The Kalamazoo
From 1965 to 1970, there were two prominent designs. The first, made from 1965 to 1968, was reminiscent of the Fender Mustang; the other, made from 1968 to the early 1970s, bore more resemblance to the Gibson SG. The headstock bore a "Kalamazoo USA" logo rather than Gibson's usual decal. A variety of configurations and pickup options were available, including a vibrola tremolo system, and single coil "melody maker" pickups. The initial run of the Kalamazoo featured the KG-1 single-coil pickup, KG-1A single-coil pickup and vibrola, KG-2 dual single-coil pickups, and KG-2A dual single-coil pickups and vibrola. .
Gibson was sold to a different parent company, Norlin. The deal called for further restructuring and the Kalamazoo name was dropped. The Epiphone name took its place as Gibson's budget line marquis, a place it holds to this day.
Read more about this topic: Gibson Kalamazoo Electric Guitar