31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

1/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

20th September

[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/­JWZHUdbOdBM/UFuIZlBJnhI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/­2nLYK6E0EY/s1600/DSCF1316.JPG]

The case is worth about as much as the guitar!

Updated: go here [http://inspireformation.blogspot.ca/2012/11/the­kay­effector­pt2.html] to checkout a review and video/demo of this guitar!

A couple of years ago my brother scored a Kay Effector (Korean bolt­neck Les Paul copy with five built­ineffects) off Craigslist for about a hundred bucks. When I first saw it I had to chuckle, but when I actuallyplugged it in I had to chuckle for a different reason: this thing sounds really cool, particularly when the out­of­phase position is chosen. For the uninitiated, these Kays were manufactured in Korea and marketed through the Sears­Roebuckcatalogues in North America. Corts with identical effects bays were sold through the mid to late eighties.

the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

2/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

Please help! I tried to post a schematic that panther sent me, but it keeps disappearing? They're still working out someof the bugs in Blogger...

[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/­VyEb_HU1WOw/UFuIzb0KNaI/AAAAAAAAARU/GMA3eg1_2PQ/s1600/DSCF1327.JPG]

The control layout.

The guitars shipped with two humbucking pickups that are both always on; the only tonal option is to putthem out of phase or use the tone knob. The effects are echo, tremelo, wah, whirlwind and fuzz, and areoperated by slider switches mounted on the switch plate and a speed knob for setting the rate of the"modulation" effects. Although the effects in this particular axe aren't working, a little online researchsuggests that the echo, trem, wah and whirlwind are all slightly modified versions of tremelo. Whomever had the guitar previous to my brother replaced the pickups with a pair of Washburns: a Shaman'70 neck p/u and a Headhunter '69 bridge p/u. Unfortunately the rewire job was pretty Mickey Mouse, andcurrently the effects are not working. There are a few loose wires, and I have every reason to believe theEffector components are essentially sound, but it's hard to find a schematic online. I really want to get this guitar going again; it's groovy looking, sounds really cool (sans effects), plays well,has a nice chunky neck and decent action. Anyone have any ideas? Schematics? A perverse desire to hearwhat whirlwind and fuzz sound like through out of phase pickups.

31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

3/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/­FJOIbo2ncec/UFuIRt6rnRI/AAAAAAAAAQw/jx4G1EVboRs/s1600/DSCF1314.JPG]Backside of the switch plate. Note cardboard and tinfoil shielding scheme!

In the meantime, for the edification of gear­obsessed netizens, here are some photos of the axe and it'sguts.

31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

4/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/­ovV9MldIF9c/UFuIqsC5iuI/AAAAAAAAARM/e2PPaIBMxek/s1600/DSCF1319.JPG]The hilarious routing job.

31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

5/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/­W8xfbESS8E4/UFuIhwlUe_I/AAAAAAAAARE/wChvcUcm_FA/s1600/DSCF1323.JPG]The circuit board exposed.

31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

6/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/­pdSBiVJ­dkc/UFuI7SW_L_I/AAAAAAAAARg/eaFUdYnloxw/s1600/DSCF1321.JPG]

31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

7/8inspireformation.blogspot.mx/2012/09/the-kay-effector-onboard-effects-madness.html

[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/­XVgG0Dpy8VA/UG1Is­FpGWI/AAAAAAAAATg/jn6FkpnODys/s1600/Kay+Effects+.gif]OK! Here's that schematic; hopefully is stays this time...

Posted 20th September by Dave Dykhuizen

Labels: echo, Les Paul, Kay, Cort, schematic, circuit diagram, fuzz, guitar, pix, photos, onboard, effector

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31/12/12 the Kay Effector: onboard effects madness!

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