Summer 2023 Giveaway! - • Sigma OOO Review and Demo Kay guitars from the 60s are a cheap intro into the vintage guitar world. Is it worth it? Here’s my take.
I had a harmony arch top as a kid in the 40's, dad built me an amp with vibrato feature with an organ speaker. I think this type of guitar is ok for jazz and blues. I used to play and sing Little Walter songs like "Before You 'Cuse Me" . Nowadays I try to play flamenco etc. on my Cordoba F7.
A lot of these guitars need neck resets. I was dragging one around with me for like 15 years and it was totally unplayable from above the 3rd fret. Kept it under the bed until it finally started to eat at me. The fretboard was lifting up off the body like a ramp and it was coming up off the back. I did a ton of research, bought some sandpaper, files, Titebond Original and a couple of huge clamps and got to work. It plays beautifully now. My ghetto luthiery worked!
After unsuccessfully trying to find a Harmony Monterey for a decent price, I asked my luthier if he happened to have anything in his "basement!" He found an old Kay archtop in nearly playable condition. I took it home for a week, brought it back and asked him to tweek a few things. This one did in fact have a working truss rod and some sort of single pickup. Took him about a half hour of bench work but when he came back, the nut had been significantly altered, the truss rod adjusted, the bridge reset and a little bit of fret filing and polishing had been done. Does it play like my Casino? Of course not. This is now however a purpose built instrument that plays like and sounds like something way more expensive. We put a set of 11s with a wound G on it to bring out the resonance in the wood. It is now one of the instruments that are out all day in the house and I really enjoy playing it. And I have every intention of bringing it to gigs. I'll probably fool around with miking it through the board rather than using the pickup. All in all, for $300 and some bench time, I'm very impressed with this instrument. BTW, I also bought a set of Kluson tuning machines from him. He measured everything carefully and gave me a set that could be used without having to change the existing bushings on the headstock. If you do buy one of these, definitely upgrade the tuners.
I dunno but I've got a couple of Harmony arch tops and they're killer. Not a Gibson but they have their own thing. It's a vibe. If you play blues, especially Delta type stuff, they're perfect.
I like to do guitar repair work and don’t trust myself with more expensive guitars. I love buying up these old cheap warped neck Kay’s. To me it is a low stakes way of practicing neck resets and carbon neck reinforcement with a great reward on the backend.
This is a 1966 Kay K6858! This is before they remodeled them in 1969 to have a bolt-on neck with a truss rod and a 0 fret like the K6878 I own, super cool stuff! Hope the info helps! The K6858, K6868 and K6878 are all the same guitar but in different finishes :)
@@justinbishopmusic Happy to help!! Great looking guitar, these old Kays may not be crazy tone-wise but they always inspire me to write music nonetheless, which is a great trait I feel!
My father was an idiot (in more ways than just this), and in the 60s, he bought a 1959 Kay 6550 (I researched the hell out of it--it was only made for one year, looking exactly that way)...with the neck held on by a long, brass bolt, that runs through the body. On top of that, most of the bridge is missing, the nut fell off, and the toggle switch needs replaced. Trouble is, I'm poor, not a guitar player, and don't know if it'd be worth paying a luthier to make it playable. Ones just like it sell for around a thousand...but I get the impression those never had weird things done to them. Even as a little kid, I knew that bolt was wrong...I wonder what I could use it for, if it isn't attached to a guitar? For that matter, does that bolt matter? Unless I get it fixed up, I can't even tell if the pickups still work.
I found one from the early 60s in a pawn shop for 200.00. I think it's an N6? Has a pickup they call the zippo as slang. Had to put some money in to it but it plays ok now, needs a neck reset to be perfect but cool nonetheless. Yep buy then up. They are fun.
Yes. Like any other line of guitars, there are good and bad of every model. A 1950's-1960's Kay archtop is equivalent to a Gibson L-48 of the same decades. A Kay wouldn't cost as much to buy and have properly set up as a ragged L-48. Chances of the L-48 being a dog are greater also.
I had a harmony arch top as a kid in the 40's, dad built me an amp with vibrato feature with an organ speaker. I think this type of guitar is ok for jazz and blues. I used to play and sing Little Walter songs like "Before You 'Cuse Me" . Nowadays I try to play flamenco etc. on my Cordoba F7.
A lot of these guitars need neck resets. I was dragging one around with me for like 15 years and it was totally unplayable from above the 3rd fret. Kept it under the bed until it finally started to eat at me. The fretboard was lifting up off the body like a ramp and it was coming up off the back. I did a ton of research, bought some sandpaper, files, Titebond Original and a couple of huge clamps and got to work. It plays beautifully now. My ghetto luthiery worked!
Way to go! Feels good to bring something back to life.
I have the same one, just maple top fret board.
After unsuccessfully trying to find a Harmony Monterey for a decent price, I asked my luthier if he happened to have anything in his "basement!" He found an old Kay archtop in nearly playable condition. I took it home for a week, brought it back and asked him to tweek a few things. This one did in fact have a working truss rod and some sort of single pickup. Took him about a half hour of bench work but when he came back, the nut had been significantly altered, the truss rod adjusted, the bridge reset and a little bit of fret filing and polishing had been done. Does it play like my Casino? Of course not. This is now however a purpose built instrument that plays like and sounds like something way more expensive. We put a set of 11s with a wound G on it to bring out the resonance in the wood. It is now one of the instruments that are out all day in the house and I really enjoy playing it. And I have every intention of bringing it to gigs. I'll probably fool around with miking it through the board rather than using the pickup. All in all, for $300 and some bench time, I'm very impressed with this instrument. BTW, I also bought a set of Kluson tuning machines from him. He measured everything carefully and gave me a set that could be used without having to change the existing bushings on the headstock. If you do buy one of these, definitely upgrade the tuners.
Nice! I tried mine with a Mayer’s Grip mic in the F hole, and it sounded great.
I dunno but I've got a couple of Harmony arch tops and they're killer. Not a Gibson but they have their own thing. It's a vibe. If you play blues, especially Delta type stuff, they're perfect.
Great info and it seems to have came my way due to the fact that I have been looking at these type guitars on Reverb lately 🤩
Oh yeah. They're definitely watching.
I like to do guitar repair work and don’t trust myself with more expensive guitars. I love buying up these old cheap warped neck Kay’s. To me it is a low stakes way of practicing neck resets and carbon neck reinforcement with a great reward on the backend.
Maybe not amazing players or loads of sweetness tone wise but I love old Kay's, there is mojo there.
Agreed, it has a cool vibe. Looks great on the wall and takes me to a different time when I play it on the porch.
This is a 1966 Kay K6858! This is before they remodeled them in 1969 to have a bolt-on neck with a truss rod and a 0 fret like the K6878 I own, super cool stuff! Hope the info helps! The K6858, K6868 and K6878 are all the same guitar but in different finishes :)
Brilliant! Thank you!
@@justinbishopmusic Happy to help!! Great looking guitar, these old Kays may not be crazy tone-wise but they always inspire me to write music nonetheless, which is a great trait I feel!
Sierra Ferrell plays a Kay on her song In Dreams - GemsOnVHS
My father was an idiot (in more ways than just this), and in the 60s, he bought a 1959 Kay 6550 (I researched the hell out of it--it was only made for one year, looking exactly that way)...with the neck held on by a long, brass bolt, that runs through the body. On top of that, most of the bridge is missing, the nut fell off, and the toggle switch needs replaced. Trouble is, I'm poor, not a guitar player, and don't know if it'd be worth paying a luthier to make it playable. Ones just like it sell for around a thousand...but I get the impression those never had weird things done to them. Even as a little kid, I knew that bolt was wrong...I wonder what I could use it for, if it isn't attached to a guitar? For that matter, does that bolt matter? Unless I get it fixed up, I can't even tell if the pickups still work.
I had a F hole Kay in '62, as a kind of knock around guitar. It was okay as I recall.
Yes, that’s accurate…they are ok…nothing phenomenal, just solid beaters with a cool vintage vibe.
Great advice. Thanks. Harmony #1213.
I found one from the early 60s in a pawn shop for 200.00. I think it's an N6? Has a pickup they call the zippo as slang. Had to put some money in to it but it plays ok now, needs a neck reset to be perfect but cool nonetheless. Yep buy then up. They are fun.
I thought about putting a pickup in mine.
@@justinbishopmusic I'm kind of a purist so I prefer something to look like it belongs. If you can get a retro looking pickup go for it.
@@tompaul2591 you're right...I think that was my main hesitancy...probably best to leave it be.
Most people put a floating pickup on them with tone and volume controls on the pickguard
I might have to try that one day!
Yes. Like any other line of guitars, there are good and bad of every model. A 1950's-1960's Kay archtop is equivalent to a Gibson L-48 of the same decades. A Kay wouldn't cost as much to buy and have properly set up as a ragged L-48. Chances of the L-48 being a dog are greater also.
Do they stay in tune pretty well?
It’s held up fine for me. Tuners are a bit stiff, but they hold.
Short answer yes but you may spend close to what you payed to get in pro shape but you could get lucky.
The headstock tels me ‘66-‘68