Episode 5: The Kay Vanguard - Genius or Fluke?
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- čas přidán 6. 05. 2019
- In this episode of The Local Pickup, Jason and Chris continue wearing red shirts and talking about vintage guitars! This week's subject is a Kay Vanguard from the '60s, one of the most successful guitars of that era. This simple, inexpensive guitar was available everywhere, including Sears, which was part of why they sold so well! This episode was shot in the RevenStudio in downtown Rock Hill, SC.
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Finally somebody opening with something cool and not the blues
Best comment
You're so eloquent and knowledgeable, it's really enjoyable and informative to watch your videos, thanks a bunch and keep it up guys!
Holy shit that intro song was the most Yo La Tengo / Archers of Loaf thing I’ve ever heard. That was awesome.
I own this! Saw it at GC and it jumped out at me - so distinct.
Then I played it and it felt great. The simplicity of a single pickup (which was oddly not easy to find... for under $900.00) was a big selling point.
A great plug-and-play guitar. So glad to hear it get some love.
I love these vanguards so much.
I have a '62 Harmony Stratatone that has that vintage sound in my collection. I've owned it for 45 years now. Sweet guitar.
Yup, my first guitar was a Kay acoustic my parents bought me for Christmas.
love the intro track!
I acquired this guitar from a friend. Been thinking about rebuilding and hydro dipping
What year range were these made? It looks like something that could've been around in the late 50's but everyone I've seen says it's a 60's model.
The trouble with the Vanguards (and my 66 Kay that's not a Vanguard) is they don't have a grounding wire between the electronics and tailpiece. You have to add that yourself.
So how does one get shocked ??
hey ! you guys are amazing
thanks!
I just found one of these at an antique store.
I got one of these things for 10 dollars from a thirft store. i quite love mine
These bodies, which I have been through on several modded projects, were pretty slick--front and back are clad with 3/16 solid maple, making for tough surfaces and durable radiused edge. The inner wood is not plywood, but the species is a mystery to me--maybe basswood or poplar. I have used black for pick guards, contrary to original design, and dark painted body and neck, and they come out fantastic. The original bridge/saddle was terrible so by installing a tune-o-matic clone, you can intonate 100%. Worth mentioning-- the necks were topped with a quarter-inch-plus thick slab of Brazilian rosewood, and like other more expensive Kays, the quality was great, although the neck material was poplar or other inexpensive wood, with a decent truss rod. Despite being small in body, these guitars have a full 26" scale length, and the nut width is actually bigger than a Telecaster's. These single pickup models sell today, for about $300-450, and I wouldn't sell my fave-- a Ford Ranger dark blue Vanguard with black modded pick guard with a copper lined cage under, and reconfigured 60's electronics. Hoping a grandkid will take off with it.
what distortion are you using at the beginning?
I have a soft spot for the budget brand & models. This the Kay level guitars are the Home Depot guitar builds.
The neck wood is poplar
They are good for slide guitar short neck
Scored one just like that for super cheap definitely needs a better bridge but it’s got a great almost Malcom Young AC/DC kinda sound soon as you get some gain on a tube amp
37 seconds in and "Genious"! That big warm sales catalog sound. Really, those pickups are pretty good. How about a Silvertone 100 watt tube amp cause, for real. The Blues guys had those amps out there. I seen em!
How about rewinding the pick ups for more ummph 😊
I just bought one for 150$
Has a trem bar to, soo cool
There was another one there for 250, no trem ,I should of bought both ! Oh well,happy to get mine
The body and neck are poplar. The body has maple veneers front and back. The first year (1961) has a fixed truss rod, non-adjustable.
Is this pickup identical to the ones used on Old Kraftsman guitars, or do they just share a cover?
Good question. We'd have to research that, no idea. Let us know if you find out!
They were made by the same company! So probably the same parts.
Yes, same pickup. Kay made "house brand" guitars form many retailers. I have a Truetone (sold through an autoparts store) with the pickups.
@@78sevenfold Thanks for that. Any sources for that information online?
Yes same pickups pancake pickups
How did it become the telecaster when the telecaster came out in 1951?
Nothing about that made any sense
Have a 1963 vanguard two pickup what's it worth
$2.52
Intro was hottt
I had the same one.I would trade my vette for one.MIne was lost when we moved when i was 15.
We currently have one that is branded Airline (made by Kay). Airline called it the Bobkat. I like it even better, but I'm an Airline fan. check it out here:
thelocalpickup.reverbsites.com/listing/1964-airline-bobkat-in-black-excellent-great-player-rare-microphonic-pickups-video-demo/35320472
(if you make an offer, let us know it's you from this comment, and we can maybe hook you up! thanks!)
*ahem* that's a small part of the story of the Kay Vanguard. Trust me, and don't get the wrong idea, nothing about that guitar appeals to me, except maybe the bridge cover.
I've been looking into the many Vanguard models that exist. These started in 1961, and the Vanguard line (at least for the second model, not shown here) seems to have ended in 1968. This one's a 1st Generation K100. Here's a list of the models available:
1st Generation:
K100 (1 Pickup, in the middle)
K102 (2 Pickups, in the Neck and Bridge positions)
There are a few Old Kraftsman (Spiegel Catalog) variants with a Vibrato Tailpiece instead, but not all of the Old Kraftsman versions are like that; the ones which are, they have a 6 in line headstock.
Generation "1.5":
This one appears to have started in 1965 for the Red model, and 1966 for the other two finishes. This model's almost the same thing as the 1st Generation model. It has a 6 in line headstock, and 1 pickup in the center that's glued to the bottom of the pickguard. It has the same pickup design as the 1st generation model, just without any metal casing, so it does sound a little different.
K310 (Red)
K311 (Teal)
K312 (Walnut Burst)
Generation 2:
These ones started in 1965, then appeared to have a small re-design for 1967, then the model lasted to 1968. These "II" models have a pointier "Space Age" body that's usually painted Cherry Burst, but I have seen a few exceptions to the rule. I'm not sure if the exceptions are original, aged, or refinished. These also have a very strange scale length of 25 15/16" (assuming my K332 is accurate to all others.) Here's the best I know the history of these:
"Value Leader" Models (not to be confused with Kay's other Value Leader model that's Les Paul shaped.) These have red decor on the pickups, and stop tailpiece which also has red decor on it.
K321 - 1 Pickup at Neck.
K322 - 2 Pickups.
Higher-end models - these have a Vibrato Tailpiece, and Gold Decor Pickups. They're still the same pickup design as is on the K100 you have in the video, though;
K331 - 1 Pup at Neck.
K332 - 2 Pups.
K333 - 3 Pups.
*1967 - 1968* - The Kay Catalog shows 5 more versions. These had a re-design for the pickups, so that you could have adjustable screw pole pieces.
Stoptail Versions:
K318 - 1 Pup at Neck.
K319 - 2 Pups.
Vibrato Versions:
K326 - 1 Pup at Neck.
K327 - 2 pups.
K328 - 3 Pups.
Finally, there are a few Bass Guitar versions of the Vanguard II that show up infrequently, but I'm not sure when from 1965 - 1968 they were introduced. These used Kay's Speed Bump Pickup instead which usually used AWG 43 wire for the coil, but I don't know if Kay used AWG 42 pickup wire for the coils in these basses:
K5917 - Red
K5918 - Teal
K5919 - Walnut Burst
...
All of these Vanguards (excluding the Basses) used Kay's "Cake Pan" / "Pancake" / "Zippo" pickup (of different versions; some with plain metal casing, some with decor on the casing, some with screws, and some without the metal casing.) This design was also used on other Kay models. "Cake Pan" is the most descriptive name for its design if you flip it upside down, but the innards are very thin, so it's also aptly called a "Pancake" Pickup.
The Pickup's Magnets? I don't know which type they are, but they're very weakly charged at around 150 gauss, and the pickup wire is AWG 43, and it's never wound very hotly; it's often in the 5k to 6k range.
Oh, and as a footnote: I've seen some sellers mistake a different Kay Guitar for a Vanguard. The one I'm referring to is the second generation of the Kay K300. It uses plain "Cake Pan" pickups like on the K100, and it has a rounder body than any Vanguard model.
Talks about American guitars-sites Jimmy Page lol. Regardless the guitar sounds good, and I might buy this guitar today at a local shop.
"cites" is the word, if you are going to critique... and Jason does cite the fact that Jimmy Page was from UK.
This video makes me not wanna buy one , I was about, tho, thanks
I had a silver tone with the amp case,and it ,like the Kay sounded like shit then and sounds like shit now,let's not kid ourselves,these p.o.s didn't definitely anything,they were cheap,good to learn with but as soon as you had money you bought a real guitar,