Nice Kay on Ebay

[Jim Nollman]

Never saw a Kay look so clean and with such superlative maple. And how about those tuners. The seller claims this one is solid woods. I'd be surprised if was true, but what do I know. Could go really low. No financial interest.

The seller sent me these pics.

[Jim Garber]

I have seen that one before. it might be a relist. Did you see the other photos of it? Superlative maple? Are you sure this is the correct link?

[FRANK4]

I have seen that one before. it might be a relist. Did you see the other photos of it? Superlative maple? Are you sure this is the correct link?

I actually am looking at bidding on this.My son is earning a mandolin he just has to play 3 more uke songs well.I was thinking this would be better than a 50$ rogue or Johnson I was thinking the sound would be much better also.Anyone have any ideas of what the value of this would be and work as a good beginner mandolin?

[Jim Garber]

"Original Kluson tuners"? Gears, maybe yes but those buttons actually look like buttons. I dunno... FWIW it looks like someone stripped and restained it. I am no expert on the multiplicity of Kay-made mandolins. It could be a nice playable one but I am always a little skeptical. I have to look thru my catalogs and see if i can find a similar one esp with the checkered binding. There was a mahogany looking one recently which may be the one I was confusing it with.

FRANK4: it might be better than a $50 Rogue but my feeling is it also will go for more than $50. Could be worth a shot be I a, always prepared to expect some other issues for old eBay instruments. Then again the seller sounds moderately knowledgeable. Personally, I might spend a little more money and get your kid a decent instrument that is well setup.

[FRANK4]

So does that mean they faked some Kay's along the line.I thought they were middle line at the time.But I am 39 I don't have any catalogs from the 30-40 period.Was the shape the same its not f or A right? What do you call that?

[MikeEdgerton]

It was built by Kay, Jim isn't saying it's a fake. It's been refinished. Someone replaced the crumbling tuner buttons with something, I know not what. It's probably going to be hard to tune they appear to be small balls. The necks on these are notorious for being bad. I'll be surprised if it is solid as Kay advertised their laminated bodies as if it were a feature. This is very late 40's through early 60's as shown by the tuner buttons deteriorating (and they did). It's going to need work to get it playable. The buttons will probably have to be replaced. If you're up for the work go for it, if you think it might be a gem you might be right but you also might be wrong. By the way, the Japanese did mimic this body style in the 60's-70's but they are really apparent.

[FRANK4]

Thanks for the info and quick reply I think I will probably pass on it then.It looks cool.But not worth the risk. I need something that is playable for a beginner under a $100.

[delsbrother]

I thought this thread was going to be about this one.



I've seen this kind of "sunburst" on Vegas (and Monteleones!) before; was this common on Kays?

[hogtown]

for the cost kay is a good mandolin my friend has an f stlye that sound great i play it all the time.
i played one just like the one in the pic and i have to say they play swell.
but it all about you like i guess.

[Jim Nollman]

I owned a Kay for about 5 years. It had a laminate body, top sides, and back. I loved the shape, and played it all the time in my living room, to learn new tunes and keep my chops up. It was not overly loud, but it had a pleasing tone one would want in a second instrument. I recorded only a few tunes with it, tunes that sounded good with that specific tone, but I never used it onstage, since i always keep another instrument — handmade, loud, gorgeous, complex-sounding — for performance.

Let me also add that I took the time to make some serious upgrades on the Kay, both by myself and a pro luthier. I had the neck reset, all the frets changed, the fingerboard bound, the fingerboard flattened, I installed a new bridge, nut, tailpiece, and tuners. By then it was nothing like the the average EBay Kay. As you might expect, I eventually sold it here on the Cafe for a price beyond what you're likely to find on EBay.

If i needed a "learner" instrument, I'd bid on this one in a heartbeat. Far prefer it to a modern cheapo.

[Texas]

Has some of the same features of this old—Kay, I believe, but no marks—that I have. This one has a laminate top that needs repair, but finger board is very similar:

[bmac]

Texas:
The fretbard shape is standard on lots of different brands. Although a laminated top and back there is a significant arch to both.. I am guessing that you can get some intersting tone out of it. You say the lamination is coming apart... i don't see any problems in the photo. I am guessing it might be an easy fix.

is the delamination problem near the tailpiece? where there is a little paint missing? If so, I would use an artists painting knife to reach in there (tailpiece off) with some glue and gentle clamping. I suspect you won't have to remove any binding... but I am just guessing of course.

[f5loar]

The first one that sold for $164 is a refinished Kay from the late 50's to early 60's. It also appears to me that it has a "Gibson" decal at the top of the headstock. No mention of it from the seller but that's what I see. This one on ebay is a much better buy at less money right now from the late 50's and it's all original
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Kay-...05%26rk%3D3%26

[Jim Nollman]

I agree f5, that new one on EBay looks pretty nice. I wish we could see the instrument a little more closely. Actually, not being able to actually look it over would be a deal breaker for me, even if i was looking around for a Kay.

[f5loar]

yeah it says it will need a neck reset which could be real expense. Last I knew a Gibson F5 neck reset was around $300.