Kay Reissue 1957 Barney Kessel 6 String Hollow-Body Electric Guitar, Signature Edition & Case-Sunburst (K8700VTS)

This is a gorgeous reissue Of a 57’ KaySounds great plays beautifully out of the box ...and the people at Kay guitars in Ca...are a great pleasure to deal with ..,they really want you to be happy ...and it shows ...,No sharp fret edges ...the guitar was packed in a case then double boxed from Kay ...then double boxed from amazon !!!! Terrific

I've been playing for just over 30 years now, have a room full of guitars/amps and have pretty much been a Gibson/Gretsch/Epiphone player my whole life, though I have a handful of Fenders and a couple of the nicer Ibanez Artstar jazz boxes (even a budget Artcore for when I travel) and an old but decently restored Harmony Rocket. Never owned a Kay though.I'm not sure how I even came across the listing for this guitar but I remember thinking all three models looked great and I LOVED the headstock. I kept thinking about them and a few days later I came back to the Amazon listing page for these models and while some of the models were now showing sold out, the one I was most interested in (K8700VTS, tobacco burst w/ split block inlays, the 'primo' one both in terms of appointments and price) was now on sale for $800-something brand new, whereas a few days earlier it was around $1300.... with just 1 left in stock I pulled the trigger and figured it was risk free given Amazon's excellent return policy.But here we are almost 2 years later and never once have I ever considered selling this. In fact, it quickly rose to be in my top 5 guitars in my collection, which is saying a lot! Seriously, right out the box this thing was absolutely magical to play - it keeps in tune like NOTHING else I own, even my guitars w/ Kluson wafflebacks. The tone of both pickups, the perfect intonation, the absolutely flawless fretboard and frets, the gorgeous looks, and just how 'at home' the guitar feels. Every guitarist knows that feeling, sometimes you pick up a guitar and it feels so foreign and you just know it won't work for you (even if you love the looks), and other times you put a guitar in your lap and you can't put it down to save your life (even if its got an ugly mug!). This guitar is the best of both worlds, a joy to look at and a joy to play.I just realized now after 2 years I never wrote a review for this so here we are. Seriously, if Kay makes more of these or if you can find one of these on the 2nd hand market, do not hesitate! The quality control on these (or at least on mine!) is a total homerun. We all know about Gibson's QC issues these days.. thankfully Kay doesn't seem to be having that problem based on my (admittedly minuscule) experience with the brand.This is one of those guitars that I rarely put in the case (comes with a beautiful hardshell case btw! One of the best looking cases I own actually!) as it's always on one of my guitar stands and ready to be picked up and played.Whatever weird series of events led my Amazon browsing to this guitar, and then to loading the page when it happened to be on a crazy discount, remains a mystery but I'm sure glad it happened.I'll never sell it. It'll be one of those guitars that gets passed down to one of my nephews for sure. It's absolutely stunning in person.. that headstock, those split block inlays and the amber/mocha glow of that sunburst and the rich warm melted neck pickup tone that has that perfect thick creamy almost silky smooth quality to it, it's one of those guitars that begs to be picked up any time I make eye contact with it.Anyway, this love letter is long enough! Do not sleep on these Kay guitars! Even for the full retail price they were going for, it is worth every penny - especially compared to what you'd pay for a Gibson or Gretsch counterpart. The quality of this Kay more than speaks for itself. One of my best gear purchases ever, hands down.

The truss rod looks like it was messed up at the factory and was not working. Very disappointed cannot recommend.

Guitar had a dark mark on pick guard. Headstock had a dark spot on it. Finish was subpar. Came packaged with guitar case banging around in a single box with No packaging material. Intonation was all over the place. Strings buzzing at 10th, 12th, and 14th fret. Have seen better quality control on much cheaper guitars. Guitar label said blonde which I ordered came with the much cheaper tobacco Burst finish. Pickups sound tinny weak and cheap. Cannot recommend.

Absolutely love the design. The neck is a bit smaller than my other guitars, but surprisingly it helps me not have to move as much for changing notes.