Kansas KW-150 Dreadnought Acoustic 1975
Kansas KW-150 dreadnought, made in Japan circa 1975, natural finish. This is a cute thing, I like it. Kansas was a short lived brand that popped up in the mid 70s, offering some visually funky handmade acoustics. This has some cool touches: a little fountain inlay on the headstock, faux-abalone binding, rounded block inlays, three-piece back... it looks very cool. It's got a beefy low end and a snappy treble, you can hear the natural aging the wood has gone through with play over the decades. The binding has seen better days, but it's not crumbling off... it's just cracked and faded to a honey colour, which I reckon looks great. As the catalog says: "discover the Kansas guitar."
Model: Kansas KW-150
Made: Japan, 1975 approx (no serial on these)
Finish: natural, gloss poly
Body: dreadnought style shape; 3-ply spruce top, nato/maple laminate back, laminate nato sides
Neck: nato, rosewood fingerboard, dovetail joint, 25.5" scale, 15" radius
Weight: 2.005kg
Pickup: none
Mods: none
Case: basic non-original hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has dimples on the end and lacquer clouding all over. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has widespread light scuffs around the whole body, most notably on the bottom edge; nothing nasty. The sides have light scuffs around the whole body and some cracks and discolouration in the binding the whole way around. The front has scuffs along the back edge, dimples in the elbow area and bottom edge and play wear on the guard and shoulders. Overall: good condition (7/10).
Playing condition notes: action is moderately low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. The frets have some minor wear, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 12/54 Moonshiners strings.