Vintage Airline Archtop? Trying to determine age and value

[hammana100]

I recently received an Airline Archtop Acoustic guitar in a trade. It was represented as being worth $450 - $500. I'd like to know if it's a Kay guitar, what year is was made, and approximate worth if possible. It has N 6 and L1492 stamped on the inside of the guitar. Attached are some pictures of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[VintAxe]

Hi hammana100.

Your Airline was indeed built by Kay. Without measurements I would guess it's Kay counterpart is the K6845 archtop acoustic made between 1961-65. It was their super auditorium sized archtop known as the Mercury. The body is made from maple plywood and it has the "thin lite" neck so the neck profile is a bit more slender than a typical Kay making it better suited for a smaller hand.

I think the value you were given is very optimistic. Realistic value is probably in the $100-$200 range.

Here's one that is similar but with a more desirable headstock badge that didn't sell at the $250 price point:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/rare-1950-KAY-n ... 19c7d9cbad

[hammana100]

Thank for you the quick response even it didn't pan out value-wise. I had seen a similar guitar recently on eBay that had a high bid of $349 at the time. I think it said Kay on the headstock. I was kind of hoping this one was as desirable.

Was there a pecking order as far as Silvertone vs Kay vs Airline? Is Airline lowest on that scale? When you say measurements do you mean overall length from headstock to tail?

[VintAxe]

Well, $350 certainly isn't out of the question but it does stretch the upper limit of value. Your guitar was a budget model that originally sold for around $50.

I would say in general Kay built instruments branded Kay are probably seen by most people as more desirable than the same instruments branded by their distributors. Of course, if you are trying to buy back your first guitar and it was branded Airline you would certainly prefer the Airline logo over Kay.

The measurement needed for positive ID would be across the body. Lay the guitar an it's back and measure across the widest part of the body.

Your guitar is missing it's tuner bushings. If you want to replace them show your headstock picture to this fella on eBay; he can likely determine what you need. You have Kluson tuners.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/oldguitarparts/ ... 4340.l2562

[hammana100]

I measured it and it's 15.5" across the widest part of the body. Thanks for the link on the tuner bushings. The guy I got this from mentioned that I should consider replacing the tuners. Would this increase value or is it just a good idea if I plan on keeping the guitar?

Also, I realized that the pictures I posted before didn't have a full view of the guitar, so here it is.

[img][img]http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p572/hammana100/IMG_1723new.jpg[/img][/img]

[VintAxe]

Cool, 15.5 inches means it is a Kay Mercury.

Kluson tuners were used by both Gibson and Fender in the 50's-60's so buying a vintage set can get pricey (just search "vintage Kluson tuners" on eBay). I don't think you need a new set of tuners as long as they are not terribly worn loose. Bent tuners typically still work OK, they just look funky.

With Kluson's it seems like the G tuner shaft is bent on about half the guitars I see. That's the spot that people hit when they bang the headstock into something. I don't think this issue would be a deal breaker if you decide to sell the guitar. I just sent a Kay Speed Demon to my luthier with a bent G string shaft in hopes that he would have a replacement in his parts inventory and fix me up cheaper than buying an entire set from eBay. I struggled to bend mine back straight and never got it to move much. We'll see if he chooses to straighten the shaft or simply replace it.

Here is a treble side set of Kluson's on eBay that look like yours.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Kluson- ... 256227b893

see what I mean about pricey

[hammana100]

Ouch those tuners are pricey. The tuners on this guitar are not worn loose at all. In fact, other than the one being bent, they are in pretty good shape.

Thanks for the verification. Now I just have to decide if I want to keep it or move it along. I got this guitar as a throw in the sale of a Hammond A-100 organ with a Leslie. I was going to flip it to get more money, but I may just hang onto it and see if I can clean it up a little. My 8 year old daughter has been after me to get her an acoustic for a while, but this one's almost bigger than her

Once again, thank you for helping me out.

[buildtobuild]