Effector

Straight from the 1983 Sears wishbook catalog, here's their top of the line P.O.S. ; the Kay Effector. My semi-authetic looking Les Paul copy, complete with ultra cheesy on-board effects. Enjoy a step back through time with this link to the original catalog page. These crazy instruments received awful reviews, but collectors seem to love 'em. Check out what they're bringing on ebay these days. I'll take the first $200 cash someone hands me. While campy & cool, the questionable electronics on these rare guitars keep them from ever being reliable stage axes. Still fun to show off cuz they're so weird with all the knobs & switches for Fuzz, Wah, Trem, & Echo.

Gene's Fine 59's

Looks like it was a catalog Christmas for some lucky kid back in the day. Who remembers looking at the guitars in the Wards & Sears catalogs as kids in their youth, & picking out your favorites for your wish list? Dreams can come true, as proven by Gene's fine '59's. Side by side, here are the fierce competitors; Airline & Silvertone. Money was scarce in 1959. If one of these cost 25 cents more than the other, odds were pretty good it would outsell it's counterpart nearly two-fold. This pic submitted courtesy of the Gene Olson collection. We'd all be proud to display these early classics. Gene was one of the first sound techs that I worked with back in the late seventies, it's always a treat to see his old gear.