Mmmmm Kay?

What’s the next old guitar everyone forgot about that’s about to make a comeback? Well if I knew I’d be rich but I can tell you about one that is already on it’s way, rightfully so, and thats the wonderful vintage Kay guitars!

The designs were just fantastic, I mean seriously do you see this ☝️ They don’t just look super cool, they sound super cool too. Do you have an old Kay guitar? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Kay was founded in 1931 by Henry “Kay” Kuhrmeyer. They supplied guitars to Montgomery Wards and others. During the 1950s their electric guitars were competitors for the Silvertone and Danelectro guitars. The company dissolved in 1968. Kay guitars are not currently in production. However, Kay also produced cellos and basses. Engelhardt-Link purchased the acoustic line of instruments from Kay. These are still being produced in Elk Grove Village, IL. The company lineage started with the Groeshel Mandolin Company.

The Groeshel Mandolin Company was established in Chicago in 1890. In 1921, the company was renamed to Stromberg-Voisinet. Stromberg-Voisinet was the Chicago company that became Kay around 1931. Stromberg-Voisinet was one of numerous companies that built musical instruments in Chicago in the early part of the 20th century. Like Regal, Harmony and most of their other competitors, Stromberg-Voisinet made relatively inexpensive instruments that were designed to be sold through catalogs. The 1920s Stromberg-Voisinet instruments were very well made, given their inexpensive prices, and they generally had a unique designs to attract buyers.

Have a Kay guitar you want to sell? Contact us here.

Read more on the history of Kay guitars at Chasing Guitars