Kay S-9 Swingmaster Bass - email to hpw3@mindspring.com
[SOLD]
This is a Kay S-9 Swingmaster upright bass with blonde finish that was
built in 1948. It was originally owned/played by the
Georgia Crackers, a Sons of the Pioneer style group that appeared
in several Durango Kid movies in the 40's/50's. I bought this
bass from a woman whose father
bought it from the Georgia Crackers around 1955.
When I bought this bass it was in need of several repairs. The repairs
were made a few months ago by Bob Tedrow, a local luthier who
builds/rebuilds/repairs string instruments. Bob added an adjustable
bridge, replaned the fingerboard, reglued the
top and back, added a new sound post, and reglued the heel.
Bob is listed
at "http://www.gollihur.com/kkbass/luthiers.html"
in Bob Gollihur's Bass Luthier Directory. His shop is named Homewood
Music, which is only a few blocks from my house. You might be
interested in seeing his website
at "http://hmi.homewood.net/".
He has an interesting sequence of pictures showing how to turn a
cheap violin into a decent instrument
at "http://hmi.homewood.net/vso".
The bass bar [which is normally glued to the inside of the top/front of
the bass] is unglued at one end inside the bass. Also, there was no
sound post when I got the bass. Along with adding a sound post, Bob
recommended the adjustable bridge to help adjust for the lack of arch
in the body that resulted from the unattached bass bar and the missing
sound post. The new sound post has done a nice job of bringing the
front of the bass back out. Bob went through several soundposts [each
one slightly longer than the next] to
bring the top back out to where it is now. He said that the top/front of
the bass
responded well to each successive sound post. He suggested replacing
the sound post again in the future after the top has had time to acclimate
to its current position. [He didn't want to go *too* far after who knows
how many years!] Bob also suggested leaving the bass bar as it is to avoid an
expensive trip inside the bass body. It's not causing any problems staying
the way it is.
CLICK on the links below to view pictures of the Kay
Swingmaster S-9. [Use your browser's BACK button to return here.]
Click
here to see full view of the bass. [same picture shown below]
Click
here to see another full view.
Click
here to see the back of the bass.
Click
here to see another view of the back. Note how well the purfling
has done its job, keeping the wear from extending into the body of the
bass. You can see evidence of this in several of these pictures. The
top and back were recently reglued to help keep any separation from
occurring.
Click
here to see the body.
Click
here to see another view of the body.
Click
here to see the adjustable bridge. The bridge was recently installed.
Click
here to see another view of the bridge.
Click
here to see the front/top of the bass. You can see the slight
lack of arch in the body that resulted from the unattached bass bar
and the missing sound post. The sound post that was recently installed
has done a pretty nice job of bringing the front of the bass back out.
Click
here to see the headstock.
Click
here to see another view of the headstock. Notice the small
rust (?) spots on the plate.
Click
here to see the heel [neck joint]. The heel was recently
re-glued to be sure there is no separation.
Click
here to see the back of the headstock and neck. Notice the "Kay"
imprinted on the back of the head. Also notice the dark "wear" on the
back of the neck, indicating how much this bass has been played over
the years.
Click
here to see a closer view of the back of the headstock.
Click
here to see a closer view of the neck. [You can also get a better
look at the years of playtime the bass has experienced.]
Click
here to see the lower body and the "Kay" tailpiece.
Click
here to see another view of the lower body and tailpiece.
Click
here to see the label [model and serial number] inside the body. I
used a flashlight
to provide light for the picture. That's the bright spot you see.
Even though it adds *nothing* to the actual value to the bass, here's
some information
about the original owner of this bass.
The Georgia Crackers -- Hank, Slim, and Bob Newman -- were from
middle Georgia. They eventually ended up in Columbus OH, which became
their home base in 1931. Bob Newman, the youngest of the 3 brothers,
was the bass player.
Click
here to see the Georgia Crackers at the Ohio State Fair in the late
1940's.
Click
here to see an autographed publicity shot of the Georgia Crackers.
Click
here to see another picture of the Georgia Crackers.
DELIVERY OPTION #1: You can pick up the bass in Birmingham,
Alabama.
DELIVERY OPTION #2:
I might be able to deliver the bass to you
within a reasonable distance [3-4 hours] of Birmingham. In that case,
the shipping cost will probably add around $100, depending on
distance. I could
probably deliver to most of Alabama and parts of Tennessee, West
Georgia, and East Mississippi [e.g., Atlanta, Jackson, Mobile,
Nashville, Knoxville, etc.]. I might also be able to
deliver to Northwest Florida or Orlando in early August.
DELIVERY OPTION #3: You can pay for shipping the bass via truck.
Be aware that
this will be costly. My understanding is that it may cost up to $200.
I'll have to have a box
built for shipping. I can get a decent rate on the actual shipping
since I know someone who works with
the trucking companies. But it'll still probably cost in the neighborhood
of $150-$200.
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