1930s Kay Kraft Style A Archtop Guitar

Kay Kraft! Folks go nuts over the shape of these things. And... blues-folks go nuts over the biting, out-front sound. These are loud and snappy as heck and were totally made for their time as they leap out in small-group settings right easy. I'd imagine they'd have no problem chugging chop-chords in trad jazz, too. They're punchy! I've always wanted to get my gypsy-jazz friends in on these, too, as they have a vibe that'd suit the fast, zippy, saucy runs of that style really well.

This one arrived via consignment and in a somewhat-worked-on state. The body had been refinished (though it has no cracks) and I'm assuming the neck was reinforced under the fretboard because it's one of the only ones of these that I've played that's straight under tension right off the bat. Usually these necks are warped and twisted and need a lot of love to bring them in line.

My work was to make it stable and an effective player. After the current repairs, it plays spot-on and is ready to roll. There's funkiness around the edges visually, but it's a rollicking good time as a player.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, modification of the neck joint to a simple double-bolt setup, adjustment bolt install at the end of the fretboard extension to adjust its angle, compensation of the saddle/bridge, and setup.

Setup notes: the neck is straight, action is spot-on fast at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret, and string gauges are 50w-11. These have a really long scale (which makes 50w-11 tension the equivalent of 54w-12 on an average guitar) so some players might like even lighter strings on it (gypsy-jazz silvered-copper 46w-10 are a great choice on these) to get a springier feel.

Scale length: 25 7/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"

Body length: 19"

Lower bout width: 14 3/8"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4" +arching

Top wood: ply spruce

Back & sides wood: ply mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Fretboard: ebonized maple

Bridge: bakelite or celluloid?

Neck feel: medium soft-V-shape, ~12" board radius

Weight: 3lb 13oz

Condition notes: the body has been refinished and the back of the neck is at least oversprayed. The tailpiece (National-style and period) is non-original but the bridge is. The pickguard is original, too. One set of tuners are original but the treble-side is not -- and they actually turn backwards from normal. They're the right "Safe-T-String" posts, though, so I left them on as a nod to this guitar's quirkiness. The original neck-bolt system parts are included with the guitar but I don't suggest using them -- they always lead to a joint that moves around. I've simply double-bolted it (hidden inside at the neck block) instead.