What is a good price for a 1969 Kay?

[Marksb_2000]

Hello all.

I am an electric bass player who is wanting to start playing Double bass and I have been looking for instruments. There is a 1969 Kay being advertised on the local craigslist, and the seller is saying, "Make an offer"..He says he has no idea what it is worth, my question is, what should I offer.

Also, would the Kay be a good instrument for jazz. I know the rockabilly guys love them, but would it sound good in a piano,bass, drums trio?


Thanks for the info

[MingusAmongUs]

1. Read this

2. Do you have any chums who play upright? If so, get them to take a ride with you to try out the bass. If it feels and sounds good, make a reasonable offer. Value depends on too many factors that require either good detailed pictures or firsthand sight. And even if it looks perfect it could still sound and/or play like a steaming pile of dung. Kays are generally good workhorse instruments. Many of them have a great big boomy sound, some don't. Many of them have been dropped, fallen off of cars, slid off of walls, etc. Many of them haven't. If the bass is in good condition and doesn't need any major repairs, and doesn't appear to have had any poor work done on it, it could be worth 3-4K easily enough.

Whether or not it's good for the music you'll be playing is entirely subjective. See #2. But bluegrass and rockabilly guys go a$$ over t*ts for them. Some jazz players like them a lot. Any other style of pop music probably has elements of those 2 so it could work fine. If you want to try out for the Philharmonic it's not the best choice.

More useful info:
www.kaybass.com
Fretwell

[JimmyM]

There's a Kay M-1 on www.rockabillybass.com going for $1300. There are a few different models. See if you can find out what model it is. I've seen Kays go from anywhere from $500 to $2500 recently, depending on model and condition.

[alanbarnosky]

I stole a Kay for $600. It is one of those that has fallen out of a car, and by the looks of it, probably an airplane, but then again is one of those with that big boomy sound we love.

Check it out. If it seems reasonable, I'd make fairly low offer. If you ask me, its this guys fault for not taking 2 seconds to go on ebay and see what an average Kay is going for.

[mojoluthier]

I have been saying Kay went under in 1968 for years now. Am I wrong? I did have a 1970 Engelhardt in the shop this year. I sold a good running '53 Kay for $1300 this year, it was a fair price considering the condition. I have a '37, but it's in another $ category. I generally say a typical playable Kay is worth between 1600 and 2500 depending on model and condition, but they are going up. Hope that helps.

[MT Spaces]

Originally Posted by mojoluthier

I have been saying Kay went under in 1968 for years now. Am I wrong?

According to this Kay Bass serial number list:
http://www.kaybass.com/KayHSerialNoList.htm
Production ended in October 1969.