Newport Beach, CA (August 5, 2009) -- After garnering considerable buzz in late 2008, Kay's K161 Kay Thin Twin Reissues are now shipping. These, along with others from the Kay reissue line, caught our eye at Summer NAMM. Here's some info on the reissue from Kay:
The K161 Kay Thin Twin Electric Guitar was originally introduced in 1952 and was known as the "Jimmy Reed" or "Howlin' Wolf" model. The Thin Twin was the first guitar to be able to create that unique blues sound from the special interior Kay bracing which made this instrument a favorite among blues players and both emerging and famous rockers of the '50s and '60s. The name "Thin Twin" referred to the two blade pickups, providing a clean, sharp biting sustaining sound unlike any instrument made. The Thin Twin's hollow body chamber parallel bracing produces that gutsy, bluesy, raw sound, creating a natural distortion without feedback.
Specs:
Colors Available: Blonde, Cherry Sunburst and Black
Body: Single cutaway, tone chambered, hollow body acoustic type, with special feedback-resistant bracing. Parabolic arched maple back, maple sides, 3-ply curly maple top
Purfling: Multi-ply checkerboard celluloid binding
Neck: Set one-piece straight-grained Canadian Maple with single-ply binding, 20 medium nickel-silver frets and 6 block pearloid inlays
Fingerboard: 26” scale rosewood fingerboard with 12” radius
Tuning Machines: Vintage style, 3 on a side
Bridge & Tailpiece: Chrome individual saddle style mounted bridge with height adjustment thumbwheels and chrome trapeze tailpiece
Electronics: 2 chrome Thin Twin single coil blade pickups, individual volume controls, 2 individual tone controls, 3-way toggle selector with baseball bat style switch cap, 4 cupcake knobs, side mounted output jack
Pickguards: Black and Cherry Sunburst have single-ply cream color with crest logo and the Blonde model has tiger stripe tortoise shell
Top Nut: 1-11/16’’ Bone
Headstock: Original gold “K” chevron displaying the 3-D raised “Kel-von-a-tor” emblem
Finish Coat: High-gloss polyester protective polymer
Case: Hardshell Vintage Reissue custom fitted case included.
Retail List Price $1075 including Case (MAP $799.00)
The K161 Kay Thin Twin Electric Guitar was originally introduced in 1952 and was known as the "Jimmy Reed" or "Howlin' Wolf" model. The Thin Twin was the first guitar to be able to create that unique blues sound from the special interior Kay bracing which made this instrument a favorite among blues players and both emerging and famous rockers of the '50s and '60s. The name "Thin Twin" referred to the two blade pickups, providing a clean, sharp biting sustaining sound unlike any instrument made. The Thin Twin's hollow body chamber parallel bracing produces that gutsy, bluesy, raw sound, creating a natural distortion without feedback.
Specs:Colors Available: Blonde, Cherry Sunburst and Black
Body: Single cutaway, tone chambered, hollow body acoustic type, with special feedback-resistant bracing. Parabolic arched maple back, maple sides, 3-ply curly maple top
Purfling: Multi-ply checkerboard celluloid binding
Neck: Set one-piece straight-grained Canadian Maple with single-ply binding, 20 medium nickel-silver frets and 6 block pearloid inlays
Fingerboard: 26” scale rosewood fingerboard with 12” radius
Tuning Machines: Vintage style, 3 on a side
Bridge & Tailpiece: Chrome individual saddle style mounted bridge with height adjustment thumbwheels and chrome trapeze tailpiece
Electronics: 2 chrome Thin Twin single coil blade pickups, individual volume controls, 2 individual tone controls, 3-way toggle selector with baseball bat style switch cap, 4 cupcake knobs, side mounted output jack
Pickguards: Black and Cherry Sunburst have single-ply cream color with crest logo and the Blonde model has tiger stripe tortoise shell
Top Nut: 1-11/16’’ Bone
Headstock: Original gold “K” chevron displaying the 3-D raised “Kel-von-a-tor” emblem
Finish Coat: High-gloss polyester protective polymer
Case: Hardshell Vintage Reissue custom fitted case included.
Retail List Price $1075 including Case (MAP $799.00)