Kay ET200

JasonRice666

Anybody have any experience with an old Kay ET200. There is a sale in my area where I can pick one up for around £90 in really good condition. Teisco made one under the same model name however I’m asking for opinions and personal experience from people who have owned them

Thanks in advance,
Jason

HarrySeven

Hello @JasonRice666 and welcome to thefretboard.

Re. ET200 - I've owned a number of them. Terrible, terrible things.

No amount of "mojo" hipster #tulip #garage #garagepunk #punk #garagerock #woolworths hashtag bollocks is ever going to gloss over the fact that they were cheap shite when new - and 50 years on, nothing's changed.

As long as you manage your expectations appropriately, buy and enjoy!

Funkfingers

JasonRice666 said:

... in my area ...

HarrySeven said:

I've owned a number of them. 

The East Midlands sale item could well be one of Lord Seven's cast-offs. The question that you have to ask yourself is this. Why did HarrySeven cast off such a guitar-like object? 

HarrySeven said:

welcome to thefretboard.

JasonRice666 said:

people who have owned them

Man. That's some serious attitude for a forum newb. It is one step short of typing in all upper case. Nevertheless, I rise above these things. 

I have not owned a Kay/Teisco in this style but I have performed running repairs on one. This was enough to confirm my suspicion that to polish it would be pointless. Better, perhaps, to sprinkle it in glitter.

Ravenous

JasonRice666 said:

people who have owned them

Man. That's some serious attitude for a forum newb. It is one step short of typing in all upper case. Nevertheless, I rise above these things. 

Innocent question to all: is there a polite/acceptable way for someone to ask for hard information from actual owners?  Is asking without bold text enough or are there any magic words?

Funkfingers

Good question. Deserves a Wiz.

There are several people on this forum with decades of experience of building and/or repairing musical equipment. It is entirely possible that I respect their opinions more highly than those of the persons who own the gear.

Ravenous

Heh sorry I didn't mean to derail the thread

Alnico

Maybe his time is very tight. I know people that are SO busy they can't even reply to texts.
(!).

I owned one of these in the 90's. 
£35 then.
Utter dog shit in every respect but collectable even then. 

Good luck!

rossi

Baffled by the love for terrible Japanese guitars  from way back when .I do have a pre lawsuit Avon Les Paul 'type' custom but I only paid a fiver or it  up tip and they threw in a Morley overdrive and wah pedal which I stuck a new bulb in and sold straight away.it is perfectly playable and sounds OK bearing in mind it has single coils in a hmmmmmmmmbucker case.They must come as a terrible shock if you thought you buying or stealing a Les Paul as must those poor souls who end up with those top Twenty's and multi switch planks.

shrinkwrap

I have a Kay EB bass from 1978.
I will feel guilty if I can offload it for £50 but needs must - I won't sully the FB with an ad for it - someone might send the boys round.
Earlier Kay models were ok.

JasonRice666

Sorry for being so blunt, had some stupid replies on other forums. I went to go try it out as it was local, and when I turned up I saw instantly that the neck was broken. When I asked him why it was like that (it had been glued back together and sanded but the fracture was still showing) he said:

”that’s just how they used make them”

safe to say say I left the place within 5 minutes 

JasonRice666

Thank you for all the replies

Bridgehouse

Alnico said:

Maybe his time is very tight. I know people that are SO busy they can't even reply to texts.
(!).

Cheeky.

ICBM

They are shit.

But in a characterful, cool way - and if that's what you want then don't be put off by them not being a '59 Les Paul. The quality is a bit ropey but they can usually be made quite playable if you're prepared to put in some work. The sound is usable in a trashy/punky Jack White or bluesy Ry Cooder sort of way - they tend to be a bit noisy but that's part of the character too.

I've restored quite a lot of this sort of thing for the shop I work for, and sold every one of them for at least £150 - but that reflects the work invested as much as any inherent value.

I probably wouldn't pay as much as £90 for one in unknown playable condition, but it isn't *wildly* silly.

57Deluxe

I can personally say I have never owned one