1960s Kay K5915 Hollowbody Electric Bass Guitar

I've worked on a few of these old beauts and this one is a winner, for sure. It's light, it has that chunky, round neck profile that's vaguely "upright-feeling" in heft (but cozily narrow side-to-side), and it has the classic "warm thump" to its sound that's a little percussive and a lot bloom.

If you've ever encountered one of these, what you'll find is an immediately-addicting instrument that you then go home and think about. It knows its one role and does it very well -- it provides the boom (though not the tone) of an upright in a mix and fits very well when used with acoustic or electric ensembles. I see them popping-up all the time in folk acts, alt country acts, soul and Motown acts, and anything in-between and whenever one comes through the shop I get a lot of inquiries from recording studio folks.

So, yep, clearly I'm enamored. I actually used this for an hour or two practice this afternoon even though it's essentially sold because I wanted to enjoy playing it before restringing it with flats and packing it to go off to its next home. This model is getting really hard to find these days!

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, new wiring harness, side dots, cleaning, and setup work.


Weight: 5 lbs 3 oz

Scale length: 31"

Nut width: 1 1/2"

Neck shape: medium-big C

Board radius: 10"

Body width: 13"

Body depth: 1 3/4"


Body wood: ply birch

Bridge: rosewood adjustable

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: poplar

Pickups: original single coil


Action height at 12th fret: 3/32" bass and 1/16" treble (fast!)
String gauges: approx. 100w-40w

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-wider


Condition notes: it's all-original save the wiring harness (pots, cap, and jack) and perhaps the neck-mount strap button and in good order. There's scratching and scuffs throughout but overall it looks nice. 


It comes with: no case, sorry!


Consignor tag: P26



















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