# General Mandolin Topics > Looking for Information About Mandolins >  Key Brand Info?

## landsharkey

Hello,

My first post here and was hoping to find some more info on this Key brand mandolin. Here are some features which can hopefully help -
1. Laminated spruce top
2. Rosewood back and sides (inside and out but may be laminated)
3. Mahogany neck with zero fret ebony board
4. Tuner plates have a pressed leaf design on back
5. Plastic(?) tuner bushings look similar to a Teisco guitar










Any info on the origin, etc. would be appreciated, thanks!

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## landsharkey

Any ideas on the history of this brand?

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## allenhopkins

A puzzle.  Google comes up empty.  I'd originally thought "Asian copy of a Kay mandolin," but the zero fret threw me; why imitate a Kay (very similar shape etc.) and then put in a zero-fret feature Kay didn't have?

Here's an unsupported hypothesis: the Italian manufacturer EKO made guitars for Kay, apparently.  Could it be an Italian-made instrument (the zero fret's more common on European mandolins etc.), made like a Kay mandolin?

Might help a bit if we knew where you obtained it...

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## Jim Garber

It looks like one of those noname mandolins that were made in Korea and prevalent around the 1980s for cheap. I hab d a friend who played one and he got some good noise out of it. Other than that not worth much AFAIK. I think you may find these with lots of different labels or no label at all. Anyway, that is my guess.

I could not find the exact tyope I was thinking of but this one resembles in body shape and headstock as well (with the bridge mislocated). I think OP's is a upscale of this one.

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## landsharkey

Thanks for the info - I hadn't though of looking at European manufacturers. I bought this from a friend who had picked it up somewhere in Missouri a few months ago while looking for antiques. That's all I know at this point. The workmanship seems good with the exception of the neck joint which will likely need a reset. There is no checking but the finish has yellowed (compared to under the bridge and pickguard). So I was guessing it's a more modern finish (60's or later?) or was kept in a pretty stable environment. I haven't disassembled it to look for markings on the tuners, tailpiece, etc.

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## MikeEdgerton

Kay imported that same mandolin with the 0 fret. It isn't a copy of the American made Kay, it's one of dozens of brand names put on that same mandolin when it was brought into the country. There were also some with no brand name. Here's another. I can guarantee the back and sides are laminated.

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DavidKOS, 

Jess L., 

red7flag

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## MikeEdgerton

A Harmony electric branded model. This one has a different headstock shape, like the Harmony batwing.

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## landsharkey

Thank you for the info! I haven't popped the nut off yet but I'm hoping the fretboard is not laminated as well. I may have to pull the fretboard off and plane the neck to make it playable.

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## landsharkey

The fretboard is not ebony or some other dark wood like I thought. It is solid but actually a very light colored wood (maybe maple?)stained black. Hopefully, I can remove the fretboard intact to get better access to steam the neck joint.

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## MandoSquirrel

Stained fretboards like this were very common in the old days on Kay, Harmony, & other "budget" brands.

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## Jim Garber

Yet another example... under the Norma brand.

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## MikeEdgerton

Yup, there are a bunch of these brands.

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## MikeEdgerton

One branded Hondo.

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## landsharkey

There's some info related to the Norma brand in this thread. So, is it likely that many of these were made in Japan (or Korea) in the late 60's and early 70's?

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## MikeEdgerton

They may have been made in both countries as production shifted. They are 70's and on.

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## MikeEdgerton

We have someone with another no name brand one of these *here*. It's raining mandolins out there.  :Cool:

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## landsharkey

Let it rain & maybe some more experienced folks will run across a decent one. I'll probably more hours in repair on this one than dollars invested but it will be a good learner even if it never is a good player.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* another with the Kingston brand name on it.

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## landsharkey

That's interesting. I have Kingston bass and classical guitar as well as as Teisco electric. I think both Kingston and Teisco brands were made in the same Japanese factory (Kawai?)and both brands stopped production in 1969. And as I mentioned originally the plastic tuner bushings on this mandolin are similar to those on the Teisco.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* another branded Global.

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## MikeEdgerton

> That's interesting. I have Kingston bass and classical guitar as well as as Teisco electric. I think both Kingston and Teisco brands were made in the same Japanese factory (Kawai?)and both brands stopped production in 1969. And as I mentioned originally the plastic tuner bushings on this mandolin are similar to those on the Teisco.


I think these are Korean and later than 1969.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* another branded Festival.

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## MikeEdgerton

Yet another example of this genre, *this* one branded Granada.

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## MikeEdgerton

An unlabeled electric

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## barney 59

So they named it "Key" so you might confuse it with "Kay"? ? ?  I'd much rather have a "Givson" myself.

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## landsharkey

> An unlabeled electric


Those electrics are interesting - the sound would be more dependent on the pickup rather than the materials/construction right?

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## MikeEdgerton

I guess everything can affect the sound of an electric but I'll go out on a limb and say the elctronics will influence the sound more than anything else.

This thread has become our repository for these mandolins. We seem to get several a month and I try and send them here and link back as well.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is one branded Bruno Maxitone

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is another branded Citation.

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## MikeEdgerton

Yet another one can be found *here* with the B and backwards B label.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* one labeled Hohner.

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## MikeEdgerton

Someone is about to pay more money than they should for one of these on *eBay*. They say it's a Gibson. It isn't.

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## Jim Garber

At least the seller is covering his/her b*tt / caveat emptor...etc.:




> On Aug-20-12 at 11:31:37 PDT, seller added the following information:
> I HAVE GOTTEN A FEW EMAILS STATING THAT THIS IS NOT A GIBSON.  I WAS TOLD IT WAS HOWEVER, I AM THINKING FROM THE EMAILS THAT SEEM TO BE PRETTY KNOWLEDGEABLE THAT THIS IS NOT A GIBSON.  HOWEVER, I AM UNSURE WHO THE MAKE IS.  SO PLAN AND BID ACCORDINGLY

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## MikeEdgerton

And yet another with no brand name on it can be found *here*.

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## oneeyeross

Heck, here's another one my brother gifted to my son

My brother thinks it's an older one, but I'm not sure...just another old no-name mando as far as I can see

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## Jim Garber

> Heck, here's another one my brother gifted to my son.
> 
> My brother thinks it's an older one, but I'm not sure...just another old no-name mando as far as I can see


That one looks much different than the others posted. A budget mandolin but much older and prob made in US.

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## MikeEdgerton

> Heck, here's another one my brother gifted to my son.
> My brother thinks it's an older one, but I'm not sure...just another old no-name mando as far as I can see


As Jim said, yours is an American made mandolin. The tailpiece alone is worth more than these mandolins. I can't clearly see the headstock shape so I can't say what I think it is. This is head and shoulders above anything on this message thread.

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## oneeyeross

> As Jim said, yours is an American made mandolin. The tailpiece alone is worth more than these mandolins. I can't clearly see the headstock shape so I can't say what I think it is. This is head and shoulders above anything on this message thread.


wow.  OK, I'll tell my son to take good care of this one then....

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is an electric model labeled Harmony.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* another one labeled Harmony.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* another with no brand name.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* one labeled Rhapsody

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## MikeEdgerton

An interesting eBay auction can be found *here*.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* one with the elusive double B brand on it.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is another electric with the Harmony label. This one might have been imported by Harmony in their final throws before they closed the company.

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## MikeEdgerton

*And yet another branded Kay.*

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## MikeEdgerton

Perhaps the most desirable of all of the mandolins built in this genre, the elusive imported Strad-O-Lin that is the same as all the rest of them. Now on eBay at an inflated price.

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## MikeEdgerton

Here's one in the classifieds today with the Kent Brand Name at four times the going eBay price. Although the ad says it's from the 60's in the heading it's circa late 70's-80's.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is one labeled Renata.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is an unlabeled one.

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## MikeEdgerton

And yet another unlabeled one can be found *here*.

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## MikeEdgerton

For those that might be jonesing for one of these puppies there are several on eBay including this Harmony branded at $69.00 with no bids that will end in a few hours and this Lotus branded at $46.00 with no bids that will end in less than 45 minutes. Keep in mind they are both overpriced.

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## MikeEdgerton

Here's one with the brand name *Morris* on it.

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## MikeEdgerton

And yet another branded Kingston:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...5-Old-mandolin

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## MikeEdgerton

One branded Terada.

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/90U-4719.htm

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is one branded Marlin.

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## MikeEdgerton

Here's one being sold on eBay as a vintage Gibson mandolin except it's one of these that appears to be branded with the dreaded double B brand name.

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## MikeEdgerton

One branded *Dixon*.

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## MikeEdgerton

Anyone that really wants to own on of these puppies is invited to peruse eBay this day. Right now there are several on the first pages of the Ending Soon listings:

Branded Lotus:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-LOTU...item2357ac6d5e

Branded Lotus as well:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOTUS-LM-6-E...item4af0fa253e

Branded Kingston:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kingston-Man...item1a065f370c

Branded Ensenada:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1950...item43e2f161b4

No brand, listed as 1960's mandolin with case. Probably more 70-80's:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-Mandol...item5424a8032b

Cameo Mandolin Fixer Upper:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cameo-Mandol...item1c59db5823

NFI interest on any of these and PLEASE read this entire thread before you think about buying one of these. They are not a real good deal.

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## DavidKOS

Sorry to bump an old thread - but which Japanese maker _actually built_ these instruments? Every jobber seems to have had  a rebranded version in the late 60-s to 70's.

They were pressed laminate archtop f hole instruments, deep body, and seem to have either a straight end to the fingerboard or a curved end near the body, thin pickguard screwed to the body, etc.

Reason - got one with a "Kay" tailpiece, no other marks, from a buddy for 50 bucks, restored it, strung it up, and it sounds pretty decent for a non-solid wood "_not real good_" instrument. I did get to examine it first, unlike ebay.

So I was wondering if more info turned up - and yes I've searched as many threads as I can, but so far the maker seems to be unmentioned. Perhaps Teisco? Tombo? Fujigen?

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## Jim Garber

Read the earlier posts. Could as likely be Korean made.

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DavidKOS

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## MikeEdgerton

As Jim mentioned these were made in Japan and Korea. I haven't a clue as to who the actual maker was. I think they are more 70's to 80's by the way.

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DavidKOS

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## DavidKOS

Thanks guys, maybe one day I'll solve the mystery of the actual maker. I'm betting on a Japanese maker rather than Korean; I've worked in the music retail and wholesale since the early 1970's and this design seems to have been around since the first US jobbers began importing Japanese instruments as replacements for Chicago made instruments.

The Korean instruments came a bit later - and they seemed to zone in on making more accurate copies of the A and F mandolins from early on; Japanese makers did much the same.

But you guys may be right about some being made in Korea, production may have shifted as the Japanese makers set up new factories in Korea.

I realize these are cheap and not particularly valuable mandolins, but the history is interesting to me.

I looked up some Kay catalogs, and these sort of instruments had a pretty long run - they were offered as early as 1973 and as late as 1987. The instruments could have been imported as early as 1970 since the Kay name was sold that year and the factory closed.

Something like it still seemed available in 2008!

http://www.kayguitar.com/products/mand10b.htm

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## MikeEdgerton

In the late 60's we started seeing Japanese instruments that were actually very good. I never saw any of these until the 70's and in the early to mid 70's the country of origin du jour moved from Japan to Korea. In the early 70's the instruments being imported looked a lot more like the instruments being built in the US. There were even Batwings and the Kay two point model. In the later 70's these seemed to be the rage so that seems to fit with your time line.

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## DavidKOS

> In the late 60's we started seeing Japanese instruments that were actually very good. I never saw any of these until the 70's and in the early to mid 70's the country of origin du jour moved from Japan to Korea. In the early 70's the instruments being imported looked a lot more like the instruments being built in the US. There were even Batwings and the Kay two pint model. In the later 70's these seemed to be the rage so that seems to fit with your time line.


Probably so, I saw some pics of the copy of the Harmony Batwing too.

Thanks for the info.

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## allenhopkins

> ...There were even Batwings and the Kay two *pint* model....


That was the one that sounded acceptable only after your second pint, right?  Right after that, you started seeing batwings...

Don't confuse it with the later Breedlove Quarts model.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Point* taken. I actually meant to go back and fix that.

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allenhopkins

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## Franc Homier Lieu

This looks like it belongs in this thread:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/97152#97152



"FOR SALE A NEW ANTIQUE MARQUIS MANDOLIN BY HARMONY OF CHICAGO" 
THE MARQUIS MODEL WAS TOP OF THE LINE MANDOLIN FOR HARMONY
THERE WERE VERY FEW OF THE MARQUIS MODEL MANUFACTURED 
THIS IS AN ESTATE FIND *VINTAGE* MANDOLIN STILL IN THE ORIGINAL BOX
THIS IS AN UNUSED ANTIQUE MANDOLIN STILL IN NEW CONDITION
THERE ARE NO SCRATCHES, DINGS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND ON THE MANDOLIN
THERE IS LITTLE INDICATION THE MANDOLIN HAS EVER BEEN PLAYED
YOU WILL LOVE THIS MANDOLIN, IT WILL BE A REAL JOY TO OWN AND PLAY
THIS IS A VERY RARE FIND AND IS ONE OF A KIND MANDOLIN
PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OTHER MANDOLINS
PRICE: $349.
THANKS FOR LOOKING

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## MikeEdgerton

It does, that's not a Chicago built Harmony it's one of these. I hope nobody makes a silly mistake and pays that much. These regularly fail to sell at $50.00 on eBay. The case is probably worth more than the mandolin.

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## Franc Homier Lieu

I sent a little note to the seller with a link to this discussion. I suppose it is possible that he actually believes his own ad copy, so maybe he would like to learn more about what he actually has.

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## laurap1

My Grandma was a spoilt woman and if she said " I like that it "got bought for her  :Disbelief: 
Anyhow I was given this instrument by her a long time ago and it has just sat gathering dust. 
She never played it no one knew how , I don't know how and am not instrumentally minded(to play ) so I would like to find out a little about it if anyone could help please.
All i Know is has a gold tag on the bag that says Japan in and black writing. it says Kasuga at the top and The Kasuga at the bottom. it also has an inverted 3 piece diamond in between the tuning buttons at the top Can anyone help me find out what i have please?

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## laurap1

> My Grandma was a spoilt woman and if she said " I like that it "got bought for her 
> Anyhow I was given this instrument by her a long time ago and it has just sat gathering dust. 
> She never played it no one knew how , I don't know how and am not instrumentally minded(to play ) so I would like to find out a little about it if anyone could help please.
> All i Know is has a gold tag on the bag that says Japan in and black writing. it says Kasuga at the top and The Kasuga at the bottom. it also has an inverted 3 piece diamond in between the tuning buttons at the top Can anyone help me find out what i have please?


extra pics
/Users/Laura/Desktop/IMG_2449.jpg /Users/Laura/Desktop/IMG_2448.jpg

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## EdHanrahan

> ... it got bought for her ... *The Kasuga* at the bottom.


Approximate year, or even decade?  Any labels or ink-stamps on the inside?  Probably need a flashlight to see them.

No expert here, but the general details (body shape, fretboard end, pickguard, plastic-knobbed tuners) look a lot like my low-end, beat-around Rover, a serviceable but not-at-all valuable instrument.

Kasuga is a name unknown to me but, as others often point out, the Pac-rim factories will sell "customized" batches of their stock instruments to music stores, discount chains, maybe even schools, if enough are ordered.

Edit: Whoops! The newly added close-up of the tuners look less like my Rover than the original shot does.

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## laurap1

> Approximate year, or even decade?  Any labels or ink-stamps on the inside?  Probably need a flashlight to see them.
> 
> No expert here, but the general details (body shape, fretboard end, pickguard, plastic-knobbed tuners) look a lot like my low-end, beat-around Rover, a serviceable but not-at-all valuable instrument.
> 
> Kasuga is a name unknown to me but, as others often point out, the Pac-rim factories will sell "customized" batches of their stock instruments to music stores, discount chains, maybe even schools, if enough are ordered.
> 
> Edit: Whoops! The newly added close-up of the tuners look less like my Rover than the original shot does.


  
thanks Ed i didn't even think to look inside  :Laughing:  it says Custom model M18 1978

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## laurap1

> thanks Ed i didn't even think to look inside  it says Custom model M18 1978

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## bennyb

Here's a thread on Kasuga brand. And here's another.

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MikeEdgerton

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## MikeEdgerton

This really isn't one of these models. Yours is a little nicer.

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## almeriastrings

Kasuga Gakki built instruments for many "brands"  (including the lower end Kentucky mandolins for a time, apparently) - they also labeled some with their own name. Most were "copies" of major brands, such as Gibson, Martin, etc and included acoustic and electric guitars, basses, mandolins and banjos.  These were imported in quite some numbers into the UK back in the 70's - seem to recall JHS (John Hornby Skews) was the main importer/distributor at that time. I believe there was only a short period when they were imported into the US bearing the 'Kasuga' name.. some models also appeared bearing the "K-Country" logo.

Kasuga Gakki did own and run their own factory, by the way, based in Nagoya. The company was founded around 1935 and ceased production (as a contract builder) sometime in the mid 1990's. They were one of the contract builders for some Yamaha guitars, too. The instruments varied greatly in quality - some were really quite cheap and not good, others were really quite decent. You seem to see more of them floating around in Europe than you do in the US, probably because they had better distribution here.

An old Japanese catalog page showing some of the banjos and mandolins..

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EdHanrahan, 

lflngpicker

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## laurap1

Wow thank you for your time giving me this information I really appreciate your time and effort.
The tuners and the inverted diamond look shiny like mother of pearl. Are the different pictures in the tuner area significant in anyway? 
Thank you x

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## laurap1

I think so 😊 It 'feels' special 😊

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## laurap1

But I cannot find any information on an M18 model from 1978 or any other year 😳

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## almeriastrings

Here's an old Ebay auction for one (sold in the UK for 64 pounds, approximately $90).

http://www.ebay.es/itm/mandolin-A-st...-/172114975538

Seller dates it to 1970, though I think most of them are actually a bit later than that, around 1976-77.

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lflngpicker

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## MikeEdgerton

Here's on with the brand name Artist.

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## JH Murray

Here is another Marquis. The seller is asking $200 Cdn, about $155USD. . The seller also has a no-name bowlback he is asking $200 for. The bowlback may be worth a look at.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* one with an interesting modification  :Cool: 

For posterity:

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Jeff Mando, 

WaxwellHaus

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is one labeled Concerto.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is an electric labeled Harmony.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* one labeled Olympic.

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## NickR

That Kay branded mandolin is from the revived incarnation- not the original company that folded in the late 1960s. These instruments were made in the Far East and South Korea predominated. I found a Kay banjo from that era in a dumpster- it played and it was made in Korea. I passed it on to my brother who likes banjos- I am, odd as it may appear, a mandolin man- and my home has no signs of any banjo activity whatsoever, inside.

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## MikeEdgerton

> That Kay branded mandolin is from the revived incarnation- not the original company that folded in the late 1960s. These instruments were made in the Far East and South Korea predominated. I found a Kay banjo from that era in a dumpster- it played and it was made in Korea. I passed it on to my brother who likes banjos- I am, odd as it may appear, a mandolin man- and my home has no signs of any banjo activity whatsoever, inside.


That's the point of the entire thread. Kay wasn't revived, just the brand name along with a dozen or so others. We've seen so many of these same mandolins with different brand names over the years that this thread just became the repository. Whomever built these was the go to company for anyone wanting a brand on an imported mandolin. We have one member that started out playing one of these and speaks glowingly of them. I can't do that. I did however find the original mandolin that they copied or somewhat copied this design from and that was a Favilla model.

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lflngpicker

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## MikeEdgerton

Hey, here's one branded Lyle. Lyle was the private brand name of instruments imported by the L.D. Heater Company of Portland, Oregon. Lyle was the name of L.D.'s son. Heater was owned by Norlin when they owned Gibson and was importing the famous open book headstock guitars cited in the now famous Law Suit.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is another branded Kay.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here's* one branded "K" (Kay). The headstock shape is slightly different but it's the same design.

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## MikeEdgerton

Here is one labeled Swan.

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lflngpicker

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## MikeEdgerton

OK, a bit different angle. This is a very young Chris Thile playing one of these mandolins.

The image is from *this* Interview on the Cafe.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is one posted by the original buyer, purchased in the early 1980's with the Made in Korea sticker still on it. No brand name. This could help others date theirs.

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is another that has the number AM-60 on the back.

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## JeffD

double post

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## MikeEdgerton

*Here* is one labeled Crestline.

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## MikeEdgerton

Here is one that is on Reverb and labeled as a Strad.O.Lin

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## MikeEdgerton

And yet another with no brand name is *here*.

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## Tinnitus

> So they named it "Key" so you might confuse it with "Kay"? ? ?  I'd much rather have a "Givson" myself.


When I was a US sailor last century, Olongapo, Philippines was a common port of call. There, I used to gaze through a shop window at night, chuckling at their "Fenler" electric guitars. Spent most days water skiing and never made it in there when they were open. Probably for the best, lol.

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## Bill Cameron

Looks like my old Bently, bought for $90 in 1989 from a folk festival vendor in Kerrville Tx. Complete with Made in Korea sticker on back of peghead. Served me well,for 15 years, then my eldest used it for a few more. I still have it and its still playable and held together very well except a couple of tuner plate screws pulling out

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