Kay K-475

I do not know when or where it was made. It probable is one of the foreign made guitars made and sold after the Kay Music Instrument Company went out of business in 1968. The 20 fret neck has minor curvature with 1/4 inch white inlayed dots before the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th and 15th frets. The headstock is rounded on the left and squared on the right and has a gold sticker with a black K in a black circle. I think the top is laminated with a beautiful almost glossy medium brown finish with very few scratching on it. I do not know what type of wood it is. The back and body are a darker brown. The body is sort of on the smaller side, no cutaways and has a 1/4 inch black band around both face and back edges with a very narrow white band beside it on the face. The 3 1/2 inch sound hole is round with something like an American Indian design band around it. The pick guard is black plastic with four Phillip head screws holding it on and two white seagulls on it. The bridge is black plastic with screws on each side of the white plastic bridge wire and inlayed white 5/16 dots on each side of the string pegs.

I do not play guitar but many friends that come to my house pick it up as soon as they walk in and play on it. It has a great sound to it. The sound matches the beauty of the piece. It isn't a full sound but it ain't bad. Every note is distinct and clear and sounds much better in the hands of pickers compared to strummers. Most that have played it have wanted to buy it from me but it isn't for sale.

The factory set up was extrodinary to able to get that great of sound out of a low end guitar. This guitar hasn't been played all that much so there is no wear on the fret wires which are brass, I think. Who ever designed and built this low end guitar did a remarkable job. It was not made to last a lifetime like a Martin but what they did do to the inexpensive machine they did right. The face is lifted a bit and the action good up until the 15th fret then it starts getting out of tuning and last on up to the 20th (last) fret, so as long as it isn't played on the last five frets, it sounds tuned perfectly.

I don't think this guitar was made for gigging, it is a learners guitar, a first guitar but it does look and sound like a jewel. The machine heads are of white plastic and keep the strings in tune real well. If it is tuned before each playing session, it stays tuned until it is layed down. It is usually not very much out of tune when it is picked up and is comarable to any guitar, they all need a good tuning before they are played. In 2002, I let Paul Spradlin (Pearl), the guitar picker with the band Goose Creek Symphony, play on it. He started to tune it higher and the plastic bridge cracked. I took it to a shop and the repairman put super glue on the bridge and light strings on the guitar and told me not to put any heavier strings on it and people want to tune it up higher when they get hold of it and I have to tell them no.

Support, I wear suspenders or use a belt.

I do not play guitar, I let others play. In 1947, my two uncles bought a Kay Fiddle and a Kay mandolin that I have now. Both of them play and sound very good but not up to a symphony standard. I would be heart broken if something would happen to the K-475. It has such a great sound and I only paid $25 for it at a pawn shop just to hang the beautiful thing on the wall along with the other 15 instruments Fiddles, mandolins, horns and percussions. The three Kay instruments are a beautiful site on the wall. You may email me if you have a Kay K-475 guitar, I want to chat with you.

I don't know woods too well but here goes. The face is a medium wood grain and semi glossy. It is warped at the bridge for being stringed for so long. The sides and rear are of darker glossy finish. The 20 fret neck is sort of wide but most acoustics are wide. The left of the headstock is rounded and the right is squared. It has a sticker with a round gold K logo with a ring around it in the middle. The tuners are white plastic and work very well. It has a white plastic nut. There is a black plastic bridge with two screws at each end of the white plastic string set. It has two 5/16 white inlays at the end of the peg holes on the bridge. It has a sort of American Indian design around the sound hole and a black plastic pickguard with two seagulls. The sticker inside does not have the Kay name on it, just Model No. K-475 and the serial number 23 with 0776 offset from the 23. It is a very beautiful guitar that looks a lot like a Martin.

The sound was wonderful. Paul Spradlin (Pearl) of the band Goose Creek Symphony was tuning it tighter and the bridge black plastic broke. I took it to a shop and the repairman (Rick Wolfe) super glued it back in place and put light strings on it and told me ot to tune it any higher than he tuned it. Before the bridge snapped, the whole guitar would resonate every sound in the room. It had one of the best sounds I have ever heard from an acoustic up to the last six frets and then it started getting off action. I assume this is from the warping of the face. It still has a very good sound and many friends go straight to it when they visit. Many have offered to buy it from me but it is not for sale.

The factory fit and action were supurb until the bridge broke and the face warped. It still has great action up to the last six frets. The construction is better than any cheap guitar that I have ever seen. It stays in tune, period.

I play fiddle and mandolin mostly and I think the guitar would stand up to gigging. The strap button is loose and I keep tightening it but it still works loose ever so often. I do not use a strap myself but a few friends put their strap on when they play on it. I guess that is why it keeps loosening up.

Support for a KAY, give em a break, it ain't no Martin. Kay closed up shop in 1968.

This is my only guitar. I am not a guitar player. I bought this beautiful piece at a pawn shop in 2002 for $25 and it was worth every penny just to have it hanging on the wall as a conversation piece. Other than the bridge cracking, it being dependably playable is just a plus. Personally, I could have never bought such a good sounding picker for less than a bunch of bucks.

I'm not sure of the year of manufacture, that's one reason why I'm writing this. I'd LIKE to know everything I can about this guitar. It's an acoustic, made in Korea (they weren't ALL bad, were they)and seems solid enough. Finish is satin, hardware is bright and clean though there was a thick layer of dust on it when I got it. The neck is medium and flat. There is a black pick guard on it and the 'K' logo amounts to a decal/painted logo. It is straight braced.

The five strings remaining sound pretty good. No buzzing when playing though the strings are a bit high. The sound is full and clear.

Finish is a bit rough but that's to be expected I guess. It IS an older guitar. Easily scratched. Fitting is ok as well and seems solid though manufacture was, as I've said, a bit rough.

Strap buttons are in solid and the hardware is looking fairly clean and bright now. Not new but newer. I'd take a back up.....just in case

Doubt if there is any

Been playing at playing for over 40 years. Yeah, I guess I'd buy another one if for no other reason than it's different and brings a lot of questions. It's rough and evokes pictures of rough men, lonely places and beautiful women, kinda like my own life. A rough man, living in a lonely place and dreaming of beautiful women. I'd REALLY like to know more about this instrument as I have a passion for old string instruments, music, poetry and life.