King
of Kays - This site has pics and short descriptions of guitars made by a
wide variety of manufacturers, including American, European and Japanese
companies. Of course, there are plenty of Kay guitars included.Instruments Not Made by Valco
There is a lot of confusion and misinformation out there regarding guitar manufacturers of the '50s and '60s. A cursory glance of the vintage guitar auctions on Ebay will reveal several Harmony guitars from the '80s described as "made by Supro in the '60s" and at least a couple of Japanese-made Teisco guitars described as "made in the USA by Silvertone". There are a lot of problems with these descriptions, not the least of which is that both Supro and Silvertone were brand names, but not manufacturers.
The following links provide information on several manufacturers contemporary to Valco whose products are often confused.
King
of Kays - This site has pics and short descriptions of guitars made by a
wide variety of manufacturers, including American, European and Japanese
companies. Of course, there are plenty of Kay guitars included.
Fetish Guitars - This site concentrates mainly on European guitars.
Silvertone World - All about Silvertones built by Harmony, Kay, Danelectro and Japanese factories.
Harmony Guitars Database - This is a great site for determining the model of that old Harmony in the closet, and it also has a listing of brand names that were used by the manufacturer.
The History of Danelectro - A solid history of the company and its most important models.
Magnatone: The Unofficial Ampsite - Magnatone amps are often confused with Valco amps, but this site will make sure you can identify most Magnatone models.
Teisco Twanger's Paradise - All about the classic Japanese manufacturer.
Updated 1/24/2010