Kay Serial Numbers

Serial Number Reference
Kay Basses and Cellos

Presented and maintained by the Kay Bass and Cello Registry
If you're here to find out about your bass, it's likely not registered,
and I'd like to find out about it, both for research purposes and
to better support you as a Kay owner or retailer. Please contact
me at the link above.

Year : Beginning serial #
1937 : 1
1938 : 1800
1939 : 4000
1940 : 6500
1941 : 8500
1942 : 9700
1943 : 10500
1944 : 11300
1945 : 12000
1946 : 13000
1947 : 15000
1948 : 17000
1949 : 19000
1950 : 22000
1951 : 25000
1952 : 28000
1953 : 31000
1954 : 34000
1955 : 37000
1956 : 38000
1957 : 39000
1958 : 39900
1959 : 41000
1960 : 42000
1961 : 43000
1962 : 44800
1963 : 46600
1964 : 48400
1965 : 50500
1966 : 52500
1967 : 55000
1968 : 56000
1969 : 57000

It is not unusual to find a Kay bass with no ID label inside, because many were built for OEM sale under other brands. But nearly all have a build number, handwritten or inkstamped in the back near where the label usually goes. These were assigned when the instrument was ordered and materials pulled from stock, and are almost always the same as the ultimate serial number.

Important
All Kay production records were destroyed when the company was liquidated in 1969. The late Roger Stowers derived these numbers from the stories of original owners and sellers, and they are necessarily approximate. Research continues, and numbers may change if new information warrants. So don't get married to the idea that your bass was built in a specific year unless you have a serial number under 1000 or over 59000. Plan on a margin of error of a couple of months either way.

I currently estimate total Kay production of around 57,000 basses and cellos, 15-20% of those being cellos. Serial numbers actually range up to nearly 60,000, due to hanky-panky with the books: numbers are frequently repeated up to the end of WW2, and after '64 we're seeing far fewer instruments than serial numbers statistically, indicating many skipped numbers. (If you think all that's wacky, check out the guitar side of Kay operations.)