Kingston Guitar?

[wedgehed]

I traded a Kay acoustic guitar for this. There are no markings on the guitar aside from JAPAN stamped on the neck plate. I've seen pictures of Kingstons with the same control plate & knobs so that's what I'm assuming it is.

If anyone knows more, I'd like to hear from you.

[VintAxe]

Hey wedgehed,

I think I might be able to add a little to what you already know. These Kingston badged guitars were built by Kawai. Judging from the style and headstock shape of yours, it was built around 1967.

Here is a model similar to yours published in Bizarre Guitars of the 60's. This should give you a good idea of what the whammy bar looks like. It looks like you are missing the shaft (and maybe even the internal parts) in addition to the actual bar and the knurled nut that holds it in place. The good news is that these trem units appear fairly frequently on eBay so you shouldn't have a lot of trouble replacing yours if you choose.

I have noticed that these trem units come in at least 2 sizes although the top plates that screw to the body are almost identical. Make sure you ask for a width on the internal spring unit so that the replacement unit will fit within the routing on the guitar. Trying to put the bigger unit into a guitar routed for the smaller unit requires you to remove wood.

[wedgehed]

Thank you for the info.

Yes, mine is missing the tremolo, so I'll keep an eye on ebay.

The guitar plays pretty good.

[Big Beat]

Yes, these guitars do tend to be decent players. And you might be interested to know that you've got a "Hound Dog Taylor" guitar there. Collectors seek out a different model that he's pictured with on the cover, and that one's worth big bucks, but judging by some photos, Taylor played one of these Kingstons more often.

[Bob K]