Kay Vintage Series ES-335 Copy

Made in China, Gibson type Cherry red gloss finish, 22 frets, H/H pups, 2 vol, 2 tone, 3 way pup switch. Lam maple top, back & sides with solid maple block down center, mahogany neck. Locking enclosed tuners, Stop, tune-a-matic bridge setup. "Aged" binding all over with 1.68" neck @ nut.Bought a local pawn shop , brand new, with hang tags still on it. Slight blemish on rosewood fretboard @ 22nd fret, which can't be seen fron 3 ft., MOP dot inlay markers on fretboard. Cream pickguard, pup rings and switch knob. No idea of manufacturer, if anyone can help please e-mail me. Cost was $275.00 with no case.

I play every style. Mostly in church, and jamming with friends. It does blues, jazz, rockabilly, and does the Chet Atkins sound to perfection. It is capable of everything a 335 does with the exception that it tends to feed back @ high volumes. Don't use this axe for heavy metal @ high volumes. It wasn't designed for that anyway. All my friends love the sound of the Axe and can't believe how inexpensive it was.

Action was good with the factory strings (12s) but a slight (1/4) turn of the trus rod improved it dramatically. I have had this guitar for about a year now and the neck is rock solid. The frets are well seated and polished with a couple of flaws in the end finishing on the 19-22 frets. 30 secs. of filing fixed that.The f holes are not bound and have un-noticeable flaws on the inside edges. The finish is almost breathtakingly beautiful. The cream colored pup rings etc. was a detractor. I fixed that with $15.00 & a trip to Mars for a black pickguard, pup rings and a black switch knob cover. The black trim accentuates the finsh of the guitar.My rating on finsh is the "off the rack" rating & would be a "9" now.

I play it without a backup weekly with no problems. It is VERY sturdy. It gets banged , beat & dropped periodically by persons other than myself & has suffered no apparent damage. It actually appears to be sturdier than an Epi "DOT" in that the maple lam top is just a hair thicker.The controls are full size, not the minis that come on most imports and it has a totally solid feel. Everyone that doesn't know guitars thinks it is a much more costly instrument.

1 year warranty, from Kay. No repair problems and I would have to handle it myself as the pawn shop isn't a regular dealer. But as solid as this guitar is I anticipated no problems. I rate this so low only because the company that owns the Kay name now has no visibility.

I have been playing 38 years & own a Gibson Les Paul, Fender Strat, Squier Tele, Epi Joe Pass, Epi AJ18SCE VS, Framus 12 string acoustic electric, Marlboro gear D-28 copy, and an Aria Pro II "Cat" bass. I play through a Twin Reverb, Champion 30 & SWR LA12 bass amp. I shopped for a 335 copy (couldn't afford the real thing) for a year and found this guitar to be an incredible bargain. It does all that I want it to and more and is easy to play to boot. I am contemplating replacing the pups wit Duncans or Gibson PAFs but on ly to correct the feedback problem, not because of tone. If it were gone from my life I would probably replace it with a Sheraton, but only because I have been searching the web and can't find a reasonable replacement alternative (another Kay). It truly meets all my needs and then some.

As far as the year goes, don't know. It was made in Taiwan, has 22 frets, has an arched top, two humbuckers, two volume knobs, two tone knobs, three way toggle switch, tobacco burst finish, all that bit. As far as I can tell, just like a real 335, sans "Gibson."

I play blues on this guitar, and every time I pick it up, it inspires me all over again. I was worried that I wouldn't dig this, but I dig it almost as much as my telecaster, which is saying a good bit. I use it with a Fender Hot Rod Deville 410, and it sounds great. I love this guitar. I also use it to mimic some later Beatles tunes, like the Abbey Road Medley and other assorted snips like that. I love the humbuckers on it. I don't know if I will ever buy a single coiled guitar ever again. The sound is much richer. Single coils, at least, on my telecaster, have their applications, but these pickups rule.

I haven't adjusted anyhting. Everything is perfect. The pickups are fine. Everything is fine. I did get this guitar for a bit of a bargain, as it did have three or four finish flaws, but those are like lover's quirks, you know? You just love them because of the flaws.

Haven't played it live yet. Everything seems like it will last. I don't really know. I will say this, it has taken me some new places, and I don't know if I will move there permanently or not.

2 Years I've been playing, and I have just now evolved beyond the telecaster. This guitar is my strumpet when I get fed up with the telecaster. She always inspires me, and picks me up when I feel blue. It is so user friendly that even a novice could pick it up and fall in love.