Kz Guitar Works KGW Bolt-On 22 "Lake Placid Blue"

Maker: Kz Guitar Works

Model: KGW Bolt-on 22

Condition: New

Description: 

The new model KGW Bolt-On 22 from our new brand “KGW” is born! The guitar is fitted with three single-coil pickups which can be used individually or combined in seven different ways including two humbucking modes. The model is made in a Japanese factory, and each individual guitar is inspected and adjusted for the highest playability in our own shop here in Zushi.

Overview

The “KGW” is the sister brand of our Kz Guitar Works. Their basic parts like bodies and necks are made in a Japanese factory, but the final works like the crowning and the dressing of frets, smoothing the edges of the fingerboard, assembling parts and final adjustments are undertaken in our own shop in Zushi.

The design of KGW Bolt-On 22 is based on our Kz One, but we employed the bolt-on construction for the body-neck joint. The electric parts are assembled on a pickguard. It is fitted with a synchronized tremolo bridge. 

The pickups are newly developed KGW-minis. They share the characteristic sound and low noise performance of our KGW Original pickups, but their responses are tuned to be more easily manageable for the guitarists of all different levels.

The guitar has a five-way pickup selector switch and a series-parallel selector switch. You can intuitively select seven different sounds.

Details

Body

Contoured design for better fit and neck joint for better playability

A two-piece alder body has an elbow cut and a waist cut for the guitarist to hold it comfortably. The area around the body-neck joint is cut away and the mounting plate is omitted to offer high playability and better resonance.

Neck

25” scale, new “Slim C” grip and dressing of fingerboard at Zushi workshop offers excellent playability.

The wood material for the neck is maple and rosewood for the fingerboard. The scale is 25” (635mm), just like our Kz One and other higher-end models.

We selected the new Bolt-On “Slim C” grip for this model. The width of the nut and the thickness of the neck are the same as those of our conventional Bolt-On “Modern C”, but the round shape of the grip is modified for a slimmer feel.

The final processes like the smoothing of fingerboard edges and the crowning of frets are undertaken in our Zushi workshop before each guitar is shipped. You can be assured to enjoy the same standard of high playability set by the higher-end models like the custom line of Kz Guitar Works.

Assembly

New sound character offered by the assembly on a pickguard.

The pickups and other electric parts are all assembled on the pickguard, which results in the brighter sound and the lower production cost. You can get the essence of Kz Guitar Works products for a lower price. And you get newly developed KGW-mini pickups.

Pickups

Newly developed KGW-mini pickup promising low-noise and responsive operation Kz Guitars pickups are known for.

KGW-mini shares its basic construction with KGW Original pickup but is designed for a smaller package.

As with the case with KGW Original, KGW-mini is based on the construction of the British pickups from the 60s that were mounted on the Red Special, but it is redesigned to satisfy more modern requirements. It uses a bar-type ferrite magnet which offers vastly different sound compared to the single-coil pickups using six polepieces made of the alnico magnets.

The construction depicted above results in not only the distinctive sound but also…

• Lower noise
• Wider frequency range
• Responsiveness to convey various picking nuances.

KGW Original was developed based on the inputs from the professional guitarists and is highly responsive to the expressive and dynamic picking nuances. However, that may be a little too demanding for more casual players. KGW-mini is designed for comparatively easier handling in a smaller package.

By making it smaller, the magnet and the coil of KGW-mini was tuned for the output level of other common single-coil pickups, which makes it easier to handle for more casual guitarists.

As a result, the response of KGW-mini is easier to handle for the guitarists of any level while retaining the low-noise operation and the distinctive sound character.

Controls

Five-way SW and series/parallel SW offers distinctive and various sound. Two different humbucker sounds out of three single-coil pickups.

The controls of KGW Bolt-On 22 consist of…

• 1volume and 1 tone knobs
• Five-way lever switch
• Series/parallel switch

The series/parallel switch selects the series- and the parallel connection of two of the three pickups when used simultaneously.

When either position 2 or position 4 is selected, you can switch between the “parallel” (for crisp half-tone sound) and the “series” (for powerful humbucking sound) positions.

Bridge

Synchronized tremolo unit with carefully selected string spacing and material

KGW-mini is equipped with Gotoh 510T-SF1 synchronized tremolo unit. The saddles are of pressed steel, and the string spacing is carefully selected 10.8mm.

Specs:

• Body: Alder 2P
• Neck: Maple, Bolt on
• Scale Length: 635mm (25”)
• Fretboard: Rosewood, 12”R
• Body Depth: 45mm
• Neck Grip: Bolt-On Slim “C”
• Nut: Bone Nut
• Fret: 214H (1.3 x 2.4mm), 22F
• Pickups: KGW-mini x 3
• Bridge: Gotoh 510T-SF1
• Machine Heads: Gotoh SG 301
• Controls: Volume x 1, Tone x 1
• Series/Parallel x 1, 5way Lever Switch
• Color: Lake Placid Blue
• Case: Gig-Bag