KAY K100 VANGAURD 2P ELECTRIC GUITAR

Vintage Kay K102 P Vanguard Two-Pickup Electric Guitar

This vintage Kay K102 Vanguard electric guitar is a wonderfully distinctive survivor from the American guitar boom of the 1960s.

Manufactured in the USA by Kay, the Vanguard was designed as an affordable solid-body electric guitar but has since developed a character and following all of its own. Its unusual double-cutaway body, large pickguard and wonderfully period hardware give the guitar an appearance that could only have come from this era.

The K102 was the two-pickup version of the Kay Vanguard, adding a second magnetic pickup and pickup selector switch to the basic Vanguard design. Kay’s 1961 catalogue described the corresponding K100 as having a hardwood body with genuine maple veneer to the front and back, together with a steel-reinforced hardwood neck, rosewood fingerboard and adjustable bridge. The K102 shared the same basic construction while adding the second pickup.

The result is a particularly interesting example of early 1960s American electric guitar design, created at a time when manufacturers were exploring new body shapes, construction methods and sounds for the rapidly growing electric guitar market.

Kay guitars from this period have become increasingly appreciated by players and collectors who enjoy instruments that offer something different from the more familiar Gibson and Fender designs. The Vanguard certainly qualifies. From its offset-looking double cutaways to its wonderfully simple electronics and period hardware, virtually every part of the guitar carries the visual language of early 1960s American guitar manufacture.

Rather than being a modern recreation of a vintage design, this is the real thing: an original-period USA-made Kay electric guitar with the distinctive styling and construction associated with the company’s Vanguard series.

For players, collectors or anyone looking for an electric guitar with genuine 1960s character, the Kay Vanguard remains one of the more individual designs from America’s catalogue-guitar era.

SPECIFICATION

Brand: Kay
Model: K102 Vanguard
Type: Solid-body electric guitar
Era: 1960s
Country of manufacture: USA
Body style: Double cutaway
Body: Hardwood with maple veneer top and back
Neck: Steel-reinforced hardwood
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Pickups: Two magnetic pickups
Controls: Volume and tone
Pickup selector: Yes
Bridge: Adjustable
Strings: 6
Orientation: Right handed

Please study the photographs carefully as these form an important part of the description and show the guitar’s cosmetic condition in detail.