Built in 1965 by the Kay company in Chicago, the Value Leader is somewhat the counterpart to the Harmony Stratotone, yet it possesses a distinct personality of its own. It features a hollowbody design without f-holes, topped by an Art Deco-style metal pickguard, with a maple neck and fretboard.

It is equipped with two single-coil "Pancake" pickups, supported by a full electronics setup—featuring individual volume and tone controls for each pickup. The sound is clear, with more scooped mids than those found in DeArmond "gold foil" pickups; it offers great precision, rich harmonics, and a very pronounced "twang."

This guitar has been restored to ensure excellent playability. It features a bone nut and is refretted (with the frets in excellent condition). While the bridge, tuning machines, and control knobs are not original, they are perfectly suited to the instrument. The electronics, however, are original.

In short, it is set up and ready to be played—which is exactly what it has been doing for the past few years in the hands of a professional musician.

As a side note, the excellent guitarist from the band LA LOM frequently uses a Kay Value Leader, and it sounds absolutely monstrous...