Up for sale, an early 1960s Kay Speed Demon "Red Devil" in exceptional condition and in good working order. This is one of the rarest guitars in the Kay Speed Demon family, with a gorgeous transparent red finish, double cutaway body and a pair of chrome topped Speed Bump pickups. This guitar is ready for the stage and studio, with a tone that is full and balanced, giving you plenty of sparkle on the top end and tight bass response. Everything from hollow twang to more complex jazz chords sounds great on this Kay! Professionally setup with comfortable, low action and a fresh set of nickel 10-46 strings, this Red Devil sounds as good as it looks.
The neck has a moderately chunky V profile with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard and triangular inlays that really catch the eye. Very straight and easy to play, the neck fills the palm and has a very solid feel without feeling stiff. The original frets have a decent amount of height and life left, having been recently polished and dressed so that they play cleanly the fretboard. The headstock sports an uncommon and original "K" logo that has a combination of mostly original gold flake paint over a white base. The stock Kluson deluxe single line tuning machines still hold pitch well and turn smoothly with stock plastic buttons.
On the body, all of the electronics work as they should, with individual Volume and Tone controls for each pickup. The speed bump pickups have a full, jangly tone that has a nice focus and attack, thanks in no small part to the maple top and hollowbody construction. The stock pickguard matches the contour of the treble side cutaway and has aged to a slightly milky shade of white over the decades. The aluminum, compensated bridge is original, although the trapeze tailpiece is a replacement for what was likely a Bigsby style vibrato that would have come stock with this model.
Cosmetically, the body has some small nicks around the contours, on the back and on the edge near the rear strap button, with some light buckle rash as well, but no serious wear. Just the kind of honest playwear you'd expect for a 50+ year old guitar that has been well cared for and lovingly used. The finish is 100% original, with a deep, unfaded red color that really brings out the grain of the curly maple beneath it. The entire finish on the body shows some very fine lacquer checking that looks just spectacular. The three ply binding has also yellowed quite a bit, with some light scuffs, but is 100% intact, stable and showing no signs of deterioration.
