Old Guitar handed down from grandfather, to dad, to me

[dbmchone]

I have an old guitar that my father thought was a gibson but I am not so sure because I can't find a serial number anywhere and the headstock is not what I've seen on gibsons.

The story my Dad told me was that when he was a kid in the 50's my Grandfather needed a guitar for church and went to the factory to pick this one up. Dad swears that it's a Gibson but I'm not convinced.

What I will say is that I love the guitar as it has a great sound and the grover tuners keep the strings tuned right even if it isn't played for a while.

Any help identifying this would be a great help as I would like to know what I have.

Thanks!
Bret McHone

[Spud1950]

Not a Gibson.It's definitely a Kay made guitar,unbranded.That headstock shape was first used by Kay in 1960. 1950s Kay's have a different headstock shape. I can't find your exact model in a Kay catalog,but it appears to be a variation of the Swingmaster model as found in the 1961 catalog in the VintAxe collection.



Your guitar is in most excellent condition. A very nice vintage Kay!

[johnnyb]

looks like the barney kessel pickups. i want em.

[dbmchone]

Thank you very much! It's a wonderful guitar and you've pointed me in the right direction. I'm really hoping to find information on the history of this specific guitar as since it's as much an heirloom as a collectible. I've found more information since you told me the make/model and I have contacted another site that sold a guitar almost exactly like mine.

http://www.gpguitars.com/product_info.p ... ts_id=2150

Hopefully they will be able to tell me more about it!

If my son likes to play guitar when he gets old enough then I hope to hand it down to him. Thank you very much!!!

-Bret

[Spud1950]

That's it, pretty much the same guitar. I also think yours originally had the pickguard.A lot of times people removed them.If I'm not mistaken,I'm seeing the hole for the for the pickguard screw in the guitar top, in front of the lower corner of the neck pickup?





Is there also a hole in the lower side of the guitar near the binding where the metal pickguard stand off screw would have been,as in this picture?



Also,I notice that you're missing one the tuner peg bushings. You should get that replaced.

[dbmchone]

Thanks for noticing the bushing!

You are correct about the pickguard. The original one was really discolored and had a big crack in it so we removed it years ago though I think I still have it in the same box as the comics I collected back then.

That bushing will be replaced shortly, I know there is a lot of stress put on guitars there and I don't want it to be damaged. I have seen replacement pick guards on ebay for around $30 so I may look at that as well just to keep it looking original, although I do love to play it.

It's funny that this guitar has a better sound that most of the other guitars I've played (which admitedly is very limited).

Thanks,
Bret

[dbmchone]

If anyone knows where to find a bushing for this guitar let me know. I'll break out my micrometer and get measurements for a replacement when I get home from work to start the search. But if anyone has a resource that will be resonably priced then I'ld love to know.

Thanks!
Bret McHone

[VintAxe]

Hey Bret.

I just bought a set of these for a Harmony Stratotone I have and they popped right in. I think they'll fit your Kay as well. I purchased the "aged" variety but he has few different finishes, just check his other auctions.



BTW, there is a chapter on the history of Kay guitars in Michael Wright's book Guitar Stories Volume Two. You should be able to pick up a copy of the book for between $15-$20.

[Spud1950]

You can get a replacement Kay headstock logo here.