Kay "Swingmaster Mighty Midget" story?

[donn]

I've had this Selmer-Kay S-10 since the '80s, but learned some new things about it while getting ready to put it on the market. It's not much, but there's that name, plus the 1/4 size was news to me.

Nowhere, however, do I see any reference to the story I got from the old rascal who sold me the thing, about it having been built to Bobby Haggerty's specifications, the bass player with his brother's swing band in the '50s. His idea being to cut through the racket with a more strident tone, due to the shallow dimensions.

I am reasonably confident that bass player, and swing band, did exist (though I could have spelled it wrong!), but less so that he had anything to do with this model. Anyone heard that one?

(thanks!)

[ctxbass]

[donn]

Thanks! Now I'm more confused.

"Photographed with the Mighty Midget Kay is 6-footer MAX WAYNE of the Jimmy McPartland Combo."

The bass looks more or less like mine, but either it's much smaller, or 6-footer MAX WAYNE is really more like 6' 7''.

Mine is an even 6 feet from stem to stern, not really noticeably shorter than other basses, and in fact a local expert just wrote to reassure me that it's really a 3/4 bass. Now here's an ad that really makes quite a big deal out of how little it is. My first reaction was "just an advertising trick", but the way they're doing it would just be raw fraud that no one would buy. I mean, here we are in the shop: "Yes sir, we just got one of those in last week, and here it is!" "OK, listen, pal, I saw the magazine ad, and this bass isn't 1/3 smaller, it's the same big."

Apparently there's some confusion about the models. I don't know if it's because "Kay" and "Selmer-Kay" have different, overlapping model numbers, or (more likely?) the one source I found that mentions this "Mighty MIdget" moniker is wrong about the S-10 model number. The four digit serial number doesn't match up with "Kay" numbers I've seen, but I'm holding on to hope that they didn't just randomly reuse model numbers like S-10.

[jtlownds]

I have owned one of those in the past. It was labeled as a Selmer=Kay Slimline. Mine was a 1939 model with a carved scroll, so this model was around a long time before the 1950s. I seriously doubt that Mr. Haggerty had anything to do with the specs. It was probably the loudest Kay that I have ever played.

[donn]

A couple more Kay experts have offered some comments on my bass, and the consensus seems to be that this Selmer-Kay S-10 isn't the Kay S-10, but rather the equivalent of a S-5 or S-6, probably the former. For sure not any kind of midget or quarter size bass, and presumably made in 1937.