Pleaase help identify this guitar

[theehman]

My friend just purchased this on eBay and I cannot figure out what it is. The headstock is very much like a Gibson but the pickups aren't. I thought it might actually be an Epiphone but I can't find those pickups anywhere. It's on the way here and should arrive next week.

Any help in identifying this would be greatly appreciated!



Auction pics were removed. This is all I had.

[VintAxe]

Hi Ron,

I haven't had time to actually research this guitar, but I do have some immediate impressions that might help stimulate a discussion concerning your friend's purchase.

Let me start by saying it is going to require an in-hand inspection of this instrument to figure out what is going on for sure. Having acknowledged that, here are my observations.

My immediate reaction is that it is a Kay. Of course, the pickups and headstock are inconsistant with Kay construction.

Here's my story:
The seller says the headstock has a repair to the "back of the head". I'm guessing the headstock suffered a clean break and has been repaired. I bet after the headstock was broken, the guitar was put away for years. During this time, the top of the headstock was lost as well as the truss rod cover. Later, when someone decided to have the guitar repaired, the luthier recut a replacement for the lost top piece of the headstock in the basic shape of a Gibson headstock. Since this was a budget repair, there was no effort to buy and install a "Gibson" headstock veneer. In fact, they didn't even bother to install a replacement truss rod cover.

As far as the pickups go, I don't recognize them either. It is very strange that 2 pickups are being controlled by one set of knobs. This setup leads me to more conjecture. First, I'm guessing the guitar was originally a one pick up model and the current pickups are replacements. The seller describes the pups as noisy, probably because the attempt to wire 2 pups using one set of knobs isn't done correctly.

So, there is my fanciful story based on virtually no evidence. I think it will require opening this puppy up when it arrives to figure out exactly what is happening here. Of course, I hope I'm wrong and your friend actually acquired a Gibson model that I am not aware of, but for now, I'm sticking with Kay.

This is an intriguing purchase, please keep us updated. sb

[theehman]

Thanks for your input. I can see how that might've occurred. I've also considered that it's a Kay with a reshaped headstock but haven't been able to find other Kays with pickups like that. I suspect I'll have to do a rewiring when it arrives. I'll take some more pics and post them at that time.
His only criteria for buying it was he wanted a thick-bodied, single-cutaway guitar. He plays blues and that's what he had to have. I hope his money was well spent.

[VintAxe]

Yeah, I'm stumped on those pups as well and that's the component I want to research a bit. I don't think they are Kay either.

I still can't get over the 2 pups, one set of knobs configuration. On a typical Kay setup that rotary switch would select pups and there would be seperate volume and tone controls for each pup. I'm curious to know whether the hole that the bridge pup sits in is factory or cut later.

I look forward to your pictures. sb

[theehman]

Well, I still haven't seen it yet, but he sent a pic of a Premier guitar he found somewhere.
Definitely the same pickups, headstock, and control config. so it must be a Premier after all.

[theehman]

[theehman]

[VintAxe]

Very interesting documentation on this guitar Ron. Thanks for sharing what you have learned here. sb

[Michael Ambrose]

Oh, man... I wish I had caught this earlier... like, in January... hahaha...

DEFINITELY a Premier/Multivox.

My understanding of Premier is that their guitar producing end shares a similar story to that of Gibson and the formation of Heritage... the Kalamazoo plant closes down and those who didn't want to relocate to Nashville formed The Heritage company... Same kind of deal when Epiphone was acquired and moved from NY to Michigan. Those who didn't want to relocate kept building under the Premier house. Or at least, thats the story I'm told.

If thats a stock Premier, you've got one hell of an axe. I had a Premier single-pickup for a while, same body style... one of my biggest regrets was selling it. This was WAY before I knew anything about guitars... it was a yardsale find, and at the time I didn't even care about dissecting it to see what it was made of. OOF. Regardless... it sounded awesome, played great, and thats all that mattered at the time.

[theehman]

Well, the owner will be listing it on ebay this week, just as soon as I finish putting it back to stock. He changed out all the electronics and hardware for a while but now he's hard up for rent so it's off to the auction block.
Actually, if anybody wants to buy it I think he'd take $350 and shipping for it and that includes a well-used hardshell case.

[Michael Ambrose]

What does shipping look like? I might be into it. I just missed out on another Premier single pickup because I dozed off on the auction! haha...

drop me an e-mail if you could... michael.paul.ambrose@gmail.com... some pics would be great... I'm definitely into it.

Thanks!

-Mike.