The Kay-built 674

and 676
guitars were the longest-available 'Aristocrats,' the very first Silvertone cutaways, and the first with the wavy, pointy pickguard. 'Trident' style fret markers gave way to big block style markers, and the body end of the fretboard went from fancy to flat, and the bridge changed from a curled at the ends job to a more conventional affair. All those features mixed and matched over the life of the guitars, with the 'S' logo style pickguard creeping in just before the switch over to the 678/680 family.

Introduced: 1952

Retired: 1957

Aristocrat?!? Huh?

Click individual guitars for photo gallery
 


The 674/676
guitars were available for nearly five years, starting out the run with a proclamation of 'NEW!' The new was the first appearance of a cutaway archtop, an exciting new stylistic and musical development, matched over in the electrics by the 1354/56.
 

Click for catalog listings