Kay Mandolin

[Alpha_Bean]

Hey, I got a mandolin a little while back so i was looking at it to try and figure out what it was. I looked all over the internet to see if i could find anything about it but i couldn't find anything. My mandolin is a Kay electric acoustic mandolin. If anyone has any information about my mandolin I would like to know some more about it.

[Chinn]

Do a quick search in Google and you'll find some good info (directed me to threads on this forum that I could not find in the forum search function) and lots of pics

I also play a Kay.

They appear to have been the entry level, blue collar instruments of their time. Kays featured laminated/molded tops and backs. They also have a history of the neck pulling loose from the body. Headstocks tend to be either foot shaped (like my avatar) or symmetrical art-deco styled, often with a plastic pearloid overlay. Tuners on mine are enclosed Kluson Deluxes.

In my own experience, they make up for the lack of beautiful tone with their volume as they are frequently much thicker than other similar A-series mandolins. Mine has a maple back and spruce top (all laminated) but has a very loud bass to it.

My own Kay is no collectors item, but I enjoy it nonetheless and thats what matters.

[Alpha_Bean]

Ya i did that but i forgot to say this. My mandolin is a different shape. It doesn't have the normal shape of a mandolin. Here is a picture. 66556

[allenhopkins]

Here's (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140486217697) one like it on eBay, marked "Airline" because Kay built it to be sold through the Montgomery Ward catalog. You can find other examples of what's termed Kay's "Florentine" body style. Some were non-electric models, like this one. (http://theparlorknoxville.com/instruments/00058.html)

I get a little cautious throwing the "Florentine" label around 'cause no one's totally sure what it means, especially in regard to Gibson mandolins, but this particular Kay body style is usually called "Florentine." Don't have access to a Kay catalog to determine if that's what the manufacturer called it. It's not the same shape as the Gibson mandolins generally called "Florentine," like the ubiquitous F-5 silhouette.

[Alpha_Bean]

Is Kay Kraft and Kay the same company?

[allenhopkins]

That one does look like it a lot but do you think my mandolin being a kay would make any difference?

No. US instrument manufacturers, especially those making entry-level instruments, just labeled some of their products with names like "Silvertone" and "Supertone" (for Sears Roebuck), and "Airline" (for Montgomery Ward). Kay, Harmony, Oscar Schmidt and others did this. Other than some cosmetics, the instruments were the same ones they sold under their own labels. I can't tell too much about your specific instrument -- solid or laminate woods, ornamentation, finish etc. -- but it's being labeled "Kay" doesn't mean that it's significantly different from one labeled "Airline."

[Alpha_Bean]

Before i got this mandolin my grandparents, when they first had kids, found it in a trashcan. That is kind of just an estimate to how old it might possible be.

[allenhopkins]

Is Kay Kraft and Kay the same company?

Yes -- or rather, "Kay Kraft" was a label Kay used for some of its instruments.

Kay made electric mandolins, apparently, well before World War II, and continued making them into the 1960's. In the case of inexpensive instruments like Kay, being older doesn't necessarily make them more valuable. A pre-WWII Kay wouldn't automatically be worth more than a 1960's one.

[Alpha_Bean]

How much do you think this one would be worth if i got it fixed up

[allenhopkins]

Well, this (http://theparlorknoxville.com/music/mandolins/1930s-kay-florentine) non-electric one at The Parlor in Knoxville is being sold for $300. The guy on eBay with the Airline wants $600 "buy it now", or "best offer." Marc Silber is selling this (http://www.marcsilbermusic.com/inventory/db-pages/desc.asp?instid=1571#Photos) non-electric for $375.

So, not knowing what "fixing up" this one needs, and figuring in that it's an electric -- and would probably appeal more to the blues mandolin crowd, than to other types of mandolinists -- if you got $3-400 for it, you'd probably be doing OK. If it has a decent case, that might enhance the value somewhat.

These odd-shaped Kays are interesting and attractive in a funky way. However, they are not super-well-made instruments, and are more attractive to someone who wants to, say, replicate a '40's-'50's Chicago blues sound, than they would be to someone who's looking for a really top-grade instrument.

Good luck. You could list the Kay on the Cafe classifieds, and see what interest you draw.

[Alpha_Bean]

What would a good mandolin be for a bluegrass player like myself?