Kay Guitars
Kay is a brand name under which guitars and other stringed instruments have been produced since 1934 . Although Kay's instruments are in the entry-level segment, the electric guitars from the 1950s and 1960s in particular enjoy cult status with musicians , as many well-known artists began their careers on Kay instruments.
history
The Kay company was founded in Chicago in 1890 under the name "Goshel Company" as a manufacturer of mandolins . The production of the first guitars and banjos began in 1918. Under the company "Stromberg-Voisinet Co." (not to be confused with the manufacturer Chas. A. Stromberg & Son) inexpensive guitars and banjos were made for mail order catalogs and external companies from the 1920s ; including some early electric guitars in which a magnetic contact pickup picked up the vibrations of the body. In 1934 the company was renamed "Kay Musical Instruments" after the owner Henry Kay Kuhrmayer; the instruments were labeled "Kay". In the 1930s and 1940s Kay produced instruments under its own name as well as for other manufacturers such as National and Gretsch . Kay guitars appeared under the name "Silvertone" for the department store chain Sears . In the 1950s, the production of electric guitars began on a large scale: The range of models ranged from various archtop guitars with up to three pickups to semi-acoustics in the style of the Gibson ES-335 to various solid body electric guitars with unusual ones Body shapes. In the 1960s, Kay switched to electric guitars in the style of the Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar , but could no longer avoid the economic decline and several changes of ownership. US manufacturing facilities were closed or sold; The name "Kay" has only existed since the 1970s as a name for instruments that are mostly manufactured by various companies in Asia.
Instruments
Due to the situation of being a supplier for department stores, mail order catalogs and various subcontractors in addition to its own product line, countless instruments have appeared under the name "Kay" over the years. What all instruments have in common is that they were primarily designed for entry-level users and that they can rarely compete with the models from Fender or Gibson in terms of both quality and sound . In spite of this, or perhaps precisely because of this, the developers of the instruments, especially in the 1950s, attached great importance to giving the guitars a quality appearance. The use of lots of chrome , mother-of-pearl, and gold lettering should distract the viewer from plywood and plastic . Nevertheless, high-quality components such as DeArmond pickups and Bigsby vibratos were occasionally installed, which made the instruments interesting for professional musicians.
Kay in music
Since Kay is in the entry-level segment in terms of both price and quality, there are only a few professional musicians who use this instrument on stage. Only the jazz guitarist Barney Kessel received a signature model from Kay in 1956 , which he played live and in the studio. Nevertheless, the instruments of the 1950s and 1960s in particular enjoy a high reputation among musicians, as almost every American and many British guitarists played a Kay instrument at the beginning of their careers. A famous example is Eric Clapton , who played a Kay Jazz II (a model based on the Gibson ES-335 with Bigsby vibrato) in his first band "The Roosers" . Jimmy Page also owned various Kay and Silvertone guitars, which he mainly used for slide games when he was at Led Zeppelin . Today, early Kay electric guitars are primarily popular with blues musicians , as the hollow, slightly tinny sound character of many Kay instruments is ideal for blues and slide styles.
literature
- Tony Bacon / Dave Hunter: Totally Guitar - The definitive guide . London 2004, ISBN 3-86150-732-3
- Tony Bacon: Guitars - All models and manufacturers London / Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-552-05073-6
- George Gruhn / Walter Carter: Electric Guitars & Basses - The History of Electric Guitars and Basses ISBN 3-932275-04-7
