small town along the Ohio River (pop. 9,381 in 1960). Located five miles north of Parkersburg, today it is hemmed in by suburban tract houses and shopping centers that have sprouted there.
Powell said he and Riggs were occasional friends, musically speaking. "I remember we played music together at a bluegrass festival sometime in the 1970s," Powell said in November 2004 at a guitar show near Philadelphia when I acquired the Riggs KG-21 guitar from him for $850.
"He kept all his instruments in immaculate condition," recalled Powell as he pointed to the pristine KG-21. "He was a versatile picker, but he did not sing."
Gibson's budget brands
Offered by music-instrument distributors, retailers and mail-order houses, the budget editions were all well-made items with minor cosmetic changes. None had an adjustable truss rod in the neck — a patented and costly feature Gibson first used in 1923. And tops on the budget flattops were ladder-braced, not X-braced, which used more labor and material.
More important to Depression-era musicians, however, retail prices for this second tier of instruments were less than Gibson-branded equivalents. For instance, between 1936 and 1942 prices for a Kalamazoo KG-21 ranged from $17.50 to $21, or two-thirds of the cost for the Gibson L-30, a fully-configured counterpart to the KG-21.
In either case, the spruce top and mahogany neck each have the iconic Gibson sunburst, the lustrous two-tone finish applied by the same workmen's hands at the Gibson factory.
"The tone of this guitar is just what I like to hear: punchy, loud and gutsy, with a good creamy worth to its focused, mid-heavy tone," he said.
"These guitars make great backing-chord instruments in smaller swing and jazz groups, but also fit the bill for country, hillbilly and blues groups."
One of eight kids in the family and all of 14 years old when he acquired it, Riggs spent a hefty $21 on this guitar when it was new in 1937. Riggs played this archtop sunburst 'Zoo for the rest of his life.
During World War II Riggs served in the U.S. Army. In 1947 he wed Lucy Dearth of St. Marys and relocated 23 miles to Parkersburg WV (pop. 30,103 in 1950).
Most of his adult life, however, Floyd Riggs resided in Vienna WV, a small town along the Ohio River (pop. 9,381 in 1960). Located five miles north of Parkersburg, today it is hemmed in by suburban tract houses and shopping centers that have sprouted there.
Riggs was "a versatile picker, but he did not sing"
As an adult Riggs labored 25 years in the purchasing department of Borg Warner, a large chemical company in Washington WV, eight miles west of Parkersburg. During this time he was a member of Parkersburg Masonic Lodge #169, Wayside United Methodist Church in Vienna and a local Musician's Union.
At night and on
weekends, however, he loved to played guitar, mandolin and banjo. He played at a variety of social events, local jamborees and the grange, friends recalled.
"Floyd played pop songs of the day on the guitar, but he also played tenor banjo and mandolin, " said Richard Powell, an instrument dealer in Belmont WV, also a small Ohio River town.
"He owned 14 instruments, but I only got three to sell from the estate when he passed — this 1937 Kalamazoo KG-21, a Gibson A-0 mandolin and a 1936 Kalamazoo mandolin."
"Floyd played pop songs of the day on the guitar, but he also played tenor banjo and mandolin, " said Richard Powell, an instrument dealer in Belmont WV, also a small Ohio River town.
"He owned 14 instruments, but I only got three to sell from the estate when he passed — this 1937 Kalamazoo KG-21, a Gibson A-0 mandolin and a 1936 Kalamazoo mandolin."
Powell said he and Riggs were occasional friends, musically speaking. "I remember we played music together at a bluegrass festival sometime in the 1970s," Powell said in November 2004 at a guitar show near Philadelphia when I acquired the Riggs KG-21 guitar from him for $850.
"He kept all his instruments in immaculate condition," recalled Powell as he pointed to the pristine KG-21. "He was a versatile picker, but he did not sing."
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| Gibson sales literature in mid-1930s displayed Kalamazoo KG-21 archtop. |
Gibson's budget brands
During the Depression years Gibson Inc. of Kalamazoo MI made several lines of low-cost guitars, mandolins and
banjos. Rather than sully their distinguished brand, Gibson made budget-priced instruments under other names, including Kalamazoo, Kel Kroydon, Hayden, Cromwell and Recording
King.
Offered by music-instrument distributors, retailers and mail-order houses, the budget editions were all well-made items with minor cosmetic changes. None had an adjustable truss rod in the neck — a patented and costly feature Gibson first used in 1923. And tops on the budget flattops were ladder-braced, not X-braced, which used more labor and material.
More important to Depression-era musicians, however, retail prices for this second tier of instruments were less than Gibson-branded equivalents. For instance, between 1936 and 1942 prices for a Kalamazoo KG-21 ranged from $17.50 to $21, or two-thirds of the cost for the Gibson L-30, a fully-configured counterpart to the KG-21.
FON dates KG-21 to 1937
The Riggs archtop's FON (324 C 53) is stamped on the interior surface of the back and visible through the treble-side f-hole. It is identified in period shipping ledgers as a 1937 KG-21 in Spann's Guide to Gibson 1902-1941 (2011 - Centerstream Publg.)
This instrument has a steam-bent and pressed spruce top that is supported by an H-brace. Its solid one-piece mahogany back was also steam-bent and pressed into shape. It has a beautiful dark finish.
The guitar sports a 19-fret rosewood fingerboard, mid-sized V-shaped mahogany neck, its original tuners and an elevated Bakelite pickguard.
A new bone nut replaced the original ebony one. On top is a silk-screened Kalamazoo logo on the rooftop peghead.
Brighter, deeper, louder than
its full-priced counterpart
The 14-3/8-inch lower-bout width and 4½-in. body depth of the KG-21 match the physical dimensions of a Gibson L-30 archtop. Despite the material differences (the KG-21 was mahogany bodied, while the L-30 was maple-bodied), today the sound of the budget-priced unit is brighter, deeper and louder — all hallmarks of the old-timey sound prized by contemporary musicians.
Indeed, Vermont luthier Jake Wildwood described the sound of a mid-1930s Kalamazoo KG-21 he restored in 2013 as follows:
The Riggs archtop's FON (324 C 53) is stamped on the interior surface of the back and visible through the treble-side f-hole. It is identified in period shipping ledgers as a 1937 KG-21 in Spann's Guide to Gibson 1902-1941 (2011 - Centerstream Publg.)
This instrument has a steam-bent and pressed spruce top that is supported by an H-brace. Its solid one-piece mahogany back was also steam-bent and pressed into shape. It has a beautiful dark finish.
A new bone nut replaced the original ebony one. On top is a silk-screened Kalamazoo logo on the rooftop peghead.
Brighter, deeper, louder than
its full-priced counterpart
The 14-3/8-inch lower-bout width and 4½-in. body depth of the KG-21 match the physical dimensions of a Gibson L-30 archtop. Despite the material differences (the KG-21 was mahogany bodied, while the L-30 was maple-bodied), today the sound of the budget-priced unit is brighter, deeper and louder — all hallmarks of the old-timey sound prized by contemporary musicians.
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| Ken Lelen and the Riggs 1937 KG-21, Oct 2011, at Overlook Community in Charlton, Mass. Songs performed on the Riggs archtop included "Heartaches" (© 1931) and "On A Slow Boat To China" (© 1948). |
"The tone of this guitar is just what I like to hear: punchy, loud and gutsy, with a good creamy worth to its focused, mid-heavy tone," he said.
"These guitars make great backing-chord instruments in smaller swing and jazz groups, but also fit the bill for country, hillbilly and blues groups."
 |
| Ken Lelen and Riggs 1937 KG-21, April 2006, at Cape May Village, Wilmington OH. Period songs played on the Riggs archtop included "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place" (© 1937), "The Glory Of Love" (© 1936), and "We'll Meet Again" (© 1939). |
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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved
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