1960s Airline Bighorn Vintage Guitar, Ronin-Modded w/ Foilbuckers, Kay-Made

Up for sale, a 1960s Airline Bighorn, upgraded by Ronin guitars and in excellent condition. Produced for Montgomery Ward’s Airline brand by Kay, this Bighorn has been thoroughly hot-rodded by the team at Ronin guitars, the now-defunct Eureka, CA-based boutique builders known for top-notch craftsmanship during their 14-year run. Revamped for modern playability and versatility, this Bighorn features a pair of Ronin’s Foilbucker pickups, a new wiring harness with Bourns pots, and Kluson Deluxe tuning machines and an ABR-1 bridge, refretted with medium jumbo fretwire.

At the heart of this guitar are the pair of Ronin’s oversized Foilbucker pickups: as the name would suggest, these pickups are designed to combine the clarity and sweetness of a Gold Foil with the warmth and openness of the best humbucker designs, smooth and punchy at the bridge and exceptionally broad at the neck. In addition to the three-way pickup selector, a smaller switch beneath the neck pickup toggles the neck humbucker’s coils between tapped, series, and parallel wiring configurations. This Bighorn is featherweight at 5lbs 8oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Soft V, measuring .910” 1st fret, .935” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, 12” radius, large dot inlay
-Frets: Medium jumbo, refret, no wear
-Scale Length: 25 1/2”
-Nut: 1.650” (42mm)
-Tuners: Kluson Deluxe double-line

Body Specs:

-Material: Wood
-Pickups: Ronin Foilbucker x2
-Controls: Volume, Tone, Neck Coil Tap/Series/Parallel switch, Three-way pickup selector
-Harness: Bourns pots and tone caps
-Hardware: No-wire ABR-1-style bridge and covered tailpiece
-Plastics: Three-ply pickguard and “teacup” knobs (replacement)

The Sunburst finish shows light playwear consistent with decades of careful use prior to the Ronin mods.

A gigbag is included.