KAY 1956 K172-S "PRO" ELECTRIC GUITAR

by CURT DARNELL
(BIEBER,CA 96009)

THE INFO ABOVE I HAVE DERIVED FROM RESEARCH I HAVE DONE, MATCHING THE ACTUAL GUITAR TO PHOTOS AND CATALOG INFORMATION I HAVE FOUND. THERE ARE NO LOGOS ON THE GUITAR HEADSTOCK OR PICK-GUARD. THE SERIAL NUMBER STAMPED INSIDE IS: L 7728 1972 AND A SEPARATE SMALLER STAMP: P4. I KNEW THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THIS GUITAR AND HAD SEEN IT IN THE MID- 1960s. IN THE CATALOG FROM 1956 THE GUITAR'S ORIGINAL PRICE WAS $200.00 AND THE DELUXE CASE PRICE WAS $52.50. THE ONLY FEATURE ON THIS GUITAR THAT I CAN'T FIND ON ANY ILLUSTRATION IS THE FRETBOARD INLAY WHICH SEEMS UNIQUE. A PICTURE WOULD BE BETTER, BUT FOR NOW I'LL TRY TO DESCRIBE IT. IN THE CENTER ARE ROUND TOP DIAMOND SHAPES IN ABALONE WITH NARROW RECTANGLES OF MOTHER OF PEARL, FRAMING EITHER SIDE OF THE ABALONE INLAYS. I AM SURE THIS GUITAR HAS NEVER BEEN MODIFIED OR ALTERED IN ANY WAY. I CURRENTLY HAVE THE HARDWARE REMOVED AND AM CLEANING THE FINISH. IT ALSO HAS THE KANTI-LEIVER ADJUSTMENT FOR THE NECK-ANGLE. I AM INTERESTED IN KNOWING AN APPROXIMATE VALUE AND THE RARITY OF THIS INSTRUMENT. THANK-YOU FOR ANY INFO!

ANSWER

Hi, Curt--

The Blue Book says only this:

PRO (MODEL K172-S)
- 24.75 in. scale, 3-per-side tuners, one pickup, mfg. 1954-57.

"The secondary market is still undefined. This model was also available with a Blonde finish (Model K172-B) and Grey Transparent finish called "Harewood" (Model K172-H)."

This guitar was the precursor to the BARNEY KESSEL PRO (MODEL 1700 S, which began manufacture in 1957.

The information that I could find about this guitar:

**Single Cutaway archtop with 12 1/2" lower bout measurement

**Kay triple humped headstock with Kay shield logo

**Curly Maple body, bound rosewood fingerboard w/pearl block inlays

**Adjustable Bridge, two chrome-covered Hi-Fi pickups

I was able to find no information about pricing. I can, however give you a general idea of the value by providing the Blue Book pricing of the
BARNEY KESSEL PRO (MODEL 1700 S:

Mint $1,700
Exc.+ 1,400
Exc.$1,100
Avg.+ $850
Avg.$650
General $450

Maybe some of our readers will have more information.

Lynne

Give us five minutes of your time and we'll have you playing killer guitar! Guitar Superstars