Kay is best known for their large production of student-grade, budget instruments but also built higher quality instruments that were used by professional artists of the time including a line of electric guitars endorsed by
Barney Kessel. Kay sold guitars under their own name as well as a plethora of brand names such as
Silvertone for
Sears,
Sherwood and
Airline for
Montgomery Ward,
Old Kraftsman for
Spiegel,
Rex for
Gretsch,
Custom Kraft for St. Louis Music Supply Company, '
Penncrest' for JC Penney,
etc. The current line of Kay instruments sold by A.R. Enterprises include low-priced acoustic, electric and bass guitars, and moderately priced banjos, ukuleles, mandolins and resonators. All imported from China.
K-161 Thin Twin guitar and K-162 Electronic Bass One of the best known Kay electric guitars during the 1950s was the K-161 Thin Twin, most visibly used by blues artist
Jimmy Reed. This instrument debuted in 1952, and featured a single cutaway body, a distinctive "fire stripe"
tortoiseshell pickguard, and a pair of thin blade-style
pickups. Also in 1952, Kay introduced the matching K-162 "
Electronic"
Bass, which was the first commercially available thinline-
hollowbody electric bass guitar, and the second production electric
bass guitar after the
Fender Precision Bass debuted in 1951. Due to the use of K-162 by a bassist of
Howlin' Wolf, Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon, it is commonly known as the "Howlin Wolf" bass. These instruments are believed to be the first
semi-hollow electrics (i.e., thinline-hollowbody electric with solid center-block), predating the
Gibson ES-335 by six years. Their unique design featured a
flat top with no f-holes, a free-floating arched back, and two braces running along the top. The result was a
semi-acoustic instrument that was feedback-resistant while retaining natural acoustic resonances. In 1954, Kay added the K-160 bass to its catalog with
baritone tuning, according to the catalog, "
tuned like the first four guitar strings but one octave lower." Structurally this bass was basically same as K-162 bass, except for the higher pitched tuning and the addition of a white pickguard. In the late 1950s, various guitars in the Kay line were assigned new model numbers; according to the 1959 catalog, the
Thin Twin became K5910 and the
Electronic Bass became K5965.
Jazz II, and
Jazz Special Bass. Gold "K" guitars used the same hardware as top manufacturers. However, there were truss rod and neck issues. Kay's "Thin Lite" truss rods introduced on mid-tier instruments in the 1960s often become dislodged and inoperable. They may be repaired by a
luthier. Gold models had single coil
pickups with clear silver plastic covers and phillips head bolt adjustable pole pieces. The
Upbeat model came with an optional transparent black plastic cover. The
Jazz Special Bass has a single blade pickup as used on the K-161 and K-162 (tilted slightly towards the neck at the treble side), as well as a distinctive, oversized headstock. Valued among collectors, the headstocks from 1957 to 1960 featured a reverse painted plastic overlay similar to the
Kelvinator logo. The guitars featured art deco patterns. It was difficult to get players to take Kay's high end entry seriously, and Kay discontinued the Gold line in 1962. == Kay basses ==