Click here to return to the home page for mandolin world headquarters. On the inside there is a sticker that says continental tested and approved. Bluebird became known for what came to be known as the bluebird sound, which influenced rhythm and blues and early rock and roll. Though kay catered to the mass market, they were pioneers of making high quality plywood laminations just think of the kay double basses, and it was kuhrmeyer who offered very early, in october of 1928, probably years before gibson, electrically amplified guitars, tenor guitars, banjos and mandolins offered as stromberg electro instruments. The official vintage guitar price guide vintage guitar. Musical examples are from the book bluegrass mandolin.
When appraising your guitar, the first place to begin is the average market value of the guitar. Kay guitars or gruhns guide to vintage guitars, and search for your mandolin based on the serial or model number, or its similarity to other kay mandolins. For centuries, mandolins had bowlshaped backs and a pear shaped bodies. Kay kay kraft style a model arch top mandolinmid1930s made in chicago, sunburst lacquer with stenciling finish, laminated mahogany body. This is one of the best oval hole mandolins ever made by gibson a loar era truss rod f2. Bluegrass mandolins is a great place to find a professional grade instrument, without paying a professional grade price. The face has a few scratches, curved face, and back. A style mandolins were symmetrical and shaped like a teardrop. If youre a mandolinist, odds are youve heard the name kentucky.
Fabulous vintage epiphone bg440 mandolin 8 string gibs fabulous vintage epiphone bg440 mandoli antique french bronze jester clown mandolin crescent mo antique french bronze jester clown mando vintage gibson h2 mandola 1914 gibson mandolin family vintage gibson h2 mandola 1914 gibson m gibson f4 mandolin with original. Frets are in good condition, fretboard has one ding third fret from the top. Purchase a guitar appraisal book, such as 50s cool. From the popular and distinctive 1930s kaykraft line comes this nicely made and fairly flashyvenetian mandolin.
Please help identify this awesome vintage kay archtop. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself. Collectors who grew up in the 1950s often want different guitars to those that grew up in the 1980s. Over 40 years later, weve grown into one of the worlds most respected sellers of new, used, and vintage fretted instruments. The mandolin has a solid adirondack spruce top and a onepiece back of highly figured maple. Kay was established in 1931 in chicago, illinois, by henry kay kuhrmeyer, from the assets of the former strombergvoisinet founded as groeschel mandolin company in 1890 the company produced instruments in its plant until 1968, when it ceased operations after a brief. Sep 04, 2014 a method for bluegrass mandolin players to find and use double stops in their solos.
Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. Kay musical instrument company was a us musical instrument manufacturer of the united states, in operation from 1890. It is important to note that there are exceptions to every rule and the following is only a general guide for. If you are new to the instrument and want to learn more, check out the resources tab at the top of the page.
Bluegrass mandolin creating and using doublestops pete martin. Click on the manufacturers name for a list and see if there is information about the value of your vintage mandolin. Kay was established in 1931 in chicago, illinois, by henry kay kuhrmeyer, from the assets of the former strombergvoisinet founded as groeschel mandolin company in 1890. Kay was established in 1931 in chicago, illinois, by henry kay kuhrmeyer, from the assets of the former strombergvoisinet founded as groeschel mandolin company in 1890 the company produced instruments in its plant until 1968, when it ceased.
With the new 5th edition of the blue book of guitars there is finally a coherent documentation of the different models. Mandolin buyers guide on riverboat music ukulele buyers guide on riverboat music harmonica buyers guide on riverboat music autoharp buyers guide on riverboat music appalachian dulcimer buyers guide on riverboat music hammered dulcimer buyers. Use this site for a pricing guide and source of information on all guitars. Mandolessons provides hundreds of free online mandolin lessons to people all over the world. This title introduces all the essential techniques needed for successful bluegrass mandolin playing. Kay did not serialize these mandolins so there is no way to know for sure what year this piece was made. Mandolin is 2 12 inches thick with double bindingtop and back i dont see any damage anywhere seems ready to play has an adjustoable bridge and probably could lower the action a bit. Feb 20, 2019 another great choice in mandolins is the mandolin by guitar works, inc. If you have a mandolin and want to jump right in to playing, check out the lessons tab. Whether youre a beginner who is looking for their first instrument, or an old pro that is looking to upgrade to a seriously special instrument, kentucky has just the. Does anyone have any great resource tips for publications i can purchase on blue book values for mandolins and acoustic guitars. Affordable and search from millions of royalty free images, photos and vectors.
Find the current blue book value and worth of your new and used guitars, both acoustic, electric and amplifier. Then orville gibson started making his elaborate, florentine mandolins in kalamazoo, michigan in the 1890s, and from then on, a mandolin could be just about any shape a builder wanted it to be. The late lewis price of sumpter, sc was wellregarded as a mandolin builder and this instrument shows why. Another great choice in mandolins is the mandolin by guitar works, inc. Vintage guitar collecting, like anything else is subject to fashion. The look of the case seems to date it sometime in the 50s. I wrote once before i got the item to say that i was very pleased with their customer service.
Setting up fretted instruments what is a tenor guitar. How to check the age of a kay mandolin our pastimes. The body seems to be all dark wood with a black pickguard. Kay has been making banjos and mandolins since 1890. Antonio vivaldi concerto for 2 mandolins and orchestra rv532 by het consort duration. These price ranges utilize a combination of expert research, external market data, and realtime reverb transactions to estimate the current value of items in used but original condition. If you already own an older edition of this book, you can not get a current price, simply by adjusting for inflation. Every banjo is worth more in many ways than what it will probably sell for if you put it on the market. Another great resource is vintage guitar magazines price guide, which is regularly updated and available at amazon.
It was founded in 1932 as a lowerpriced rca victor subsidiary label. The number one source of guitar and amplifier pricing and information so you can find the price and value of your used guitars and amplifier. The rhythm section covers all the important chords and details the rhythm chop. Kay instruments especially some of the bass fiddles and old guitars are definitely collectible. The gwma2 mandolin has long lasting strings with 20 frets on the bound fingerboard. You can also consult the blue book of guitar values to see what it is worth.
Please help identify this awesome vintage kay archtop axe. F style mandolins have a carved nautilus shaped curl on the upper lefthand bout. If youre not comfortable taking the mandolin, take at least five. At the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of cheaper vintage mandolins from the likes of harmony and kay from the 50s and 60s. We love playing them, we love talking about them, and we love helping mandolin players sound their absolute best, with a reliable, well made, new or used mandolin. Not only is kentucky the home of bluegrass music, its also one of the premier names in the mandolin world today. Visit a guitar appraiser and take your kay mandolin with you. Kay teardrop mandolins have been a standard in the music industry for over 25 years.
Welcome to the reverb price guide, the ultimate resource for music gear pricing and information. How to determine the value of a vintage mandolin our. These price ranges utilize a combination of expert research, external market data, and realtime reverb transactions to estimate the current value of items in. The lead section covers turnarounds, position playing, monroestyle, harmonized sixths and important soloing scales. This mandolin has astyle with oval sound hole produces warm and deep resonance. The fhole top is decorated with an elaborate gold stencil. Founded in 1972, elderly instruments started as a small store with a handful of instruments. Original compositions in jazz style as played and recorded by mandolinist composer david grisman featuring. Underneath i think it says quality musical instruments.
Arched top and backsand the traditional teardrop shape offer an extra deep body for better tone and projection. We believe this to be a late 50s to early 60s kay mandolin. The following websites act as a guitar blue book online. I have been trying top keep you up to date with the harmony guitars assortment of guitars. Kay n1 hollowbody electric manodlin this is not a gibson. A discussion place for friends and fans of kentucky mandolins. I have the blue book for electric guitars and the blue book for acoustic guitars but they do not list mandolins. Bluebird records is a record label best known for its lowcost releases, primarily of blues and jazz in the 1930s and 1940s.
A deeper padded bag to fit these models is available order gbm165. How to determine the value of a vintage mandolin our pastimes. From here, you can make additions or subtractions to the value based on damages, imperfections, and aftermarket additions to the instrument. This volume is packed with useful reference material. Although many fans of electricguitar god jimmy page only know the mandolin as the highpitched, plucky sounding background instrument in led zeppelins the battle of evermore, the mandolin was largely responsible for the spread of the guitar in the late 19th and early. It may help you remember a cherished family member long gone. Make offer 1950s vintage kay mandolin with kluson tuners in used condition model 460 p4. The f2 was the next to the top of the line mandolin for gibson.
For instance, gibson f5 mandolins made under the management of lloyd loar in the 1920s can command hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a discontinued model of an astyle mandolin with a deluxe honey tobacco sunburst solid spruce top. Avi avital plays vivaldi mandolin concerto in c major. Back in the 1950s, however, gretsch had a notable line of mandolins and other acoustic instruments that they have recently resurrected.
172 1005 1491 125 724 43 599 658 319 1234 942 715 282 29 1229 1215 1317 301 931 555 832 340 1380 1344 382 1258 428 340 723 1145 244