What I learned on the internet is that the model K-162 was first offered in 1952 and is the second electronic Bass Guitar ever to appear in the market. These guitars are iconic and sought after by collectors. At the same time, in 1952, Kay also offered it's first vacuum tube amplifier, the model K 600-V. These early iconic tube amplifiers are hard to find in general; but the Kay K 600-V is impossible to find. I learned that one of these exceedingly rare amps was sold during the Los Angeles World Guitar Show in January of 2010 to a collector from South America. The Kay K-162 Electronic Bass Guitar Kay introduced the Model K 162 Bass in 1952 in response to Leo Fender’s 1951 Precision Bass, it is therefore the second electric bass produced. Fender's precision Bass was a solid body which makes the K 162 the first ever electric hollow body Bass. Fender eventually bought the Epiphone line to enter the hollow body bass guitar market. The K162 features a hollow, closed body with a flat top with twin longitudinal tone bars, no sound post, and an arched laminated back. It has the distinctive hollow-body resonance but with feedback resistance. The sound has been described by experts as, "remarkably warm, round and fat." The neck has a very large profile and feels substantial!
The image on the right is a page out of the official KAY catalog of 1952; click on the image to enlarge it!
This model became known as the “Howlin’ Wolf” bass because it was used by the Wolf’s bassist, Andrew “Blueblood” McMahon. You can hear it on early recordings and see it on some of the surviving footage of Howlin’ Wolf shows. While there is regrettably not a lot of footage of Howlin’ Wolf performances, it’s well worth looking for. On later footage, McMahon uses a solid body Gibson EB. More recently, the K 162 has been used by Sheryl Crow’s bassist.
In 2010, Roger Fritz was commissioned by Tony Blair to develop the reissue line of the Kay guitars, among them the K 162.
Condition: This rare iconic guitar is in all original condition! No touch up, no replacement parts, even the hard case it came with is still present. Knobs and machine heads are original too and work perfect. There is no noticeable wear and tear on the finger board and frets, see pictures #19, 20, and others. There is some paint loss on the neck, see pictures #9, 10; and on the body, see pictures #13, 21. The neck is as straight as can be! This guitar feels solid! The pickup works perfect and so do the pot meters.
The original case is falling apart as the seems opened up. It is all there and I'm sure a skilled individual with the right industrial or heavy duty sewing machine will be able to sew it back together. There is some duct tape dried up residue on the surface of the faux crocodile skin surface. I all will come off without damaging the skin with Turpentine and some elbow grease, see picture #25 - 27. The center of picture #26 shows a spot I cleaned with Turpentine. The Kay K 600-V Guitar Amplifier This is probably one of only two surviving amps of the Kay 600-V. Introduce in 1952, the K 600-V features a Jensen 15" speaker with a permanent magnet and a push-pull output stage utilizing two 6V6 beam power amplifier vacuum tubes. In all there are seven tubes; three 6SJ7, one 6SL7, two 6V6, and one 5Y3. The two 6V6 tubes typically deliver 13 to 15 Watts RMS (Root Means Square) or in other words, continuous power output.
The image on the right is a page out of the official KAY catalog of 1952; click on the image to enlarge it!
According to the official catalog, the model 600 had only a 12" speaker, and the model 615 had a 15" speaker. This is not the case, as the amp offered here has a 15" speaker and so did the one which sold in 2010. The discrepancies are an indication that they did not make many and were still experimenting.
I will include a complete set of additional tubes, all seven, in case one of the tubes should unexpectedly die. One of the Sylvania tubes original to the tube amp, the 6SL7, has the middle part of its Bakelite socket broken off and needs to be inserted by paying attention to its position of the pins, see picture #46. The position of the center pin marking is marked on the Bakelite socket.
The test results shown by my TV-7 are the numbers on top of the boxes in the pictures with the tubes, the number for the required reading for a good tube are behind in parentheses.
Fortunately, Kay stapled a carton with the schematics to the inside of the wooden case which will be helpful should something stop working. As you can see in the pictures showing the Schematics, it was at best a low production number amp; the writing looks like it was done by a lab employee not very skilled in writing, see picture #39.
This amp has four input jacks plus an additional input jack to activate the VIBRO. INPUT SPEED STRENGTH FOOT SWITCH. This foot switch is not present any longer, sorry! The amp has five pot-meters; for volume-instrument, volume-microphone, vibro-strenght, vibro-speed, and tone. The amp and the guitar were manufactured by KAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CO. CHICAGO 12, ILL.
Condition: It seems that the tubes are still the original tubes (Sylvania). I tested all the tubes with my TV-7 tube tester and they all are perfect. The 6V6 pair is a matched pair!
I will include a complete set of additional tubes, all seven, in case one of the tubes should unexpectedly die. One of the Sylvania tubes original to the tube amp, the 6SL5, has the middle part of its Bakelite socket broken off and needs to be inserted by paying attention to its position of the pins, see picture #46. The position of the center pin marking is marked on the Bakelite socket.
There are no repairs or defects I can find. The only thing I was able to find is a missing rubber foot, see picture #35. The letter "K" from the logo was a little bit bent. I bent it back and it did not break. I found a NOS Kay logo which I will include in case you need it, see picture #40, 45.
To find two icons in the field of collectable electric guitars in all original condition at the same time is remarkable; the High Bidder will be the lucky one to get these pieces of history well packed, oh, I took the handle off the amp. Just in case to be sure that nothing happens. I pack very well and spend usually hours doing it right with the right size box and appropriate packing material.
Good Luck! I have many other interesting items listed on eBay right now. To see my other items on ebay, NO RESERVE! THIS ITEM WILL SELL AT ANY PRICE!

	Terms and Conditions. Please read before you bid! (V.11.29.04)
	After the auction: In order to simplify and expedite transactions, here is my address and phone number: Peter Frei, 101 Maybrook Road, HOLLAND, MA 01521. Phone: 413 245 4660, (9:00 hours - 23:00 hours, Eastern Standard time). Do not hesitate to call me if you have a problem. Payment: If you are the successful bidder, your PayPal payment should be received by me within two days. Other payment methods are welcomed. You need to let me know within two days how you will be paying. Payments other than PayPal payments should be received by me within three days, but other arrangements can be made. Please email me with your proposal. If you require insurance for lost or damaged items, please let me know so I can email you an updated invoice. If you do not request insurance, you waive your right to file a claim for lost or damaged items with eBay or PayPal. Items with a final bid over $500 will be mailed requiring a signature unless the buyer is taking responsibility if the item disappears after it was delivered. Massachusetts residents are required to pay 6.25% sales tax unless you provide me with a signed copy of your "Sales Tax Resale Certificate," (Form ST-4). Non-paying bidders will get a warning after two days unless other arrangements were made. After three days I will initiate the "Unpaid item Process" with eBay. If a "Non-paying Bidder" fails to make payment in full within five days, I will re-list the item. To learn more about eBay's "Unpaid item Policy", Shipping & Handling: I no longer ship outside the USA. As a buyer, everybody can file a claim with eBay and eBay will always side with the buyer, no exception! As a seller, you only get the item back if you pay for return shipping. Some buyers are aware of this and know that they will end up with the item for free. This kind of fraud is on the rise and I'm not willing to lose items because of it, sorry! The only way to get it shipped to you outside the USA is if you call me and we make arrangements before the auction ends. My phone number is listed above. I speak English and German. I only charge actual shipping. There is no charge for handling or packing material. Interested buyers can calculate actual shipping cost using the USPS (United States Postal Service) Just enter the required info and you can calculate the cost to mail the packages with these particular items; the measurements of these parcels are: Guitar, 46" by 19" by 8", and the weight is 18lbs. Amplifier: 26" by 21" by 16", and the weight is 42 lbs. 5 ounces. Feedback: I guarantee to reciprocate the courtesy of posting Feedback within ten days upon the successful bidder posting Feedback. E-mail: English and German Response guaranteed if received no later than 24 hours before end of auction. E-mail me any time, if I am on-line I certainly will be glad to answer any question you may have. In fairness to all eBay buyers, I also will not end any auction early (regardless of price offered). Therefore, I will disregard e-mail with this request or any other question already answered in the description or fine print of this listing, including inquiries about shipping cost, as all information you need to figure it out yourself is included in this listing. Return Policy: I offer an unconditional money-back refund on your purchase price if you are not completely satisfied. Items must be returned in the same package, in the same condition, and by the same shipping service as they where shipped out, within 14 days upon receipt of the items. Please notify me by e-mail before you return your item. If it is my fault, I will pay for shipping both ways. I will not issue a partial refund for any reason, so please do not ask for a partial refund. Bid with confidence. I am a full-time professional antique dealer with 35 years of experience. My descriptions and my pictures are never designed to misrepresent or over-embellish my items. My feedback comments and rating attest to the quality, level and integrity of my customer service. My reputation is very important to me. I will try everything reasonable to make you happy! Please send e-mail if not totally satisfied, before leaving negative feedback. If eBay should be down any time during the last two hours before the end of this auction, I will disregard all and any bids and declare this auction as void. In this case, I would re-list this item as soon as eBay is up and running again. Good luck, and happy bidding!! powered by yabeware NO RESERVE! THIS ITEM WILL SELL AT ANY PRICE! Terms and Conditions. Please read before you bid! (V.11.29.04) After the auction: In order to simplify and expedite transactions, here is my address and phone number: Peter Frei, 101 Maybrook Road, HOLLAND, MA 01521. Phone: 413 245 4660, (9:00 hours - 23:00 hours, Eastern Standard time). Do not hesitate to call me if you have a problem. Payment: If you are the successful bidder, your PayPal payment should be received by me within two days. Other payment methods are welcomed. You need to let me know within two days how you will be paying. Payments other than PayPal payments should be received by me within three days, but other arrangements can be made. Please email me with your proposal. If you require insurance for lost or damaged items, please let me know so I can email you an updated invoice. If you do not request insurance, you waive your right to file a claim for lost or damaged items with eBay or PayPal. Items with a final bid over $500 will be mailed requiring a signature unless the buyer is taking responsibility if the item disappears after it was delivered. Massachusetts residents are required to pay 6.25% sales tax unless you provide me with a signed copy of your "Sales Tax Resale Certificate," (Form ST-4). Non-paying bidders will get a warning after two days unless other arrangements were made. After three days I will initiate the "Unpaid item Process" with eBay. If a "Non-paying Bidder" fails to make payment in full within five days, I will re-list the item. To learn more about eBay's "Unpaid item Policy", Shipping & Handling: I no longer ship outside the USA. As a buyer, everybody can file a claim with eBay and eBay will always side with the buyer, no exception! As a seller, you only get the item back if you pay for return shipping. Some buyers are aware of this and know that they will end up with the item for free. This kind of fraud is on the rise and I'm not willing to lose items because of it, sorry! The only way to get it shipped to you outside the USA is if you call me and we make arrangements before the auction ends. My phone number is listed above. I speak English and German. I only charge actual shipping. There is no charge for handling or packing material. Interested buyers can calculate actual shipping cost using the USPS (United States Postal Service) Just enter the required info and you can calculate the cost to mail the package with this particular item; the measurements of this parcel are: " by " by ", and the weight is lbs. 0 ounces. Feedback: I guarantee to reciprocate the courtesy of posting Feedback within ten days upon the successful bidder posting Feedback. E-mail: English and German Response guaranteed if received no later than 24 hours before end of auction. E-mail me any time, if I am on-line I certainly will be glad to answer any question you may have. In fairness to all eBay buyers, I also will not end any auction early (regardless of price offered). Therefore, I will disregard e-mail with this request or any other question already answered in the description or fine print of this listing, including inquiries about shipping cost, as all information you need to figure it out yourself is included in this listing. Return Policy: I offer an unconditional money-back refund on your purchase price if you are not completely satisfied. Items must be returned in the same package, in the same condition, and by the same shipping service as they where shipped out, within 14 days upon receipt of the items. Please notify me by e-mail before you return your item. If it is my fault, I will pay for shipping both ways. I will not issue a partial refund for any reason, so please do not ask for a partial refund. Bid with confidence. I am a full-time professional antique dealer with 35 years of experience. My descriptions and my pictures are never designed to misrepresent or over-embellish my items. My feedback comments and rating attest to the quality, level and integrity of my customer service. My reputation is very important to me. I will try everything reasonable to make you happy! Please send e-mail if not totally satisfied, before leaving negative feedback. If eBay should be down any time during the last two hours before the end of this auction, I will disregard all and any bids and declare this auction as void. In this case, I would re-list this item as soon as eBay is up and running again. Good luck, and happy bidding!! powered by yabeware