1961 Kay Swingmaster Sunburst, Excellent, Original Soft, $850.00

Made by Kay in Chicago, this guitar is branded 'Old Kraftsman' and marketed through the Speigel catalogs of the era. Ink-stamped inside 'L1756, the guitar is essentially a Kay 672 Swingmaster from the early 60s. Touted in the catalog as part of the Gold K line: "Engineered for the sound you want ... the smartly designed professional pickups provide that perfect union of power, balance and sensitivity."

The Swingmaster sports a 2" hollow 'thinline' ply body, maple neck with adjustable truss rod, rosewood adjustable bridge, rosewood fingerboard with box inlay, bound neck and bound body which sports a 'zipper' b/w binding. The guitar also features Kluson Deluxe tuners with metal buttons and two 'Gold K' pickups each with its own volume and tone controls and a three position selector switch. The neck is a bolt-on with a fairly flat but comfortably wide profile.

The scale length measures 26 1/8", and the finger board measures 1 9/16" across at the nut.

The guitar remains in mostly original, sparkly condition, with a few environmental issues. The pickguard has disintegrated and the tailpiece was painted gold sometime in the past, likely to mask corrosion. There is corrosion on the metal mounting screws, pu poles and pick guard hardware. There is a hint of checking (two small, benign lines) in the right upper bout area. Otherwise, a beautiful specimen with a stunning sunburst back, front, sides and neck! The gray/white case is in very clean near-mint condition with an added eagle decal on top and the former owner's name in marker on the side.

The guitar plays easily, and all controls function. See more images on our website: www.vintagebluesguitars.com