Kentucky KM-1500 and KM Dawg

[Charles Johnson]

For those of you with interest in the KM-1500 and KM Dawg mandolins, I've posted a scan of the 1984 FRETS magazine article on my webpage. Here’s the link:

http://www.vintagemandolin.com/kentuckyarticlepage1.html

Thanks to Gene Freight for providing the original scan.

Charles Johnson
Mandolin World Headquarters
www.vintagemandolin.com

[WJF]

Thanks for this post! I have a KM-1500 that I've hung on to as my "B" mandolin for those times when the "A" mandolin(s) needed a fret job or the like. It's actually pretty nice and would probably get more playing time were it not for the others ( A. Lawrence Smart's) I have.

The article gives some really nice insights and perspective on the instrument that I hadn't known before.

[Bradley]

Great Reading....

makes me wish I still had the middle 80's KM1500 that was really my first good mandolin

[Martin Jonas]

Very interesting. What struck me was the price: $1495 for a KM-1500 in 1982 (list, admittedly)? Adjusted for inflation, that's a pretty sizable sum. What did a good US-built F-style sell for at the time?

Martin

During the 80's Randy Wood made the comment that the Kentucky Km-1500 was more a copy of the 20's gibsons than the Gibson f-5 during that period. He said that the Gibsons during that period were actually more of a copy of Kentucky's Km-1500 than the Loar Ferns.
I guess to sum it up Kentucky had the better mass produced instrument at the time and Gibson was just a copy of a copy

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Excellent reading , I have a 84 DAWG, that is a great mandolin and really says something about the 80's Kentucky's.I also had a 83 KM-1500 but foolishly sold that one. I would love to find one of the DAWG style mandola's
that would be a nice addition. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[GTison]

Hey Myster, and anyone else with a DAWG , KM1000 or 1500.
I've got a KM 1000 of about the same year. I would like to compare tone bars, and serial numbers. The article states that the 1500 has "longer tone bars" but I think that the DAWG model is what they meant to say. aproximately(or exactly) where do your tone bars end and what is your serial number?

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Bowfinger,

The sn# of my DAWG is 84.2.27 the tone bars seem to go approx a 1/2 inch from the rim, but its hard to really tell, I'm peeking through the end pin hole. Nice and clean in there though. Based on the Frets article the DAWG'S had longer tone bars http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[AeroJoe]

Wow...this is good info...the younger kid with the Malpass Family plays a DAWG model...not particulaly loud but it has a nice tone...

[AeroJoe]

I did have a KM-1000 one time...like the Gold Star banjo line that Saga put out at the same time, they were very well built...the banjos were particulaly almost over-built...it was if they looked at what Gibson was doing, asked themselves what they could to to improve on the design and the first thing it seems they did was to beef everthing up...the KM-1000 I had, a very early one, was a massive mandolin, very beefy neck, just overall "large" feeling...the top may have been a bit thick also...it was not particularly loud, just like the DAWG Model one I mentioned above, but it had a fine tone to it...
I wish I had kept it...it would be nice to see how much age and playing would have overcome the low volume level. I sold it to Shawn Chase of "Barefoot Manner"...he is one /heck/ of a picker...!

[Thomas]

I owned a KM-DAWG for a brief while. I think the review from the Frets mag spoke of exactly the issue I had with mine - that the back was think and the bass response wasn't what I like for bluegrass. Otherwise a beautifully well-made mandolin and a dream to play.

[Strado Len]

Interesting to read in the article that Mr. Sumi was only one of a team of individuals who built these instruments. I wonder if he was the only one involved in carving the tops and backs, and if there were any other luthiers in this group who are currently building instruments.

[batman]

Hey AreoJoe, where you from. Just curious because of the ref to Taylor Malpass. i'm the one he got that DAWG from. I'm in New Bern NC Don BAtten.

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

The more I play my DAWG the more I like it. And it's just a beautifully made instrument. DAWG inspired, MONTELEONE designed, SUMI built, I'll keep mine http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[ledmandlin]

Greetings, Mando'Myster and the rest, this is my first post and I wanted to let you know I'm the proud owner of #84.3.29, an exceptionally beautiful sounding, playing and looking Dawg. A moment of silence to say thanks to Mssrs. Montelone, Sumi and Grisman--a truly inspired collaboration. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[BluegrassPhilfromFrance]

Martin was wondering about 1982 prices range for a good US built mandolin. I ordered my Monteleone Grand Artist mandolin directly from John in 1981 and got it delivered the next year (august 82) and I paid ... 2500 $ #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Does anybody know if they built Dawg mandocello at that time ? I know Grisman used to own a 1984 Kentucky Mandocello but it was a Gibson-like, that recently sold for 4000 $ on vintagemandolin website (you can look at that beautiful baby at : #http://www.vintagemandolin.com/84kentuckymandocello501914.html

[jim simpson]

I think Charles may still have the Kentucky Mandocello for sale as I played it recently at the Philly guitar show.
I got to play Gordon Titcomb's (used to post here a bit) KM1000 a while back. Gordon said that it came the closest in sound to the Loar that he used to own. He said he was always on the lookout for another KM1000. The one that I had for sale at the time evidently didn't sound like his old Loar! He was on tour with Arlo Guthrie at the time. Gordon is a great multi-instrumentalist.

[evanreilly]

I think Gordon once posted a picture of his Kentucky collection, maybe two KM-1000 and KM-1500. I saw him while he was touring with John Herald, I beleive. He did pop in & visit once in a while.

[doublestop]

I have a KM-1000 that has serial number 86.4.07. Hope that helps some. Can't really tell you much about where my tonebars end. It is an incredibly light and loud mando. Very easy to play and I feel lucky to have it. It has a very thin top, nothing beefy about it at all. Here is a pic!

[Charles Johnson]

The Kentucky mandocello is sold. Note that the KM-1500 that I have on my page right now is the specific instrument that Gordon used on his last tour. He was kind enough to include a letter to that effect.

Best regards,
Charles Johnson
Mandolin World Headquarters
www.vintagemandolin.com

[Lee]

I ownwed a Kentucky DAWG A-style mandola for quite a few years. I thought the tone was wonderful. The neck developed a very slight bow to it. My luthier told me the truss rod was maxed out. Before doing anything drastic he did as much research on the instrument as he could. In the process he contacted Grisman's publicist who told him this story. Grisman and Monteleone came up with the technical specs for the instruments (the mandola is a 16" scale) and contracted with a special team organized by Kentucky to build them. The woods were imported into Japan, the finished instruments imported back into America. Upon arrival they underwent inspection by Grisman/Monteleone. A high number did not pass the approval process and efforts to improve the success rate were not succesful. Hence, the collaborative effort came to a premature end. However, the ones that did pass were, and still are, well regarded.

[batman]

you can see my old Dawg in the photo section of malpassfamilymusic.com Don

[Desert Rose]

This is a very interesting article, thanks Charles.

To put a little background, Sumi is my best friend here in Japan. I met him around 1990 and we have been close friends ever since.

When I met him the Kentucky group had disbanded and all Kentucky production of KM1000, 1500 was done solely by Sumi only. I was privilaged to know Tahara san for a couple of years until he died. He continued to use one of the buildings as his tinkering shop, building mandolin kits for elementary school craft classes, a job that Sumi now does.

I also saw the last Dawg to be built, it was an OVAL soundhole mandolin and appears on no records.

Regarding the tonebars, the Kentucky high end models were copied after an original Loar that was in John Monteleones shop for extensive repairs. It was blueprinted completely and became the pateren for the Kentucky models. The tone bars in this particular mandolin were quite long as noted in the article and the bass bar was in a unique posiion.

Sumi stopped making Kentucky mandolins in 1993 and started building his own version of the Loar, but continued to use this pateren until last year when an angel gave him the bracing patern from a very famous Loar with another unique bracing layout. This new bracing pattern showed immediate results and is what Sumi usus on all his mandolins now.

The Kentucky original factory belongs to Sumi as does the ajoining rice field. He now has three young assistants helping with mandolin and considerable acoustic guitar building.

None of the other members of the team are involved in instrument building at all.

Just thought you might be interested.

Scott

[GTison]

here's my KM 1000 headstock. See how the "K" has a short tail. This is common

[GTison]

here's one of the label. #check out my serial number. 212 #09?

[GTison]

big label eh? oops notice Double bound I think some of these are single bound around the body. Now here is the label