1960s Kay 00-Size Modded 5-String Electrified Guitar

Tone: The acoustic tone is woody and a little bouzouki-like in its way. Plugged-in it has a cool, bluesy, garage-rock, folksy sound to it. I like it best either played droney and clean with some reverb or, alternately, as a killer folk-blues-rock, driven monster. If you play it "Celtic-style" with strummed, sliding chord/drone shapes, it makes an excellent "ethno-axe" backup machine.

Feel: The neck is medium-heft C/D but it has a very curvy fretboard (~7" radius) so it feels quick and almost '50s Fendery in some ways.

Interesting features: Obviously, I've modified this from its original format (6-string with a too-narrow nut) to a 5-string instrument. Ideally, it can be strung for either a variation on open D (as it is here -- tuned DADAD like open D without the F# string) or Keith Richards-style open G (GDGBD without the "low bass D" note). Suffice to say, the fun part of this is that it does this in a cool acoustic way or an even better plugged-in, lipstick-pickup way. 

Repairs included: I wired this up ages ago as a lap steel kind-of guitar but this time around I reset the neck, gave it a fret level/dress, fit a new saddle, and set it up as a "normal playing" modded guitar. It's still a 5-string (and currently tuned to DADAD but could be restrung/tuned to whatever you like) but it now plays like a normal guitar otherwise.

• Maker: Kay
• Model: unsure
• Body style: 00-size (like L-00 shape)
• Weight: 3 lbs 12 oz
• Scale length: 24 3/8"
• Nut width: 1 1/2"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: ~7"
• Body width: 14 3/8"
• Body depth: 4"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: ply birch
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 54w, 42w, 32w, 17, 13 or close to it
• Truss rod: non-adjustable
• Neck relief: straight (hair of backbow at rest)
• Fret style: medium-lower

Condition notes: Obviously, it's been modified. It still has its original bridge, pickguard, and half of its original tuners. I've added side dots, the pickup, the wiring harness, modified the bridge and saddle (it's a little funky at the saddle but it works) and set it all up. In the photos the string path looks off-axis but it's on-center -- it's just at a slight 3/4 view.  The strings are currently flatwounds for a fun, more-dead, no finger-noise tone.

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: SCH