![]() ![]() It was bought in 1969 by Weiss Musical Instruments, who slapped the name on the headstocks of their Japanese import guitars so that they’d sound familiar and be more marketable to US retailers. ![]() Unfortunately, only a few years later, Valco dissolved under the weight of competition from the Japanese market, inventory mismanagement, mounting debt and more. In 1967, Valco bought the company and continued to produce Kay guitars, the only notable change being the name on the headstock, which now read Valco. Home to Harmony, Lyon & Healy, and Valco – itself responsible for National and Supro – Chicago was a competitive location for Kay Guitars to set up in. Around this time, Kuhrmeyer also poached three luthiers from another local rival, Lyon & Healy, to help further the design of his company’s guitars, particularly their archtops. This work, though, was sub-contracted to Valco, a competing independent company, in the 1950s. As if that wasn’t enough, Kay also made amplifiers. ![]()
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