1960s Kay K1B - *WITHDRAWN* £120 Manchester

[tayste_2000]

Great condition, barely a mark on it. But really this is a seriously light plywood bass made in Taiwan in the 60s, I bought it as a quirky studio instrument and it’s currently wearing a set of D’addario Tapes

 

I have a Fleabass gigbag that fits this very snuggly and is about as small of a backup bass you can then get.

 

30 inch scale

All electronics are working and the pickup isn’t microphonic as much as I can tell

No crackles or issues

Cosmetically is what it is but no major dings and no chunks missing from the rather chunky neck.

 

I must stress this is a fun and cool studio instrument, don’t be like the guy who bought my 1970s Eko and complained that he couldn’t get the action low like a Fodera.

 

Action is relatively low but it’s a 30 inch scale bass with tapes so the strings really move, but no buzzes or rattle. Dig in enough you might hit the pickup.

 

Sounds like this

 

Kay (with Tapes) into Groove Tube Ditto into Garageband /end (no post anything)

Edited June 16, 2024 by tayste_2000

[Lozz196]

I had one of these as my first bass.

[Norris]

On 21/11/2023 at 16:54, Lozz196 said:

I had one of these as my first bass.

So did I

 

It's a piece of history

[Brother Jones]

19 minutes ago, Norris said:

So did I

 

It's a piece of history

 

So did I. 

 

It's certainly a piece of something. 

[Basserker]

That bridge looks like it was previously used for poaching rabbits.

 

Did it originally have a cover, or mute mechanism that was held in place by that bolt?

 

Very cool, and sounds great too.

[tayste_2000]

It will have had a cover held in place by the screw you see. Most are missing this cover, I’ve kept a watchful eye in ebay but never seen one come up as a spare part.

 

Would look like this if I’d have found one.

 

They are the same across all kay basses made in this era

[prowla]

I'm about to get a project Ric(ish) one to do up; I'll be putting real Ric parts on it!

[Pea Turgh]

I keep looking at this.  Got a bit of a thing for odd bases at the moment!

 

Postage a possibility?

[tayste_2000]

It’s something that can be arranged but at an additional fee.

[Pea Turgh]

Christmas has cleared me out, but if this is still here next pay day, I’m in!

[Chewie]

On 21/11/2023 at 16:54, Lozz196 said:

I had one of these as my first bass.

Me too...... played it with a Marshall keyboard amp........

Great with flats on........

Double bass tone, mine..........

GLWTS

[spencer.b]

I've got one of these , really fun , pretty sure it's from the 70s though, think Kay's were made in America til the late 60s then  they went bust and the name was sold to a distributor and in the early 70s they started putting the name on Asian made basses like this one

[tayste_2000]

32 minutes ago, spencer.b said:

I've got one of these , really fun , pretty sure it's from the 70s though, think Kay's were made in America til the late 60s then  they went bust and the name was sold to a distributor and in the early 70s they started putting the name on Asian made basses like this one

 

Mine matches this one

 

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/38455499-kay-k-1b-bass-guitar-taiwan-1968

 

Which says 1965 to 1968 in Taiwan

[silverfoxnik]

On 21/11/2023 at 16:54, Lozz196 said:

I had one of these as my first bass.

Me too! 

 

Looking at your pictures @tayste_2000 really does take me back to Christmas 1975 when my parents bought me one of these from Woolworths as my present that year. Think it cost them about £15..

 

Wow - what a blast from the past! 

 

Anyway, best of luck with the sale.. 👍😊

[Happy Jack]

44 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

Looking at your pictures @tayste_2000 really does take me back to Christmas 1975 when my parents bought me one of these from Woolworths as my present that year. Think it cost them about £15..

 

Now I'm picturing you a year later standing over your pristine bass with a rattle can of black spraypaint and a safety pin through your nose.

 

😂

[silverfoxnik]

Exactly that @Happy Jack! 😂

[spencer.b]

10 hours ago, tayste_2000 said:

 

Mine matches this one

 

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/38455499-kay-k-1b-bass-guitar-taiwan-1968

 

Which says 1965 to 1968 in Taiwan

I don't know where that seller would of got that info from, there's a lot of conflicting information online for these basses and I can see an older advert also stating 65-68 but all the legit historys I've seen of Kay instruments don't back this up,the Teisco era kays do have serial numbers but I don't think they can be dated from them as they didn't keep records , a 1965 Kay would be a US made speed bump pickup bass and be worth closer to a grand , your bass is a Taiwanese made Teisco bass , I'm not trying to start an argument or rubbish your bass , looks great and a good price

 

I've got a 1938 Kay upright and a few 60s US Kay bass guitars  and have geeked out on Kays for a while  but if anyone had one back in the day or has any more info I'm happy to be proved wrong on this 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Musical_Instrument_Company#:~:text=Early history (1890–1931),-Products by Stromberg&text=The Kay Musical Instrument Company,and renamed to Stromberg-Voisinet.

https://wesleyguitars.co.uk/2014/03/31/kay-k-20b-bass-guitar-short-scale-rickenbacker-4001-1970s-teisco/

[Ashborygirl]

On 08/02/2024 at 11:28, spencer.b said:

I don't know where that seller would of got that info from, there's a lot of conflicting information online for these basses and I can see an older advert also stating 65-68 but all the legit historys I've seen of Kay instruments don't back this up,the Teisco era kays do have serial numbers but I don't think they can be dated from them as they didn't keep records , a 1965 Kay would be a US made speed bump pickup bass and be worth closer to a grand , your bass is a Taiwanese made Teisco bass , I'm not trying to start an argument or rubbish your bass , looks great and a good price

 

I've got a 1938 Kay upright and a few 60s US Kay bass guitars  and have geeked out on Kays for a while  but if anyone had one back in the day or has any more info I'm happy to be proved wrong on this 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Musical_Instrument_Company#:~:text=Early history (1890–1931),-Products by Stromberg&text=The Kay Musical Instrument Company,and renamed to Stromberg-Voisinet.

https://wesleyguitars.co.uk/2014/03/31/kay-k-20b-bass-guitar-short-scale-rickenbacker-4001-1970s-teisco/

One dating feature that seems to be universally recognised is the zero fret, which was only introduced after WMI bought the rights to the Kay name in 1969. 

 

I cut my teeth on a Kay 20b, £59 from Cleveland Music circa 1980.  I remember my dad kicking off because the shop gave me some free plectrums with pictures of marijuana leaves on them.  I was 11 years old.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 21/11/2023 at 16:15, tayste_2000 said:

Great condition, barely a mark on it. But really this is a seriously light plywood bass made in Taiwan in the 60s, I bought it as a quirky studio instrument and it’s currently wearing a set of D’addario Tapes

 

I have a Fleabass gigbag that fits this very snuggly and is about as small of a backup bass you can then get.

 

30 inch scale

All electronics are working and the pickup isn’t microphonic as much as I can tell

No crackles or issues

Cosmetically is what it is but no major dings and no chunks missing from the rather chunky neck.

 

I must stress this is a fun and cool studio instrument, don’t be like the guy who bought my 1970s Eko and complained that he couldn’t get the action low like a Fodera.

 

Action is relatively low but it’s a 30 inch scale bass with tapes so the strings really move, but no buzzes or rattle. Dig in enough you might hit the pickup.

 

Sounds like this

 

Kay (with Tapes) into Groove Tube Ditto into Garageband /end (no post anything)

 

Tempted! Same bridge as my Kay Tulip (which still has the cover) and same pickups as that and my Kay-2T 'SG-like' guitar (my first electric in 1980), which is the same family as this bass.

[Stub Mandrel]

The tulip with it's bridge cover!

 

 

 

 

 

[tayste_2000]

Ashtrays like gold dust 😂

[bassdrummer]

I remember Kay guitars being sold in Woolco in the 70's lol.