To stay afloat during the Great Depression, Gibson started manufacturing affordable entry-level guitars like this Recording King.
You get good at letting go when you work in a guitar store. Special guitars come through the doors every day at Fanny’s House of Music. Customers come in and bond with them just as much as we have. And sometimes, old guitars find new homes. New strings touch old frets, new picks fall into old soundholes, and new songs float on old air. Knowing the joy these instruments bring in their next life makes it a little easier to let go.
At the beginning of the Great Depression, the Gibson Guitar Corp. was on the brink of letting go of everything. With so many folks out of work, no one was buying guitars. It was during this period that A.W. Grover—president and treasurer of the company that later became Grover Musical Products—wrote a letter to Martin Guitars recounting a recent trip to Kalamazoo, noting that Gibson general manager Guy Hart “had a nervous breakdown and left for Arizona for a rest.”
Perhaps in a rest-induced burst of inspiration—or desperation—Hart decided Gibson needed to make something less expensive. As described in John Thomas’ excellent book Kalamazoo Gals, “The wood that would have been crafted into guitars, had the public been able to afford them, instead morphed into the Kroydon Rocket motorboat [and] the Running Rabbit pull toy." (During World War II, Hart would famously lament that the “plant is now being run almost entirely by women,” although that is a story for another time!)
Despite its clandestine manufacturing, the M-5, which was the top model in the Recording King line, looked awfully similar to Gibson’s L-5.
Photo by Madison Thorn
In addition to toys, Hart knew Gibson would need to make some budget-priced instruments in order to survive. With less fancy trim and no adjustable truss rods, they could market instruments at a lower price point. To retain the brand identity of Gibson in more upscale markets, these instruments got new names on the headstock. One of these names, Recording King, was just barely concealed by dealer Montgomery Ward, who said in catalogs, “The world’s largest and finest manufacturer of fretted instruments makes Recording Kings … made identical in quality and performance with instruments selling for $100.”
“Knowing the joy these instruments bring in their next life makes it a little easier to let go.”
This Recording King M-5 archtop guitar bears an awful lot of resemblance to Gibson’s L-5 with its 16" body, carved spruce top, and curly maple back and sides. In the late 1930s, the M-5 was the top of the line for Recording King, selling for $39.95 or $4 down and $3 a month. Ours is showing its age, with the celluloid pickguard degrading and off-gassing, but you wouldn’t believe how good this guitar plays. With no truss rod, the necks of these guitars were extra chunky, and this one is straight as an arrow. We were able to lower the action to a remarkable 1/16" on the bass side with no fret buzz. It practically plays itself.
Fanny’s acquired this outstanding instrument from a prominent guitarist in nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee. As he moves on to the next phase of his storied playing career, he is letting go of a few instruments from his collection. His guitars are most certainly not “closet queens”; they were played often and well-loved. We carefully scraped years of gunk from the fretboard, and the frets and inlays now shine like the day they left Kalamazoo. A little cleaning on the tuners and adjustable bridge and everything was turning freely and holding tight. Good as new!
Gibson removed their name from the headstocks of their Depression-era budget guitars to retain their upscale image.
Photo by Madison Thorn
Montgomery Ward abruptly stopped selling Gibson-made instruments in 1941. The 1940 Spring-Summer catalog had seven Gibson-made instruments and the 1941-1942 Fall-Winter catalog had none. It’s not clear why this happened, although it’s possible Gibson’s wartime production of radar boards and airplane runners took precedence over inexpensive guitars. We may never know for sure.
What courage it must have taken for our friend in Chattanooga to let this one go. It’s not always easy when a beautiful old instrument is full of rich history. Hidden in the cracks in the pickguard and under the gunk on the fretboard was the story of pre-war Gibson and the Great Depression, and, as usual, we count ourselves lucky to have been able to hear the story this guitar told. Who knows where it is headed next? We can’t wait to let it go.
- Vintage Vault: 1968 Gibson Melody Maker Bass ›
- Vintage Vault: 1964 Gibson Thunderbird Bass ›
- When Gibson Met Hagstrom ›
PRS Standard 24 Satin Electric Guitar - Satin Red Apple Metallic
The exquisite BilT Brothers collaborative guitar: a Frank Brothers Ultra Light in BilT eggplant sparkleburst with Arcane 3x3 Gold Foil Humbuckers and loaded with a Caroline Custom Cannonball Distortion.
It was like any other random day at work: We had customers coming in, items shipping out, services on the bench. I was simultaneously working on a pedalboard for a customer and making plans with some vendors. I was on the phone with Brandon Darner of BilT Guitars when DHL dropped off our latest Frank Brothers guitar. Now, I’m never shy about talking up builds from any of our vendors. Spec’ing guitars for our shop, seeing their execution exceed my expectations, and then getting it into the hands of its new owner is one of my absolute favorite parts of my job. So, naturally I mentioned that we just got a new Frank Brothers in. Brandon told me how much he loved their stuff—sort of a “game recognizing game” kind of thing.
After we unboxed the guitar, I called Tim Frank to let him know how we continue to be impressed with their work and how much we loved the new arrival. I also mentioned Brandon had some very nice things to say about their work. Tim’s response was something like, “Oh wow! That’s really cool. Their stuff is amazing and we have a lot of respect for those guys.” At first, I thought he was just being polite, but I’ve gotten to know him pretty well. I knew that the compliment and sentiment was genuine and past the point of his wonderful Canadian pleasantness. One thing led to another, and I started a group text. Very quickly, they became friends. In fact, Brandon even ordered a Frank Brothers shortly after the introduction.
The Frank Brothers and BilT team, left to right: Tim Frank, Tim Thelen (BilT), Nick Frank, and Brandon Darner (BilT).
My last call of the day was to Philippe Herndon from Caroline Guitar Company. As we talked, he was glowing about the pedal building community and how friendly and collaborative it is, and obvious questions popped into my head: “Why aren’t guitar companies like that?” “Why can’t we do a collab guitar?”
Long story extremely short, with tons of excitement, I got Brandon and Tim on the phone and proposed the idea of doing a guitar together. Without hesitation, the response from both was “Hell yeah, let’s do it!” and it was time for us to spec it. We decided on a Frank Brothers Ultra Light. BilT would apply their world-class fit/finish as well as their signature effects treatment. I picked my favorite finish in the BilT repertoire called eggplant sparkleburst, selected Arcane 3x3 Gold Foil Humbuckers, and tapped Philippe on the shoulder to ask if he had any Custom Cannonball Distortions—the first pedal I bought from Caroline in 2013—that he could provide for the build, to which he happily obliged.
A year or so later, the BilT Brothers was born. Of course, it is exceptional beyond words and is a true testament to the results of these incredible companies working together to produce something truly remarkable. We decided, with custom shirts and all, to proudly debut our creation at Fretboard Summit in Chicago. The reaction from everyone exceeded our expectations and showed me that the level of mutual respect and admiration in this business can lead to phenomenal results.
This project has opened a lot of doors that I’m not sure anyone knew existed. For me, the most exciting part of all of this is the fact that, like the smaller pedal companies, there is an actual community here filled with like-minded, pure enthusiasts who also happen to be master craftsmen—and who truly geek out over each other’s work.
Never was this more evident than at the Wood Wire Volts show this January, where not only did the BilT and Frank Brothers crews travel and stay together, they were also often in deep chats with fellow luminaries Sacha Dunable (Dunable Guitars) and Carlos Lopez (Castedosa Guitars), discussing the trade, the work, and ideas for the future. If the vibe is any indicator, we can safely assume that while the BilT Brothers was, by all accounts, the first ever collab guitar of its kind, it will not be the last.
This entire experience is reminiscent of the DIY community ethos that I’ve clung to and has inspired me for most of my life. There is a cliché about the journey being greater than the destination, and while the destination in this case is one of the finest guitars I’ve ever laid my hands on, I’d have to say it holds true
