Kay Electric Mandolin

[sprill]

I am new to the forum. I am a long time guitar player and purchased a Kay Mandolin at a garage sale this past weekend for $40. Its in very good shape and appears to sound pretty good. I am trying to find information and the value for it. Inside the lower body f-hole there is a stamping that has "N-5" which I believe might be the model. I spent a lot of time on the web searching and came up empty for this particular model. The closest I came was Kay model K495 on the reverb.com site. It looks very similar to mine.

I also read a couple of posts here including the "Kay mandolin - value and more important sound" post which was informative. It appears that these type of mandolins were sold under a lot of different names by various companies.

Any info would be appreciated. I attached a picture.

Thanks in advance. I look forward to learning the instrument.

[mrmando]

Have you plugged it in? If you paid $40 for that and it works, you scored. It looks very clean and has the original case, and would probably sell for $300 to $400 on eBay, maybe a little more in a store.

These are intermediate-level factory instruments -- I'd say a step above entry-level -- from the 1950s and '60s, and there are a ton of them around, so not extraordinarily valuable, but not a bad choice to start learning on.

If you have difficulty playing it, or it won't play in tune, it may need a setup job. Well worth doing one.

[MikeZito]

I would have bought it just for the 'cool' factor . . . especially that headstock.

Nice find! Enjoy!

[sprill]

Yes - I plugged it into my guitar amp and both the volume and tone work. Thanks for your reply.

[MikeEdgerton]

Actually that appears to be a Chicago made Kay. If anyone has the catalog they should be able to date it pretty close. Is that entire headstock trim painted on? If the neck joint is tight and it's playable that's a decent find. As Martin said they aren't worth a fortune but I would have paid $40.00 for it. Have you got a picture of the back of the headstock showing the tuners? They look newer from the front.

[Dave Fultz]

That’s very cool. I love the look of that pickup.

[EdHanrahan]

Is that entire headstock trim painted on?.

Or might it be a pressed metal (probably aluminum) applique? That would be called the "Kelvinator" headstock, after a '40s & '50s brand of kitchen appliances.

[nmiller]

It's indeed a K495. The headstock and pickup type place it to about 1966-7. The headstock logo is basically a piece of thick foil; it is not the same as a Kelvinator, which refers to the lucite-topped headstocks used on some Kay guitars earlier in the decade.

[NickR]

It is page 28 in this 1966 catalogue- $60 worth.

http://www.kayvintagereissue.com/pdf/1966catalog.pdf

[sprill]

MikeEdgerton - I added pics of the back and back of headstock. Thanks for your input.

[sprill]

It is page 28 in this 1966 catalogue- $60 worth.

http://www.kayvintagereissue.com/pdf/1966catalog.pdf

Yep - I think that's a match. Thank you--- Steve

[Jeff Mando]

Congrats, Steve! Great deal for $40, IMHO. You might play around with nickel strings if you like playing through an amp. They usually respond to a magnetic pickup better than phosphor bronze strings.

[NickR]

Well done- you got the mandolin for 33% less than the 1966 retail price! I have one of the early 1960s Venetian examples- the Kay 390 and it has the "thin twin" pick up. Mine would have been branded Airline I think- judging from the remains of the guard. The pick up howls a bit- I have been told it needs to be dipped in wax but as I never play electric on a mandolin, it's not going to happen for a very long time. It got favourable comments from my repair expert but his son does the electrickery and dipping, so I was talking to the wrong department!