I'm offering a unique instrument for sale with plenty of potential. What was a neglected husk of a guitar has transformed into a kick-a** dobro/resonator guitar.
Electronics: The dog ear P90 pickup is fully functional. The pots are a bit scratchy, but function as they should. The knobs are custom made from shot shells. Body: The body was unfortunately not treated well with the years. there is a repair in the heel (looks to be a filled screw hole), a crack in the bass side on the body (pictured), and the bridge was poorly removed at some point in it's life. This guitar started life as a nice Auditorium sized Kay with a pin bridge, teardrop pickguard, cream-colored binding, and blonde finish. I have not seen a guitar exactly like it online, so I do not know the exact model. Kay's stamping leaves no clues either.
Hardware: The guitar does not have the original nut, bridge, and tuners. It would have came with a pin bridge, plastic/bone nut, and Kluson Deluxe tuners originally, but those are long gone. I hope to be offering Kluson Deluxe tuners from this era soon, and if you're interested just message me. The guitar had a bad bellying problem, so instead of installing a new pin bridge and using a "bridge doctor", I fabricated a floating style. The string spacing on the saddle is like factory, as the saddle is off of a slightly later Kay Archtop with the same neck dimensions (at least width wise). I have added an old brass slide nut for Dobro action, but here lies the reason I'm selling the guitar as "poor". I did some research online to find ideal dobro action height since I do not play it myself, and I found the answer was around 3/4'' inches nut. I have got the action to that height, but the string spacing on the brass slide nut does not align with what it is supposed to. I would either recommend making new slits in the slide nut, buying a new slide nut, or making a new nut altogether. I would recommend using a metal nut for slide, as it tends to have less give making it more ideal for slide.
Overall this Kay is a unique project. I mentioned how I never found this model online with a blonde finish and binding, so it could potentially be a rare model. This doesn't really matter anymore to a collector, as the guitar has seen years of heavy wear and tear, but to me at least it is somewhat neat. Finish the job or convert it back to Spanish style, the choice is up to you. It's time for me to part with this guitar, but I will say, it has been fun. $150 + shipping, lower 48 only (Sorry Canadians), and local pickup is also available in Boise and Eagle. Thanks!
