3 Waterloos and a 33 Kalamazoo in the same whack!

[Dwood11]

Just wanted to share. Recently made deal for 3 Waterloos and a beautiful 1933 Kalamazoo. These types of deals don’t come across often and the planets aligned to make this all work out.

I am blown away how many people don’t know about Waterloos. Quite possibly the best guitars made today that mimic the depression era guitars of old.

If you have never had the chance to play a Waterloo guitar you should. My prediction is as time goes one they will turn into some of the most sought after guitars on the planet.

Anyways, enjoy the picks.

2 WL-k’s, a wl-s and the Kalamazoo. The southwestern wlk I will never let go of in my lifetime. Still cannot believe I have one now.

By the way, if you see this Paul thanks again. Hope you enjoy the Washburn!

[Mr. Jelly]

I can't imagine what the deal was. Wow!

[29er]

A very special collection you have there! Enjoy them all. I know my Waterloo WL-12 will stay in the family because I will never sell it. I'm currently saving my pennies for a Jumbo King.

[rollypolly]

To me Waterloos look cool, and I'd like to try one and maybe own one one day. But they don't make much sense. They're built way better than the guitars that they mimic, and the only people who can afford them are the exact opposite of the people who used to buy the old catalog guitars in the first place.

[BluesKing777]

Phew! What a good trade!

Must have been some kind of vintage Washburn that left?

My opinion - Bill Collings had people like Steve James and other fingerpickers talking in his ear - 'Give us a Gibson or Kalamazoo L-00 that we don't need to get fixed all the time, Bill! Give us 1 3/4" bone nut and 2 3/8" bridge spacing like some of the old Gibson L-00s and some of the Kalamazoo KG14s!'

So he made acoustic guitars that certain people wanted and even better built than they dreamed, instead of the the guitars that certain companies wanted them to have! How's that?

But lately, they are rarer than the vintage ones....

Viva la Waterloo!


BluesKing777.

[blindboyjimi]

I love the KG-11. I’m assuming it’s a 1934. I have a 1933 and a Waterloo WL-12.

[A.Wilder1]

What a great group of guitars!


I like the southwest look myself! Congrats!

[OptimusJay]

I gotta admit, that’s freaking cool! I also admit that I don’t know a whole lot about the history/following for the old guitars these are modeled after, but I know I like the look and the sound I’ve heard on YouTube, never seen one in the flesh.
Really nice!

Jay

[Dwood11]

Originally Posted by OptimusJay

I gotta admit, that’s freaking cool! I also admit that I don’t know a whole lot about the history/following for the old guitars these are modeled after, but I know I like the look and the sound I’ve heard on YouTube, never seen one in the flesh.
Really nice!

Jay

Thanks. I feel lucky to have found them in a deal like this. I spent a lot of time chasing pre war martins the last few years but have now shifted my focus to Waterloo’s, especially the guitars produced when Bill was still alive.

[jontewright]

What a deal that is!

Honestly, you wait around ages for a Waterloo to show up then boom...3!

[ReinvanBelle]

Beautiful! But the WL-S always puzzled me. While the other Waterloos follow the Gibson built instruments they are inspired by, quite closely, the WL-S which is allegedly inspired by Oscar Schmidt Stellas, does nt look like a Stella or Sovereign at all to me. The shape is different from a grand concert yet bigger than a concert, scale length, materials differ although I dont know about the internals. Has someone compared the WL S to a 1920s or 1930s Schmidt ?
I admit I have never seen a Waterloo in real life but I do have two Schmidts.

This is for example the bracing from my project Stella, spruce oak grand concert around 1920 https://umgf.com/viewtopic.php?p=2638955#p2638955

[Pickcity]

These are great. I’’m a big fan of Waterloo. I have my sights on one at my local dealer. It is on back order but should be in within a couple of weeks. If it is anything like I imagine it will be, it will be mine soon.

Congrats

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by Dwood11

Thanks. I feel lucky to have found them in a deal like this. I spent a lot of time chasing pre war martins the last few years but have now shifted my focus to Waterloo’s, especially the guitars produced when Bill was still alive.

See if you can find a ladder braced WL-14(L).....just so different from any other new guitar out there. They sing! Perhaps swap one of the WL-Ks?

BluesKing777.

[Silly Moustache]

I bought a WL12 in 2016, it's a fine guitar with a totally different voice to my Collings tribute Collings.

Mrs Moustache thinks it looks vulgar - which of course is the point.

Here it is shortly after purchase and before a client dropped a heavy Yairi on it.

This is my old fat and bearded self with my old pre-throat cancer voice!

[godfreydaniel]

Originally Posted by ReinvanBelle

Beautiful! But the WL-S always puzzled me. While the other Waterloos follow the Gibson built instruments they are inspired by, quite closely, the WL-S which is allegedly inspired by Oscar Schmidt Stellas, does nt look like a Stella or Sovereign at all to me. The shape is different from a grand concert yet bigger than a concert, scale length, materials differ although I dont know about the internals. Has someone compared the WL S to a 1920s or 1930s Schmidt ?
I admit I have never seen a Waterloo in real life but I do have two Schmidts.

This is for example the bracing from my project Stella, spruce oak grand concert around 1920 https://umgf.com/viewtopic.php?p=2638955#p2638955

Here’s one. Same lower bout width:


https://trcrandall.com/collections/a...0-size-natural

There are a lot of variations on Stellas, Harmonys, etc.