TYPE
Acoustic Hollow Body Western guitar
FEATURES
Spruce top, mahogany back and sides
Rosewood fretboard
INFORMATION
Gibson adapted to the Great Depression by making budget versions of his expensive guitar series. In this way, the production line was maintained and the demand for lower-priced instruments was met. The company also sold bodies to other companies such as National and set up distribution deals with mail order companies, who immediately provided the instruments with a different brand.
This Gibson Martelle Deluxe is an example of such a label, which was probably designed for Charles Martelle, the co-owner of the Kalamazoo Musical Instrument Company. The guitar is a version of the Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe-model, a Hawaii guitar. The Martelle Deluxe was identical to the Gibson model with the exception that the trussrod could not be adjusted.
Other brands included Kel Kroyden, which sold guitars, banjos, and A-Style mandolins produced by Kalamazoo, and Recording King, which sold Ray Whitley models for less than half the price of a similar Gibson J-55.
