https://www.vintageguitar.com/3243/gibson-mark-53/
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https://guitar-muse.com/1976-gibson-mk-35-guitar-3519
Actually, that bridge on the Gibson Mark 35 guitar is “impedance-matching”, designed to resonate differently with each string: starting quite broad on the bass strings and narrowing through the treble strings.
It’s the result of careful research, experimentation, and innovation by Michael Kasha, whose badass scientific guitar designs were then made practical for manufacturing by luthier Michael Schneider.
Michael Kasha had spent about a decade finding ways to scientifically increase bass and treble response in classical acoustic guitars, which boosted both volume and sustain enough to impress Andres Segovia. This quest for better response led Kasha to experiment with new materials and radically creative soundboard bracing systems.
This vintage beauty featured a jumbo mahogany body, a plastic ring around the soundhole, and shoulders a bit more rounded than you’d see in typical Gibson designs.
Kasha and Schneider’s brainchild, the steel string Gibson Mark 35, hit the market in 1976 as part of the Mark series line. Nashville players took to the instrument, loving its booming sound, but the idea never really spread into the bloodstream and Gibson canceled manufacture of the Mark 53 and the rest of the series in 1978, just two years after its inception. Bummer!
But fortunately there are still some Mark series guitars circulating; if you’re lucky you may run into one in a guitar shop. Just look for the distinctively smirking “My dad’s also known for formulating the Kasha rule of fluorescence” bridge.
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Reverb.com
Rare Gibson MK-35 from 1977 - acoustic guitar in natural finish. The instrument is in players grade condition and has quite some amount of wear from play and use.
The MK-35 guitars had a 16 3/16-inch wide body and were narrower at the waist than a normal dreadnought. Some innovative features offered with the Mark series were a modified fan-pattern bracing style, an asymmetrical bridge and interchangeable saddles.
Tonally, it has a rich sound, lending itself to bluesy fingerpicking, although it’s very versatile, handling strumming very well, and has plenty of bite when soloing. The neck feels great and with the low action it plays like butter.
It has a spruce top and a mahogany body with a medium-sized maple neck. The MK-35 series with their Gibson – “unlike” headstock was very inovative for their time.
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25 1/2" scale
16 3/16" lower bouts and narrow waist
innovative design by Michael Kasha and Richard Schneider
Actually, that bridge on the Gibson Mark 35 guitar is “impedance-matching”, designed to resonate differently with each string: starting quite broad on the bass strings and narrowing through the treble strings.
It’s the result of careful research, experimentation, and innovation by Michael Kasha, whose badass scientific guitar designs were then made practical for manufacturing by luthier Michael Schneider.
unique fan bracing pattern, asymmetrical bridge
mahogany Mark 35, with 5,226 made.