OLD Kalamazoo Bass

[Roger Ford]

I just received an old Kalamazoo short scale bass.
The pickup and controlls are missing. The pick guard is there. The cut out in the pick guard and body suggest that the original pickup was rectangular.
Does anyone have a picture of one of these, so, I know about what sort of pickup to look for.

 

[mmbongo]

Probably need to dig through Google until you see one that matches yours.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Kal...edgwT8m4PwDA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=742

 

[Roger Ford]

Great source! There are a whole bunch of these on that site. Mid 60's, with a mudbucker. Thank you for the input.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Love the old Kalamazoos... congratulations! I have one each of both the bass, and guitar.

Your bass is essentially a mid-late 1960's EB-0, wired simply Volume/Tone. As you've already found out, it used a big ol' Gibson Mud-Bucker.

One suggestion I'll make in your restoration - save your original pickguard, but use it as a pattern to cut a new one using some thicker material. The original is very thin and flimsy, to say nothing of brittle and shrunken after 50 years. Spend some time shielding too.

Interesting Kalamazoo trivia - those bodies were made by a local company in Michigan that's main job was molding toilet seats. That stuff is incredibly durable, but if you plan to strip and repaint, be careful not to let the bare "wood" get wet.

Again, congrats! Here's a picture of my Kalamazoo sisters for inspiration.

 

[pfox14]

Gibson's 1966 Kalamazoo catalog only shows one model that is essentially a cheaper version of the EB-0. They did offer other designs later in the 60s, but I believe all of them had a single mud-bucker.

 

[Roger Ford]

EdwardofHuncot That's exactly the bass. The one in the next post has an SG body, probably the next generation.
I would like to find a used, usable pickup for mine as it came with out one. Cheap bass, hope for a cheap pickup...

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I *think* (and may be totally wrong on this) but I believe the SG shaped ones came first, and the Mustang-y looking bodies came later. I'm not sure when the change took place but I'm guessing late 1960's.

FWIW - my serial numbers are 900211 & 900753. They are Gibson sequenced, but given the nature of Gibson's SN system during that time-frame, they might as well be a phone number for playmate-of-the-month.

 

[Roger Ford]

"You may be right, I may be crazy!" That was a long time ago. I was busy with my first Hofner 500/1 at the time, and you know, we stuck up our noses at "Kalamazoo" instruments... (Billy who?) When I saw the Eagles in about '71, the opening act was a guy with a grand piano...Billy Joel! He was incredible, and noone knew who he was yet.

 

[pfox14]

AllParts has a very decent replacement PU for the Gibson EBs, but it should also fit the Kalamazoo.

 

[Alan Lewendon]

I *think* (and may be totally wrong on this) but I believe the SG shaped ones came first, and the Mustang-y looking bodies came later. I'm not sure when the change took place but I'm guessing late 1960's.

FWIW - my serial numbers are 900211 & 900753. They are Gibson sequenced, but given the nature of Gibson's SN system during that time-frame, they might as well be a phone number for playmate-of-the-month.

It was actually the other way around, the Mustang shaped bodies came first until Fender objected, the KG guitars were very like their Fender equivalents. I own a KB with Mustang shaped body 900770 (very close to one of yours), a "Mustang" KG1 and an SG KG2. The KB came to me as body, neck, tuners and scratch plate. I've bought an Allparts Mudbucker but can't locate a bridge (at a reasonable price) so I'm considering mounting a Chinese copy Precision Bass bridge on a plate as a temporary fix until an original one can be found. Anyone know if anything else could be made to fit? i have a well equipped workshop so mods are possible.

 

[Ostie]

Around 1978 I owned a red Mustang-bodied KB. It was my first bass. Wish I still had that bass...

 

[bucephylus]

Here is a photo of a Kalamazoo KB-1 currently on eBay. NOT affiliated with the seller. But, this bass is IDENTICAL to my first bass ca 1970. The headstock on mine snapped off when it took a tumble in 1972; and I subsequently bought a used Fender P. The body was some kind off composite, like really dense particle board. I would not re-purchase, even for sentimental reasons.

The pickup is a humbucker, typical of Gibson basses at the time.