1945 K&F Lap Steel

In 1944, Doc Kaufman, an instrument designer for Rickenbacker, and Leo Fender, a radio and phonograph repairman, received a patent for a new style of lap steel pickup. In 1945, they set up shop as K&F Manufacturing to produce their new lap steel but in 1946 Kaufman decided to leave the fledgling company. Leo renamed his company Fender Electric Instruments and, as they say, the rest is history. But that history started right here with this K&F lap steel. This instrument was made in 1945, or perhaps 1946, and it bears serial number 346. The body is made from mahogany and the frets are painted on. The headplate is bent at one end to form the nut, the kind of clever manufacturing solution that Fender would use time and again as he reinvented the solid body electric guitar. This guitar has the Kaufman and Fender pickup, a style where the strings pass through the magnet in a manner that recalls the function of Rickenbacker’s horseshoe pickup This style of pickup does sound very rich and warm but they make it difficult to change strings. When Fender set out on his own he dropped this design for the simple single-coil pickups we now know and love. K&F guitars are quite rare and this one looks to be in good shape and, except for the replaced gears, it is in original condition. If you’d like to invite this lovely bit of guitar history into your home, just send $1995 to the good people at Union Grove Music.