Rare chance to get a Kay, if that's your thing....

[PaulKing]

Yes, an actual Kay.

Not mine, just saw it on Reverb.

I have an almost identical one.

 

https://reverb.com/uk/item/90553106-kay-3-4-double-bass-m-2-restored-very-rare-in-the-uk-cover-and-pickup-included

[petebassist]

Mojo to die for - stunner !!

[Happy Jack]

It would need to play & sound utterly sublime to justify that price tag for a bass in that condition.

 

I get mojo, I get roadworn, I get "has lived a life", but that bass looks as if it was used for target practice. For grenades.

 

[PaulKing]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

It would need to play & sound utterly sublime to justify that price tag for a bass in that condition.

 

I get mojo, I get roadworn, I get "has lived a life", but that bass looks as if it was used for target practice. For grenades.

 

But look at that lovely label Jack ... 🤩 😁

That's what people are willing to pay for. Doesn't make it a better bass obvs, just pure lust and (unjustifiable) cool factor!

Personally, I think it looks cool as flip. The tailpiece and saddle stink I agree ... but largely fixable. Neck break is a shame, but more have that than don't. The table is right where it should be, no sinking ... that's one crucial thing.

As long as the neck is at a good angle too...

 

£2.5k is a reasonable-ish price for that old dawg.

[Beer of the Bass]

Unusually for a UK bassist, I started on a borrowed Kay in my teens. It belonged to the local fiddle organisation in Dunoon, they had two Kay basses and at least one cello. I don't know how they got over here, but I'd wager it was connected to the US submarine base that was on the Holy Loch for decades. 

I had no idea at the time that they were considered anything special. I struggled to get the sound I wanted out of it, but that could easily have been down to me or the strings that were on it. They were round nylon wound on the G and D and round metal wound on the E and A, and had off-white cores with looped ends that could have been gut or a synthetic material.