Kalamazoo Lap Steel- Help Identifying

Lap steels, resonators, multi-neck consoles and acoustic steel guitars

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Nicholas Wagoner
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Kalamazoo Lap Steel- Help Identifying

Post by Nicholas Wagoner »

Picked up this super mint Kalamazoo Lap Steel, all I had to do was put in new tuners.

The back of the head stock is marked "FKE", I have looked and all i can find is "EKE" models that look exactly the same. Is this the same model ? Safe to assume that it is also from the late 30's?

Currently have it set up to C6, and with the pick up sounds exactly like 40s country steel tones

I've attached some pictures also :
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Bonus picture of the pickup guts:
c5c7188d-1da2-4186-9588-4e9a0b369026.jpeg
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Michael Lee Allen
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Re: Kalamazoo Lap Steel- Help Identifying

Post by Michael Lee Allen »

It's a "KEH", Kalamazoo Electric Hawaiian, 1938 at the earliest. The letter/number combination on the back of the headstock is the batch/serial number.
MLA
"Wisdom does not always come with age. Many times age arrives alone."
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Jack Hanson
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Re: Kalamazoo Lap Steel- Help Identifying

Post by Jack Hanson »

As Mike says, it's a "Kalamazoo Electric Hawaiian." According to Andre Duchossoir's Gibson Electric Steel Guitars 1935 - 1967, the "FKE-769" stamped on the back of the headstock can be deciphered thusly:

F=1940
K=Kalamazoo
E=Electric
769=Serial Number

Congrats! Nice find!
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Joe Cook
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Re: Kalamazoo Lap Steel- Help Identifying

Post by Joe Cook »

That's a beauty, Nicholas! It is like new.