Pea Turgh Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F333209821302 Mine was a Kay from 1969. That listing brought back memories, mostly of how heavy the body was, and how bad the neck was made - looked like 50 packs of matches glued together!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 That's a Kay KB24, made in Taiwan. These are mid 70s & later - there were no remotely accurate copies as early as 1969. I've had a couple of these, and they're certainly rough & ready, but both of mine played quite well after a setup, and sounded surprisingly good - very loud, punchy pickups. That neck construction looks weird but was quite common on budget Japanese guitars in the 60s - it's basically ply, sometimes called "strip mahogany". Apparently some early MIJ guitars were prone to necks deforming due to inadequately seasoned wood, so it seems this was used as a cheap way of making a more stable neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 Mine definitely had a 1969 stamp in the neck pocket. I don’t think anyone was bothering to counterfeit Kay bases in1994! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Not sure what the number refers to but it's definitely not a date - accurate copies simply weren't around in 1969. If you look at the very earliest Japanese Fender copies from 1971, they didn't use proper P or J style pickups, because at that time no-one made them. I don't remember any numbers on the two I had, but I did once find a Kay Strat copy, same body & neck construction as the basses, and I *think* it had 1967 in the pocket. Chances are they're factory model numbers, or something like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 You are probably referring to the logo on the headstock saying Kay (with 1969) below. This refers to the Kay brand being relaunched in 1969 after being brought by and manufactured in the far East (Tawain). The Original Kay brand was made in USA and are highly regarded. The relaunched 1969 version are low cost, and low quality. The KB24 made in Tawain, looks good but is very heavy. I had one and was always fighting it to play, never again! Sold in Woolworths - tells you all you need to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pea Turgh Posted May 29, 2019 Author Share Posted May 29, 2019 It said Kay on the truss cover, but the 1969 stamp was definitely in the neck pocket. It was a piece of crap, but nostalgia is a warped puppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Post-US Kays were rebrands of budget instruments from several countries & manufacturers. Japanese Kays were made by Teisco, which was itself by that point owned by Kawai Gakki. Not sure of dates but production of these models was subseqently transferred to a factory in Taiwan, owned by Kawai - this will be where the Taiwanese Precision, Strat, LP and those weird shortscale Rick types came from. Later Kay electrics were made by Cort in Korea (the 1980-ish through-necks are really nice) and some acoustic models were East German, probably made by Musima. 1969 is nothing to do with the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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