Help please I have a 1960 Kay w/ two DeArmond pickups that have very low volume

[lonnieboy]

I looked at the listing- Those pickups look more like Dearmonds than other Kay pickups but are not Dearmond product. Dearmonds were always nicely made. The Kay stuff is more crudely done.

Dear mr. Sweet finger I'm sure your right all I can go on is what they have it listed as. On Vintage Kay guitars third from the top is a Kay guitar they claim to have dearmonds on it. Like I say you gotta know more then me. I'm just going by what's listed. I have been on a intense search for Kleenex box pickups I need one more theirs one on the bay for 200 a week ago last Sunday I bought two for two hundred and they were complete the surrounds and everything

[Sweetfinger]

I wasn't able to find that second listing you mentioned but I see ebay listings all the time that have misidentified other brands as Dearmonds or refer to pickups as Dearmonds either out of ignorance or to act as a search term keyword. Some people will mistakenly label a Harmony as a Kay made guitar.

[lonnieboy]

I wasn't able to find that second listing you mentioned but I see ebay listings all the time that have misidentified other brands as Dearmonds or refer to pickups as Dearmonds either out of ignorance or to act as a search term keyword. Some people will mistakenly label a Harmony as a Kay made guitar.

I'm sure your right sweet finger I'm not really knowledge about them at all. Wasn't Harmony the builder of Kay as well as Silvertone as well as others? I think Kay was only a brand name not a maker. Hell I don't know but there are two instances of Kay's with what they say as dearmonds. The only thing I'm sure of is my own swingmaster. Those are definitely Kleenex box pickups. The Speed demon guitar is identical but with the speedbump pickups. My pickups are the same ones that are on the Barney Kessel signature model.

[tonequester]

Hey lonnieboy. I don't know how I got into your post here, but I know a guy from Gear Page who I gave 4 X 6550 power tubes to for his tube HI-FI. He's into Kay and Harmony guitars in a major way. Send me any info on the Kleen-ex Box pick-ups that might be critical for your application, if there is. I don't know much about Kay's, one of the few guitars I haven't even ever held in my hands. This guy and I have been e-mailing back and forth most days, and like you, is a real friendly guy. He's got big bucks to be in tube Hi-FI like he is(he's got 4 sets, Scott's and Dynacos), plus multiple Kays and Harmonys, mated to Ampeg and vintage Silvertone amps. He does all his own building, repair, mods, etc., so we hit it off. He knows a guy who collects and sells vintage guitar and amp parts on a big scale as well. The guy does business all over the states. I'll e-mail him with any info you can give me as to what exactly you need. I think that if he doesn't have it, he'll know where to get it. I'll be awaiting your private message notice, it shows up on my e-mail. tonequester.

[Sweetfinger]

I'm sure your right sweet finger I'm not really knowledge about them at all. Wasn't Harmony the builder of Kay as well as Silvertone as well as others? I think Kay was only a brand name not a maker. Hell I don't know but there are two instances of Kay's with what they say as dearmonds. The only thing I'm sure of is my own swingmaster. Those are definitely Kleenex box pickups. The Speed demon guitar is identical but with the speedbump pickups. My pickups are the same ones that are on the Barney Kessel signature model.

Here's a site with information on what is and isn't Dearmond:Non-DeArmond products

Kay and Harmony were separate manufacturers who made guitars under their own names as well as catalog or "house brands". Silvertone was Sears' house brand. If you look in a late 60s Sears catalog you can find Silvertone guitars made by Kay, Danelectro, Harmony, and made in Japan, all on the same page. You will see the same thing with Airline guitars (Montgomery Ward's house brand). Even more confusion can arise when you see Harmony guitars that used Hofner tailpieces and Gibson pickups, or Hagstrom tremolos and bridges.

[lonnieboy]

Tone quester; hey I received two personal messages from Don Dawson a vice president of d'Adarrio about that post I put on for you. His email is Don.Dawson@dadario.com He promised to do right by you.He has everybody over there convinced how great he is. I hope you get satisfaction. He offered me his phone number but I will let you get it from him. Ok buddy when you mentioned you were going to trash his company on all guitar forums that brought him to the front. Ok buddy go get him. I warned him to wear his earplugs when he read your emails.go get him buddy. Keep me informed please.

[olddawg]

Could you post a picture of what you have? I have a few pickups off of Kays and Harmonys in my junk.. In the 70s and 80s they were considered utter garbage except to maybe play open tuning slide on. A lot of people swapped out the picks to try to improve them but the necks and hardware were just as bad. The exception of course with these cheap American guitars are unmolested Danelectros. But, there are lots of parts for all of them in boxes all over the country because people took them apart to try to make them usable and gave up.

[lonnieboy]

Could you post a picture of what you have? I have a few pickups off of Kays and Harmonys in my junk.. In the 70s and 80s they were considered utter garbage except to maybe play open tuning slide on. A lot of people swapped out the picks to try to improve them but the necks and hardware were just as bad. The exception of course with these cheap American guitars are unmolested Danelectros. But, there are lots of parts for all of them in boxes all over the country because people took them apart to try to make them usable and gave up.

I'm sorry oldawg I am new to computers and have never been able to post pictures however I need one Kleenex box Kay pickup. The top of it looks exactly like a Kleenex box thus the name thanks lonnie