In 1972 Gibson produced a series of 'Guitar of the Month' brochures, each dedicated to one of their high end models, the Les Paul Recording guitar, L5-CES, ES-175D, Super 400-CES, ES-355TD-SV and
Byrdland. Each brochure was a single sheet folded into four panels, with details of the instruments themselves, their features, musical purpose, and a little history behind the development of each guitar. Only the Les Paul Recording was a new model; the others were all well established in the Gibson line. Follow the link to see scans and further information on these leaflets and other Gibson guitar catalogues from the CMI and Norlin periods.
Gibson assembled these 30 1/2" scale Kalamazoo KB-1 basses in their electronics plant in Kalamazoo, MI - separate from the main Gibson plant. They used the same components and hardware as on the Gibson EB bass series; but with a pre-painted masonite body and a bolt-on maple neck; a very different construction to Gibson's usual output. Initially the KB bass had a Mustang-shaped body (see the 1966 Kalamazoo KB-1, left), which was soon redesigned with the classic SG shape (see the 1967 Kalamazoo KB-1, right). Have a listen to sound clips of this bass here.
Guitar: volume 10, tone 10. Amp: everything at 12 o'clock: hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 400hz, midrange boost/cut 0, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle.
Bridge pickup
Guitar: volume 10, tone 10. Amp: everything at 12 o'clock: hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 400hz, midrange boost/cut 0, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle. Guitar: volume 10, tone 0. Amp: everything at 12 o'clock: hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 400hz, midrange boost/cut 0, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle. Turning the tone down to zero on the bridge pickup produces one of my favourite tones: fat, heavy but with just enough mid to cut through
Both pickups
Guitar: volumes 10, tones 10. Amp: everything at 12 o'clock: hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 400hz, midrange boost/cut 0, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle. Guitar: volumes 10, tones 10. Amp: boosted mids (800hz) : hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 800hz, midrange boost +5, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle. Guitar: volumes 10, tones 10. Amp: boosted low mids (200hz) : hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 200hz, midrange boost +5, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle. Guitar: volumes 10, tones 10. Amp: slightly cut low mids (300hz) : hi input, no deep boost, volume 5, bass 5 midrange freq 300hz, midrange cut -2, treble 5, no compression, master volume 5. Played fingerstyle. This gives a great spanky tone, ideal for slapping and popping. Exactly the same guitar and amplifier settings as above, but with some compression from the amplifier (-6)
