vintage KAY Ukulele...

ukeninam

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Apparently my best friend bought me a vintage Kay Ukulele???She knew I had started to play and found one at a boutique she was shopping at in Pennsylvania of all places?? hahha anyways she got it just for me and she described it as a;and I quote, "a white 'plasticky' fingerboard (she means fretboard), wood(i'm guessing the rest is wood??), and a 'KAY' logo at the top" I searched it up on google. I believe this fit the bill
http://www.reallymusic.net/harmony_item/u0010.html

I'm not to sure about the brand but none the less it looks pretty cool. Does anybody have this uke? Any youtube vids (i tried searching Kay Ukulele and nothing) and I tried the "search punction" here and nothing came up.

I'm super excited everybody is giving me ukes as gifts teehee!! YAY!!!:p:D
 
If it's still in good shape -- i.e. the neck hasn't started pulling away from the body or something -- you may well be very pleasantly surprised. I had one of the Harmony plastic fretboard ukes (I'm pretty sure they're the same design) and it was not half shabby.

Intonation was good, tone was a little on the plinky side (I believe they were made of birch) but not unlistenable. The volume was OK too, just not good enough for the busking I wanted to do with it. Outdoors can be a noisy venue!

Here's what the Tiki King Uke Database has to say about Kay.

Plus, I think the Kay variation looks way cooler than the Harmony ones.
 
i have a kay, it looks like the one you posted; which isnt vintage, its really a low end uke ($60). your lucky if its a vintage.

DSC_0243.jpg
 
So you can still buy these at stores?? hahhaha none the less looks cool. I'm hoping it sounds alright!
 
yea, again it might really be a vintage kay. It sounds decent, strap some decent strings on and it will be a good travel uke.
 
What a nice gift. For anyone to receive a uke as a gift is a lucky person. Your friend was really trying to get you something you would enjoy. Have fun with it.
 
What a nice gift. For anyone to receive a uke as a gift is a lucky person. Your friend was really trying to get you something you would enjoy. Have fun with it.


Oh indeed, I heart my friends!!!! I'll likely share it with you all!!! Funny thing is i kind of have UAS...except the ukes I have were all given to me!!
 
I wish people would throw ukes my way that easily! XD Vintage Kays/Harmonys/Silvertones are all fun, underrated instruments. Don't let the relatively low prices and big expanses of shiny hard plastic fool you; they're perfectly playable and have a sound all their own! :D
 
i'm totally guessing that the one in the picture is what I'm going to get. Maybe not like it but from my friend's text it seems to be dead on!!! I'm just really excited to try it out. I recently ordered some Worth strings and since it makes two sets i'll most likely slap them on to this one!! I really like the look of the white fretboard, looks toy-sy but I really can't complain with something that cost ....Free?? haha
 
Thanks, I got the same uke--stripped to the wood-- from an antique store for a few bucks. Call me crazy, but I am going to add some decent tuners and see what I end up with. It is kind of pretty in its own 1960's Christmas morning toy kind of way. And from tapping it, I think it will sound nice. Steve
 
i'm totally guessing that the one in the picture is what I'm going to get.

It might well not be. Kay used a lot of pearloid on their ukes in the 30s and 40s and their designs were quite different, so it could be older than the ones shown above, which date from the 50s -60s. Show us what you have when you get it~!
 
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