Kay Musical Instrument Company

Early history (1890–1931)

The Kay Musical Instrument Company grew from the Andrew Groehsl Company (or Groehsl Mandolin Company) in Chicago, established in 1890. In 1921, Groehsl's company was purchased by Henry "Kay" Kuhrmeyer, Frank Voisinet, and Charles Stromberg and renamed to Stromberg-Voisinet. In 1928, with the help of an investor, Kuhrmeyer bought out his partners, renamed the company, and started producing electric guitars and amplifiers.

The new company, "Kay Musical Instruments" was formally established in 1931. As its predecessor had primarily commercialized its products under its own brand as well as a large number of other brands, Kay Musical Instruments would continue that practice.

Activity on Kuhrmeyer-era (1931–1955)

The company initially manufactured only traditional folk instruments such as mandolins, tenor guitars and banjos, but eventually grew to make a wide variety of stringed instruments, including violins, cellos, double basses and a variety of different types of guitars, including electric, classical, lap steel and semi-acoustic models.

In addition to manufacturing instruments for sale under its own brands (like Kay Kraft and Kamico), Kay was also a manufacturer of guitars for retailers who would order instruments with custom branding to be resold as "house brand" instruments.

Kay also made guitar amplifiers, beginning with designs carried over from the old Stromberg company. Kay eventually subcontracted its amplifier production to Chicago music industry rival Valco in the 1950s.

Electric-shift & Decline on Katz-era (1955–1968)

After the retirement of Kuhrmeyer in 1955, the company was taken over by Sidney M. Katz. The product line of Kay was shifted toward electric musical instruments on demands, and in 1964, the company moved to a new factory in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. In 1965 Katz sold Kay to Seeburg Corporation, and he became the head of Seeburg's musical instrument division. In 1967, Kay was resold and merged with Valco, but dissolved in 1968 due to financial problems.

Revival (1969–present)

The assets of Kay/Valco were auctioned off in 1969. The upright bass and cello lines were sold to Engelhardt-Link, a new company formed by a previous Valco member, which has continued production. The Kay name (and some of its trademarks, such as Knox) were acquired by Teisco, Weiss Musical Instruments, Sylvain Weindling, and Barry Hornstein, who put the Kay name on the Teisco products beginning in 1973, and continued on through the 1970s.

In 1980, A.R. Enterprises (Tony Blair) purchased the Kay trademark. In 2008–2009, The "Kay Guitar Company" of California reissued 12 models of vintage Kay guitars and basses manufactured by Fritz Brothers Guitars. As of 2013, production and sales of these guitars have continued.