Kay Musical Instrument Company (often referred to simply as Kay) is an American

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...

manufacturer established in 1931 by namesake Henry "Kay" Kuhrmeyer and based in Chicago, Illinois. It was formed when Kuhrmeyer bought out his financial backers in the instrument manufacturer Stromberg-Voisinet. They produced guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and were known for their use of lamination in the construction of arched top instruments. The company operated independently until 1965 when they were purchased by the

Seeburg Corporation Seeburg was an American design and manufacturing company of automated musical equipment, such as orchestrions, jukeboxes, and vending equipment. Founded in 1902, its first products were Orchestrions and automatic pianos but after the arrival of g ...

, a jukebox manufacturer. In 1967, the company was sold to

Valco Valco was a US manufacturer of guitar amplifiers from the 1940s through 1968. Apart from its original products, Valco also commercialised electric and acoustic guitars and basses through its subsidiary companies. History Valco was formed ...

citing decreasing profits due to imported Japanese instruments. In 1969, rights to name "Kay" was acquired by Weiss Musical Instruments (WMI) . The brand has been used by several manufacturers since then, mainly attached to Asian import guitars.The Story of Kay Guitars, Told in 10 Reverb Listings
by Frank Meyers, Jul 18, 2017 por Frank MeyersKay History
on Chasing Guitars website Kay offered their first

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

in 1936 — five years after the

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and bass ...

Frying pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It typically ranges from in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small ...

'', and the same year as the

Gibson ES-150 The Gibson ES-150 is a pioneering electric guitar produced by Gibson Guitar Corporation.Hunter, Dave, The Rough Guide to Guitar, Penguin Books, 2011. Introduced in 1936, it is generally recognized as the world's first commercially successful ...

. However, Kuhrmeyer with Stromberg-Voisinet had announced the "Stromberg Electro" even earlier, in 1928, possibly making the short-lived model the first commercial electric guitar. However, no copies exist, and there is speculation that the Electro was never produced.

Overview

Early history (1890–1931)

The Kay Musical Instrument Company grew from the Andrew Groehsl Company (or Groehsl Mandolin Company) in Chicago, established in 1890. In 1921, Groehsl's company was purchased by Henry "Kay" Kuhrmeyer, Frank Voisinet, and Charles Stromberg and renamed to Stromberg-Voisinet. In 1928, with the help of an investor, Kuhrmeyer bought out his partners, renamed the company, and started producing electric guitars and amplifiers. The new company, "Kay Musical Instruments" was formally established in 1931. As its predecessor had primarily commercialized its products under its own brand as well as a large number of other brands, Kay Musical Instruments would continue that practice.

Activity on Kuhrmeyer-era (1931–1955)

The company initially manufactured only traditional folk instruments such as

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

tenor guitar The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players o ...

s and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

s, but eventually grew to make a wide variety of stringed instruments, including

violins The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino pic ...

cellos The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

es and a variety of different types of

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s, including

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, classical,

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of play ...

and semi-acoustic models. In addition to manufacturing instruments for sale under its own brands (like Kay Kraft and Kamico), Kay was also a prolific manufacturer of guitars for retailers across the nation who would order instruments with custom branding to be resold as "house brand" instruments. Kay also made

guitar amplifiers A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which are ...

, beginning with designs carried over from the old Stromberg company. Kay eventually subcontracted its amplifier production to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

music industry rival

in the 1950s.

Electric-shift & Decline on Katz-era (1955–1968)

After the retirement of Kuhrmeyer in 1955, the company was taken over by Sidney M. Katz. The product line of Kay was shifted toward electric musical instruments on demands, and in 1964, the company moved to a new factory in

Elk Grove Village, Illinois Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorporat ...

. In 1965 Katz sold Kay to

, and he became the head of Seeburg's musical instrument division. In 1967, Kay was resold and merged with

, but dissolved in 1968 due to financial problems.

Revive (1969–present)

The assets of Kay/Valco were auctioned off in 1969. The upright bass and cello lines were sold to Engelhardt-Link, a new company formed by a previous Valco member, which has continued production (see #Kay basses for details). The Kay name (and some of its trademarks, such as Knox were acquired by Teisco importer, Weiss Musical Instruments (WMI, by Sylvain Weindling and Barry Hornstein), who put the Kay name on the Teisco products beginning in 1973, and continued on through the 1970s. In 1980, A.R. Enterprises (Tony Blair) purchased the Kay trademark. In 2008–2009, The "Kay Guitar Company" of California reissued 12 models of vintage Kay guitars and basses manufactured by Fritz Brothers Guitars. As of 2013, production and sales of these guitars have continued.

Kay guitars

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 Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as well as a "first call" gu ...

. Kay sold guitars under their own name as well as a plethora of brand names such as '' Silvertone'' for

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

, ''Sherwood'' and ''

Airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

'' for

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...

, ''Old Kraftsman'' for Spiegel, ''Rex'' for

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Fri ...

, ''Custom Kraft'' for St. Louis Music Supply Company, ''Truetone'' for

Western Auto Western Auto Supply Company—known more widely as Western Auto—was a Chain store, specialty retail chain of stores that supplied auto part, automobile parts and accessories operating approximately 1,200 stores across the United States ...

, – "Truetone" was a registered trademark for musical instruments owned by

since 1964/1966 until 1989 (or since 1945/1947 until 1992 for radio receiver o
trademark 71485315
. '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 Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

. This instrument debuted in 1952, and featured a single cutaway body, a distinctive "fire stripe"

tortoiseshell Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is a critically endangered species according to the IUCN Red List largely because of its ...

pickguard A pickguard (also known as a scratchplate) is a piece of plastic or other (often laminated) material that is placed on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument. The main purpose of the pickguard is to protect the guita ...

, 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 A semi-acoustic guitar, also known as a hollow-body electric guitar, is a type of electric guitar designed to be played with a guitar amplifier featuring a fully or partly hollow body and at least one electromagnetic Pick up (music technology), ...

electric bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, and the second production electric

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

after the

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (or "P-Bass") is a model of bass guitar, electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument ...

debuted in 1951. Due to the use of K-162 by a bassist of

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

, 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 The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its Gibson ES Series, ES (Electric Spanish) series 1958 in music, in 1958. It has a solid maple wood block running through the cente ...

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 A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

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. Both instruments remained in Kay's catalog offerings with only minor cosmetic variations until 1966, when Kay revamped its entire guitar line to only feature budget instruments. Kay also manufactured versions of the ''Thin Twin'' guitar under the Silvertone (

) and Old Kraftsman ( Spiegel) brands.

Gold "K" Line

In 1957, president Sydney Katz introduced the Gold "K" line of

archtop An archtop guitar is a hollow acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar with a full body and a distinctive arched top, whose sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, and rockabilly players. Typically, an archtop guitar has: * Six strings * An a ...

and

solid body Sound sample of solid-body electric guitar. A solid-body musical instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on an electromagnetic pickup system to directly detect the vibra ...

electric guitars to compete with major manufacturers like Fender, Gibson, and

. The gold "K" Line featured the Jazz Special, Artist, Pro, Upbeat, 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 A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

. 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 Kelvinator was an American home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the company's namesake. Although it is now defunct as a company, the name remains a brand owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its name from ...

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

In 1937, Kay began to produce a 3/4 size

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

, which is widely believed to be their ''Concert'' or ''C-1'' bass. Like their guitar manufacturing, the basses were hand crafted by skilled craftsmen using special ordered machinery. They even had a hot stamping machine that could emboss the trademark KAY cursive script. After the dissolve of Kay/Valco in 1968, the Engelhardt-Link Company bought the upright bass and

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

lines at the asset auction in 1969, and continue to produce the same instrument lines until today. Manufactured in

, Engelhardt basses and cellos are sturdy instruments, widely used by students and touring professionals. The ''ES9 Swingmaster'' bass (formerly the Kay ''S9 Swingmaster''), is highly thought-of by jazz, swing, and bluegrass musicians. In August 2019 Upton Bass String Instrument Company purchased the bass and cello-making equipment, formerly owned by Kay, from Engelhardt-Link.

Notable players

* Alvin Youngblood Hart * Anne Erin Clark *

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) *

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Bibliography

* *
"''Source: 1950s/1960s company history courtesy Jay Scott, 50's Cool: Kay Guitars, contemporary history courtesy Michael Wright, Vintage Guitar Magazine, individual model listings: Michael Wright, Guitar Stories, Volume Two.''"
See also
Kay (electric guitars)Kay Kraft (electric guitars)Kay Kraft (acoustic guitars)Mayflower (acoustic guitars)

Notes

References

;History * — compact timeline, based on the below. * — detailed history. * — history focused on the development of early electric guitars, based on the other references. * — another short history, which covers slightly different topics. ;Models * *

External links

Kay Vintage Reissue
a division of Kay Guitar Company

manufacturer of "Kay Vintage Reissue"
Kay Bass website
{{Authority control Guitar manufacturing companies of the United States Guitar amplifier manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1890 Companies disestablished in 1968 1890 establishments in Illinois 1968 disestablishments in Illinois Musical instrument manufacturing companies based in Chicago Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Illinois