Kay Speed Demon K-563, cherry finish, made in USA 1966. This guitar has so much swagger and charm, it's awesome. Kay was one of the biggest instrument  manufacturers of the mid twentieth century, producing guitars for a whole stack of different brands that were sold through various music and department stores. The Speed Demon models are a cult favourite, especially examples with three pickups made before 1968. This one has a replaced pickguard and tuners, an upgraded bridge and some spicy red dice knobs, but the pickups, electronics  and tailpiece are original. We had the frets cleaned up, the nut slots adjusted and the neck pocket tidied up for optimal string path on arrival, so it's playing cleanly all the way up the neck, and all the electronics work properly too. The neck is a moderate V style shape, which sits in the hand pretty comfortably. It's not as chunky as some others I've encountered from the era and still straight and stable after all these decades. The pickups are awesome: thick and rich with heaps of natural low end and a singing, complex midrange. The rotary switch and VVV/TTT allows for plenty of options, from snarky jank to gooey warble. The fully hollow, slimline body is lightweight and offers plenty of natural resonance, you can really feel the notes and chords as you play. There's some gorgeous subtle flame in the maple on the back, and the faded cherry finish looks gorgeous with all the natural checking lines and subtle play marks. These come up fairly often in North America, but scoring one here in Australia is a much trickier feat, especially in such good playing order. Winner winner! 

Model: Kay Speed Demon K-563
Made: USA, 1966 approx
Finish: cherry
Body: fully hollow laminate maple, thinline depth
Neck: maple, rosewood board, moderate V profile, 12" radius, 25.5" scale
Weight: 3.120kg
Mods: pickguard replaced, knobs replaced, bridge replaced, neck pocket maintained, tuners replaced, frets replaced
Pickups: original single coil x3
Case: New Crossfire semi-hollow hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some rub wear around the edges, dings on the corners and widespread checking. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, with minor scuffs and dimples on the back, some rub wear on the edges and widespread checking as well as a screw hole from a previous strap button on the top side near the 15th fret. The back has widespread scuffs and surface scratches as well as checking all over, no major marks though. The sides have minor dimples and scuffs and checking the whole way around the body. The binding is in pretty good shape. The front has dimples around the whole body, widespread checking and play wear on the guard and horns. Note that the guard is covering a couple of additional minor holes. Overall: good condition (7/10).

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets appear to have been replaced at some point and are in good shape, 8/10 for life left. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.