Here’s one to blow some minds at your next open mic night, and put some spice in your song writing. New in at Motomusic, we have a 1960s Kay guitar which has undergone the famed Baxendale conversion process, known as the “full Baxendale!”

Scott Baxendale is an Athens, Georgia-based luthier who has developed his own proprietary process for turning old Harmony, Stella, and Kay ladder-braced guitars from fun couch players into great playing, great sounding, X-braced tone monsters.

This guitar was originally a standard six-string Kay but has been transformed into a Mandocello.

It has a pickup installed for live and studio use. This converted 60s Kay guitar has been through the Baxendale process, included a neck reset, a refret, rebracing, a new top nut, a new saddle, bridge and bridge plate. Four plate tuners. Bone nut width measures 1-9/16″. Maple neck with a depth of .89″ at the first fret and 1.12″ at the twelfth fret. Rose wood fingerboard with a 12″ radius. It has a 24.4″ scale length. Action measures 6/64″ on the bass side and 5/64″ on the treble side. 18 jumbo frets in new condition. Laminate body finished in sunburst. Rosewood bridge with a bone saddle. Maple bridge plate.

If you’re unfamiliar with Mandocellos, well, they’ve become popular with some of the top Americana players including Luther Dickinson, Patterson Hood, and Buddy Miller. Check out “Buddy Miller’s Crib – Studio Tour with Aaron Lee Tasjan” on YouTube. At about 8:50 into the tour, Buddy shows off his personal Baxendale Conversion Mandocello. The traditional tuning for Mandocello is CGDA, but Buddy says he tunes his Mandocello “to fit whatever song he’s playing.” We’re told that Patterson Hood uses FCFC tuning.

So the point is, there is no right or wrong. Get creative and find your own voice. The possibilities are virtually endless.

Baxendale’s standard process includes taking off the back of the guitar, repairing any cracks or structural issues, removing all existing bracing, and adding his own X-braced pattern of scalloped braces in quarter sawn Adirondack or Engleman spruce, before replacing the back. He also performs a neck set and refret, planing (or replacing) the existing fingerboard.

New vintage-style tuners and a bone nut is installed. Scott also makes a new Rosewood bridge with a bone saddle. To transform the six-string into a mandocello, Scott filled the original tuner holes and drilled the headstock to accommodate a pair of 4-on-a-plate vintage-style mandocello tuners.

Sold with a very nice Gator Baxendale hard shell case

We are an appointment-only, store. All instruments are handled by Motomusic employees only.

We are always happy to consider quality part exchange instruments here.

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Baxendale 1960's Kay Mandocello conversion Kay 2022 - Burst