Kay Musical Instrument Company
Kay is a brand name, are produced under the since 1934 guitars and other stringed instruments. Although the instruments of Kay are located in the entry area, will particularly enjoy the electric guitar from the 1950s and 1960s by musicians cult status, as many well-known artists on Kay instruments started their careers.
History
Kay the company was founded in 1890 in Chicago under the name " Goshel Company" as a manufacturer of mandolins. The production of the first guitars and banjos began in 1918. Among the company "Stromberg - Voisinet Co. " (. should not be confused with the manufacturer Chas A. Stromberg & Son ) cheap guitars and banjos were made for mail order catalogs and contractors from the 1920s; including some early electric guitars, in which a magnetic contact pick absorbed the vibrations of the body. In 1934 the company was renamed after the owner Henry Kay Kuhrmayer in " Kay Musical Instruments"; the instruments were labeled " Kay ". In the 1930s and 1940s produced Kay both instruments under his own name, as well as for other manufacturers such as National and Gretsch. For the department store chain Sears appeared Kay guitars under the name " Silvertone ". In the 1950s, the production of electric guitars began in a big way: The model ranged from various archtop guitars with up to three pickups on semi-acoustics in the style of the Gibson ES -335 to various solid-body electric guitars with fancy body shapes. In the 1960s, Kay moved to electric guitar in the style of Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar, but could not avoid the economic decline and several changes of ownership. Plants in the U.S. were closed or sold; the name " Kay " exists only as a name for instruments, most of which are manufactured by different companies in Asia since the 1970s.
Instruments
To be because of the situation, in addition to their product line also supplies for department stores, mail order catalogs and various subcontractors, have appeared countless instruments under the name " Kay " over the years. Common to all instruments that they were designed primarily for entry-level and qualitatively as well as sonically rarely can compete with the models of Fender or Gibson. Nevertheless, or perhaps because the developers of the instruments placed particular in the 1950s, great importance to give the guitar a valent appearance. The use of lots of chrome, pearl and gold lettering should distract the viewer from plywood and plastic. However, sporadic quality Komponentern as DeArmond pickups and Bigsby vibrato that were built, which made the instruments for professional musicians interesting.
Kay in Music
Since Kay is located as high- priced entry level, there are few professional musicians who draw on the stage for this instrument. Only the jazz guitarist Barney Kessel received 1956 Signaturemodell of Kay, which he played live and in the studio. Nevertheless, especially the instruments of the 1950s and 1960s, enjoying high reputation among musicians as almost have to start her career played an instrument of any Kay U.S. and many British guitarists. A famous example is Eric Clapton, who in his first band "The Roosers " a Kay Jazz II played ( a system modeled on the Gibson ES -335 model with Bigsby vibrato ). Next Jimmy Page had different Kay and Silvertone guitars, which he also began mainly to his time with Led Zeppelin for slide playing. Today early Kay electric guitars are popular mainly in blues musicians, as the hollow, slightly tinny sound character of many of Kay instruments is ideal for blues and slide styles.