Tagged As: Guitar Kay Part Vintage
Question:
I first learned to play guitar on my grandfaters Kay archtop. I hadn't give it much thought till tonight, I pulled it out of the closet and cleaned it up. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about these old guitars. I looked inside of it and couldn't find a serial # or model #. I know it doesn't have a truss rod. Anybody know how to tell the year and the value?
Answer:
I knew an old guy who used to work in the Kay factory (here in Chicago). He had what must have been one of the nicest archtops acoutsics they ever made. Solid spruce top, maple back and sides and multiple ply binding all around. Looked better then it sounded. I think this model was the exception rather then the rule. He said almost all the guitars were laminate and were sold through the mass merchandisers of the day (Montgomery Wards, Sears). He also said they private labled many guitars for other companies. I've seen acoustic Kays at vintage shows offered for $75 to $300 but don't know if they sold or how much they actually went for. Some of the more unusual body shapes seem bring higher prices. They are sturdy however; I kept a laminate archtop in the trunk of my car for several years and it held up (and made a great canoe paddle).
Question about old Kay guitar
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Comment #1 (Posted by Guitar Man
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I'm a keen guitar restorer and rescued a gib-style Kay electric from a friend's rehearsal studio. I agree with the last poster that Kays are pretty well-made instruments. I suspect the Kays that go for $75 plus are the rare well-made ones from the 1950s. (I've tracked down some info about them from the Net). To answer your question directly, Kays appear to be difficult to date and value. (There just does not appear to be careful records kept of Kay Models anywhere online). Here are a few tips for dating: Take a few jpeg pictures of your Kay and send them to vintage specialists. Try to take jpegs of the head, back and front. (Specialists can sometime recognise a model and tell you the date of manufacture). You can send your jpegs to me, if you wish- And I will try to track down the model and date of manufacture. My email address is: englishgentleman@hotmail.com. Second tip: If your acoustic has electronic parts (semi acoustic function) and you carefully examine the kind of electronics by lifting out the gear gently with its panel, one can usually date these parts to the 1950s or 60s. The smaller the parts, the later the date of manufacture. For example, my Kay has transistors that were probably produced in the 1960s.