Thanks to a link on TalkBass, I wandered over to KayGuitar.com. And what did I find there? News of a Kay K5965 “Howling Wolf” reissue!

Check it out:

I’m pretty stoked to see these getting some mass-market play. When I saw this flyer the first thing I though of was Fritz Brothers and their “F.B. Bass”, which is a hand-crafted copy of the K5965. According to more of their marketing material, the current incarnation of Kay Guitar, Inc has pegged Mr. Fritz to oversee production of this ‘reissue’ line:

Any Kay purists reading this have probably already taken note of the fact that these ‘reissues’ aren’t vintage-correct because they sport the “Kelvinator” headstock instead of the more plain headstocks of the original 5965’s. But I’m not complaining - love the Kelvinator. It’s big, bold, and perfectly gaudy:

MSRP on these puppies is $1k. Based on that, I’m assuming they’ll be made in Korea. Price includes fitted hardshell case. See this catalog page for more specs:

I’ve got an email in to Kay to get some more info. If/when they get back to me I’ll post an update.

The K5965 “Pro” Bass isn’t the only thing Kay has up it’s sleeve. They’re also planning a reissue of the K5970 “Jazz Special” Bass! YES! The Jazz Special is my favorite Kay design, complete with Kelvinator and all:

I have no idea when/where/how these things will be available to consumers, but as I find out the info I’ll let you know.