Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Moderator: jingle_jangle
Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
I got this at a local store yesterday for $399. It is a Kay Swingmaster. This model was around since the 50's. Most I have seen came with the Kay Barney Kessel "Kleenex Box" pickups which were a pretty hot P-90 style pickup.This guitar seems to date from the late 60s (The pick shaped fret markers and "flame" headstock).That's the period after Valco bought Kay from Seeburg. In order to use up Kay's stockpile of old parts Valco made what is now referred to as "floor sweeper" or "Grabbag" guitars". This one came from at the factory with Kay Speedbump pickups and a vibrato tail piece that I think was made in Japan.
It's not a collectors piece,the tune-O-matic bridge and Grover tuners were added by a later owner. The case it came with looks nicer than a Kay case so I don't know where that came from.Anyway,I think it is a pretty cool guitar,that plays great and has a sweet sound. I think it look great too.With the "checkerboard binding" around the fireburst maple laminate top top it almost looks like a a poor man's Rickenbacker 360F.
It's not a collectors piece,the tune-O-matic bridge and Grover tuners were added by a later owner. The case it came with looks nicer than a Kay case so I don't know where that came from.Anyway,I think it is a pretty cool guitar,that plays great and has a sweet sound. I think it look great too.With the "checkerboard binding" around the fireburst maple laminate top top it almost looks like a a poor man's Rickenbacker 360F.
Last edited by octagon on Wed Jun 26, 2013 4:19 pm, edited 3 times in total.
- jingle_jangle
- RRF Moderator
- Posts: 22679
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
- Contact:
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Mans 360F?
Very cool, Mitch, even ignoring the 360F similarities!
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Mans 360F?
Thanks Paul!
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Several '60s Kay models had checkered binding. Here'a a Swingmaster II from 1962:
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
I've got a totally beat Kay Les Paul-style short scale bass ant it too has checkered binding.
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Did Roger Rossemeisl have any connection to the Kay Swingmaster body design?libratune wrote:Several '60s Kay models had checkered binding. Here'a a Swingmaster II from 1962:
Didn't both the Swingmaster and the 360F both first appear around 1957?
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Or was there a Kay mole at Rickenbacker?octagon wrote:Did Roger Rossemeisl have any connection to the Kay Swingmaster body design?libratune wrote:Several '60s Kay models had checkered binding. Here'a a Swingmaster II from 1962:
Didn't both the Swingmaster and the 360F both first appear around 1957?
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
1 kmole = 10^3 moles = 6.02 x 10^26 ...johnallg wrote:... a Kay mole ...
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing. - Seneca
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Chemists...doctorwho wrote:1 kmole = 10^3 moles = 6.02 x 10^26 ...johnallg wrote:... a Kay mole ...
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Right...cjj wrote:Chemists...doctorwho wrote:1 kmole = 10^3 moles = 6.02 x 10^26 ...johnallg wrote:... a Kay mole ...
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Interesting guitars but a lot of these old Kay's are really quite poor instruments, having played a few. They fall into the "shopping catalogue" variety that were sold through retail stores and magazines. Sears, for example.
Most of them were all made by the same Japanese company, Teisco, and imported under a plethora of brands. Kay, Harmony, Silvertone, Audition, Norma, Kingston, to name a few.
Amazing how much some of these are fetching on eBay nowadays due to their quirky looks.
Most of them were all made by the same Japanese company, Teisco, and imported under a plethora of brands. Kay, Harmony, Silvertone, Audition, Norma, Kingston, to name a few.
Amazing how much some of these are fetching on eBay nowadays due to their quirky looks.
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Say what you like about the quality of Kay guitars, but from 1938 to 1968 they were made in America, specifically in its Chicago factory. The company was dissolved in 1969 and the "Kay" brand was acquired by an affiliate of Teisco.Grey wrote: Most of them were all made by the same Japanese company, Teisco, and imported under a plethora of brands. Kay, Harmony, Silvertone, Audition, Norma, Kingston, to name a few.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Musica ... nt_Company
[RIC content: Kay also made some of the bodies of Rickenbacker's early Spanish guitars, such as the S-59 (p. 50 of Smith book).]
Similar story for The Harmony Company, which made its stringed instruments in the US from 1892 to 1975, also primarily in Chicago. The Harmony name was later acquired by an importer for "reissue" Asian exports.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony_Company
Harmony used DeArmond pickups, made in Toledo Ohio, in its electric guitars. Some recording artists today use vintage Harmony-made instruments and value the sound of the DeArmond PUs.
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
I remember how poorly those brands played and were not able to be properly set up. For those who had parents buy their first instrument or couldn't afford a good instrument. To see them sought after today and the prices they fetch is interestingly funny. American Kays were actually pretty decent. Never met a decent Harmony or Silvertone.Grey wrote:Interesting guitars but a lot of these old Kay's are really quite poor instruments, having played a few. They fall into the "shopping catalogue" variety that were sold through retail stores and magazines. Sears, for example.
Most of them were all made by the same Japanese company, Teisco, and imported under a plethora of brands. Kay, Harmony, Silvertone, Audition, Norma, Kingston, to name a few.
Amazing how much some of these are fetching on eBay nowadays due to their quirky looks.
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
I was not aware Kay was at one point an American company. The guitar in the pictures here has a typical Teisco-style headstock which is why I made the comparison. If it was not made at the Teisco factory then I was incorrect.libratune wrote:Say what you like about the quality of Kay guitars, but from 1938 to 1968 they were made in America, specifically in its Chicago factory. The company was dissolved in 1969 and the "Kay" brand was acquired by an affiliate of Teisco.
Re: Kool Kay hollowbody: Poor Man's 360F?
Highly recommended!Grey wrote:I was not aware Kay was at one point an American company. The guitar in the pictures here has a typical Teisco-style headstock which is why I made the comparison. If it was not made at the Teisco factory then I was incorrect.
http://www.amazon.com/American-Guitars- ... can+guitar