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Kay Regal and Related Brands Owners Club

Discussion in 'Guitar Owners Clubs' started by bottomfeeder, Jan 16, 2021.

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  1. Jan 16, 2021 #1
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    Okay. Do your worst.
     
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  2. Jan 16, 2021 #2
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    Early to mid 60's Kay Speed Demon KS573 total overhaul in progress.
    First 3 pics are the body & neck as purchased on Reverb. Next 3 are the truss replacement. Then the refretted fingerboard, the fingerboard being glued in place and finally the neck with new truss rod and frets.
    Kay SD Body & Neck F.jpg Kay SD Headstock F.jpg Kay SD Body F.jpg 20200502_145532.jpg 20200502_145537.jpg 20200502_145543.jpg 20200524_181929.jpg 20200526_185242.jpg 20200527_184629.jpg
     
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  3. Jan 16, 2021 #3
    Fenderdad1950

    Fenderdad1950 Tele-Afflicted

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  4. Jan 16, 2021 #4
    LGOberean

    LGOberean Doctor of Teleocity

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    Cool! :cool: Thanks for starting this club thread! :)

    No sooner than I start to post a comment in this thread, I get called away. I'll be back soon, and will post pictures from my past (well, my father's/grandfather's past) of guitars that may be Regals.
     
  5. Jan 16, 2021 #5
    LGOberean

    LGOberean Doctor of Teleocity

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    After seeing your project guitar in its current state, I did a search on "60's Kay Speed Demon KS573" to find an image of the guitar the way it appeared back in the day.

    upload_2021-1-16_13-36-17.png

    Reverb's info on this might be helpful in this new resource thread, so I'll take the liberty of quoting them here.

    Reverb also gave its "Estimated Used Price Range" for the guitar as $355 - $545.

    From what I've read, those pickups were referred to as "Speed Bump" pickups. From the look of them, I would assume single coils, but I have read anything else about this to this point. Do you know if they're single coils? If so, are they more like gold foils, Dynasonics or P90s?
     
  6. Jan 16, 2021 #6
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    They are indeed Speed Bumps. I have acquired the three I need for this project. I have not wired anythng up yet, so I have no personal experience with them. My understanding is that they are very low output.
    I started this project as a learning experience only and am sure to lose money on it. I had never replaced a trussrod or refretted a guitar before so there have been a lot of learning experiences. The original frets were brass and were gone from frets 2-4. A word of advice for anyone else trying their first refret - Don't pick a guitar with a bound fretboard. It's a lot more work and headache. I have not begun the binding reinstallation.
     
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  7. Jan 16, 2021 #7
    charlie chitlin

    charlie chitlin Doctor of Teleocity Silver Supporter

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    1955 Rex...probably made by Kay.
    Some of the most bizarre measurements and qualities of any guitar I've ever encountered.
    I love it, though!

    003.JPG
     
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  8. Jan 16, 2021 #8
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    A Rockabilly rocket
     
  9. Jan 16, 2021 #9
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes playing a KS573 on a recent TV commercial
     
  10. Jan 16, 2021 #10
    charlie chitlin

    charlie chitlin Doctor of Teleocity Silver Supporter

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    And it looks like Elmore's... ElmoreJames.jpg
     
  11. Jan 16, 2021 #11
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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  12. Jan 16, 2021 #12
    Wildeman

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    Cool, here's my '30s Regal parlor. This thing weighs about a pound i think. 20201219_113927.jpg 20201219_113943.jpg
     
  13. Jan 16, 2021 #13
    Wildeman

    Wildeman Tele-Meister

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    '68-9 Kay 12 string, it's a rare one that's in line for a neck reset and a bone saddle and nut. Vintage 12's always seem to need a neck reset. 20210111_124614.jpg
     
  14. Jan 16, 2021 #14
    Wildeman

    Wildeman Tele-Meister

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    My '54ish Kay 30. I love this one for slide, and no, it's neck is not warped:D. 20210116_203359.jpg Screenshot_2021-01-16-20-39-32-1.png
     
  15. Jan 16, 2021 #15
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    Nice old Kay's brother. The rosewood bridge/trapeze tailpiece combo on an acoustic is an intriguing design.
     
  16. Jan 16, 2021 #16
    Wildeman

    Wildeman Tele-Meister

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    My '57ish Kay 95 mandolin, this thing is coo,ool with its Jimmy Reed pickup and extra thick top, killer blues mando you can overdrive with minimal feedback. 20210116_203512.jpg Screenshot_2021-01-16-20-38-25-1.png
     
  17. Jan 17, 2021 #17
    playforfun

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    From the 30's IMG_0620.jpg
     
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  18. Jan 17, 2021 #18
    Wildeman

    Wildeman Tele-Meister

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    Is that a Bruno means Security decal that i see in the soundhole?
     
  19. Jan 17, 2021 #19
    bottomfeeder

    bottomfeeder Tele-Meister

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    That was in reference to the parlor guitar.
     
  20. Jan 17, 2021 #20
    charlie chitlin

    charlie chitlin Doctor of Teleocity Silver Supporter

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    I must have pics somewhere of the one I had with the kelvinator headstock and 3 kleenex box pickups...
     
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