Reminiscent of the Les Paul shape,
the 1381 was produced with several different
headstocks featured on this guitar during its catalog run. All featured the
'coat of arms' between the pickups, on a blue-trimmed white pickguard.
The Kay version of this guitar was Jimmy Reed's preferred guitar, and Howlin'
Wolf and his guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, also picked these two-bladed beauts.
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The 1381 is a terrific guitar from our friends at Kay.
Known as the 'Thin Twin,' or the 'Jimmy Reed model' for its association with
blues great Jimmy Reed, this addition to the Silvertone line is
still a much sought-after instrument. To my eye,
the Silvertone-branded version of this guitar was better looking than its Kay
counterpart, which featured a faux-tortoisehsell pickguard with no adornment.
The
1381 is a heavy instrument, with the huge magnets of the pickups as well as the
electronics package hidden beneath the expansive pickguard, fastened to a solid block that extended from the neck to the end of the body.
Introduced:
Spring/Summer 1954 at $89.98
as the 57H1381
Through its career, it was :
57K01381L, 57D01381L, 57O01381L, 57G01381L
Retired:
Spring/Summer 1957 at $104.95
as the 57K01369L
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