- #Kay guitar serial number lookup how to#
- #Kay guitar serial number lookup serial numbers#
- #Kay guitar serial number lookup full#
#Kay guitar serial number lookup serial numbers#
Serial Numbers 1932 to 1964.ĭ'Angelico serial numbers are not strictly chronological. Note that John D'Angelico died in 1964, and his apprenticeD'Aquisto finished his last few models that were 'work in progress'. Players and collectors consider D'Angelico Excel and New Yorker models tobe amoung the finest archtop guitars ever made. Made from 1957 to 1961.Full Kelvinator headstock from 1957 to 1960, half Kelvinator headstock in 1961. Available with 1 or 2 'Gold K' single coil pickup from 1957 to 1959.In late 1959, 3 pickup 'ES-5' type model available. Singlecutaway archtop, 17' wide, veneer maple body, rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block inlays starting at the 3rd fret, rosewood bridge, closedback individual Kluson tuners with metal buttons, large scalloped pickguardsometimes with silver sparkle, sunburst, blond or black finish. Kay's less expensive alternative to the Barney Kessel Jazz Special. In 1960, Barney Kessel's signaturewas removed from the pickguard. Single cutaway archtop, 17' wide, veneer maple body, spruce top, bound F-holes, 1 or 2 singlecoil 'Gold K' pickups, split-block fingerboard inlays, ebony fingerboard, 'Barney Kessel' signature on the silver colored acrylic pickguard, 'Kelvinator' peghead, chrome Melita bridge, chrome Grover Imperial tuners, sunburst or blond finish. In 1960, Barney Kessel's signaturewas removed from the pickguard.Ĭompleted with the Gibson L-5CES. Single cutaway archtop, 15 1/2' wide, veneer maple body, spruce top, bound F-holes, 1 or 2 single coil 'Gold K' pickups, block fingerboard inlays starting at the 1st fret, rosewood fingerboard, 'Barney Kessel' signature on the silver colored acrylic pickguard, 'Kelvinator' peghead, chrome Melita bridge, nickel Grover tuners, sunburst or blond finish. Kays are notorious for having bad neck sets and broken truss rod systems.Usually, this can be corrected by a good repair person for around$150 to $200. This design only lasted till the end of 1961 when the Kelvinator headstock was completely dropped. This 'half' Kelvinator dropped the black or white back-painted acyrlic 'lunchcountertop' surround with gold dots.
#Kay guitar serial number lookup full#
Starting in late 1960, Kay switched to a less expensive 'half' Kelvinator that used just the triangle Kay crest from the full Kelvinator, screwed to a simple black plastic headstockveneer. Used from 1957 to 1960, this headstock was named after the brand of refrigerator that looked quite similar.This overlay was injection molded with clear acrylic plastic and thenback-painted either white or black, with gold highlights in the crestand gold dots outside of the crest. The most collectable Kays are any model with the 'Kelvinator'plastic headstock overlay with art deco patterns.
![kay guitar serial number lookup kay guitar serial number lookup](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xpqMFTnTOOI/maxresdefault.jpg)
But they also made some hi-end, qualityarchtop guitars. Kay primarily manufactured 'department store' style, inexpensive guitars from the 1930's to the 1960's.
![kay guitar serial number lookup kay guitar serial number lookup](http://www.ggjaguar.com/gagr.jpg)
Note the Hofnersection has been greatly updated and moved to its own section, and removed from here. But theseare the 'big' ones that I have some information on. There are lots of other cool makes of instruments out there. Like some other serial schemes, this one may require you to know something about the ESP guitars of the period because the 'Y'.Ĭontact the Vintage Guitar Info Guy. So the serial number '02112777' would indicate a guitar produced the 2nd day of November in 1982 OR 1992 and was the 777th guitar off the production line.
#Kay guitar serial number lookup how to#
Okay so I want to know what year my guitar is and when it was made and all that but I can't find anywhere how to decode my serial number.
![kay guitar serial number lookup kay guitar serial number lookup](http://guitarhq.com/kaypro.jpg)
Kay guitars are just plain cool! From the world-famous and instantly recognizable 'Kelvonator' headstock all the way down to the 'Blade' and 'Kleenex Box' pickups, Kay guitars pay homage to an 'art-deco' era where sophistication and style were just as important as sound and playability. Note that Kay also made guitar with other brand names on the headstock. Other Vintage Guitar Makers: Kay, D'Angelico, Stromberg, Hofner.