Kay S-1 bass info

neal davis · #1 02-05-2010, 06:45 PM

I just recently purchased a 1963 Kay bass model S-1 in an estate sale that I am going to use as one of the rental basses for my students and I don't know much about the bass. It is in really good condition and doesn't have the neck separation issues at all. I'm wondering what is the general selling price of a bass like this since I have seen kays vary in price ranges so that I can insure it before I lend it out. and any other info on the bass.

thanks in advance

doktorfeelgood · #2 02-05-2010, 07:21 PM

I couldn't tell you the exact value but if it was mine, the LAST thing I'd be doing with that bass is renting it out to students. Seems like a sure-fire way to de-value that bass super-quick. I'd keep it at home and baby it. Not too many of those things around and vintage Kay's just keep going up in value. Probably the guitars more than the basses, but IMHO, you have a collector's item there. Just my two cents.
BTW, you could always contact George Gruhn in Nashville for an appraisal. )-(

neal davis · #3 02-05-2010, 07:50 PM

thanks for the info, the students that I have are usually in their mid to late 40's and are usually really responsible but I will take what you said into consideration and maybe sell it and get a few other cheaper basses to rent out

neal davis · #4 02-07-2010, 10:47 AM

bump

does anyone have a general idea of the price range for the bass I don't want to insure it too low in case anything happens to it on rental

Bass Barrister · #5 02-07-2010, 11:14 AM

Your insurance carrier will most likely require an appraisal from a bass luthier/dealer. You should obtain such an "insurance" appraisal.

The S-1 was the top of Kay's bass line and included an ebony fingerboard and fittings. 1963 was towards the end of the like of the Kay Musical Instrument Company. Production of basses and cellos shifted from Chicago to Elk Grove Village about this time and Kay would go out of business in 1969. If everything is in mint "original" condition, I would guess it to sell for $1500 US to $2500 US, depending on the city and local demand. If it were from the late 1960s or 1940s, I think it would command more money. These are just my guesses based on th e many Kays I've seen for sale here and other places.

neal davis · #6 02-08-2010, 10:49 PM

thanks for the info everybody, I just brought it in to get a new bridge cut and an appraisal done so that will sort it out. I always appreciate all the help that I get from this website.

MattyBass · #7 02-09-2010, 05:27 PM

Please let us know the appraised value...
Congrats..

neal davis · #8 02-09-2010, 07:51 PM

I just got the appraisal today it was $2900 canadian money so roughly
$2700 US currency. I got the appraisal in Canadian because it is easier for the insurance but they have the US price as well if our dollar tanks again.

Tone Meister · #9 02-15-2010, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass Barrister

... If it were from the late 1960s or 1940s, I think it would command more money...

Don't mean to hijack a thread with such a great ending, but this part of your post left me with a question. What is it about the 1940's Kays that make them potentially more valuable in your view? The reason I ask is I am about to purchase my first DB, a 1942 M1, after months of auditioning basses. If there is anything significant about the 1940's Kays that you think would be helpful for me to know, I would surely appreciate the insight. Thanks!

Big Bullfiddler · #10 02-15-2010, 09:37 AM

I sold my '51 Kay M1 for 3600 EURO, here in Belgium.
Just to give you an idea of the value of those cheap plywood factory basses.

Ron

MollyKay · #11 02-15-2010, 12:36 PM

This is just a guess…but I think Bass Barrister meant to say Kay basses from the late 1930’s- early 1940’s. This would mean the pre-war period for Kay.

Most all instruments have a collectibillity and mystique because they are pre-war. The thought being the material and labor available during these times some how makes them better instruments. It may increase the collectability factor for some, but bottom line a bass needs to have the right tone to attract the right player. If it is a 1937 Kay but sounds like a cardboard box it should not bring as much as a 1950’s Kay that thumps and has great tone. A basses value is what you are willing to sell it for and appraisals are what you should insure it for.

Hope that helps

Tone Meister · #12 02-15-2010, 04:55 PM

Thanks for the reply MollyKay. The pre-war mystique is what I suspected. I know I auditioned more than a 15 basses, and this particular one sounds the fullest, with the best string balance and volume of them all. If things go as planned, I will pick it up this week.

Thanks again for the insight.

Bass Barrister · #13 02-15-2010, 09:28 PM

Oops . . . Molly Kay, thanks for catching me there . . . need to prufreed bedder. . .

Molly is, of course, quite on target, in saying that each bass should be judged individually and that an old bass may just be an . . . old bass.

Having said this, that the earlier laminated wood used by Kay generaly sound better than later examples. I don't know whether it was the wood itself or the adhesive, or the specific lamination process used at various time. I have read that a a laminate supplier from Chicago's south side was used in the earlier years but that source was no longer available post WWII. As I have mentioned before, my dad, a Polish immigrant and war refugee, worked there for a short time in 1951 or 1952 while updating his engineering skills. Sadly, we never talked about the specific work he did there and he died in 1990. He did go on to work for a machinery company named Onsrud Machine Works which carried a line of wood lamination presses. I think he told me once that the company had sold machinery to Kay but don't recall for what purpose. Kay also made tons of low budget guitars and the like.