Why Valco Bought Kay — And Collapsed Just One Year Later
Lost Music Factories
646 views
For decades, one Chicago factory quietly built guitars and amplifiers for some of America’s biggest retailers and music brands — while almost nobody knew the company behind them.
Its name was Valco.
Supro, National, Airline, Silvertone and other familiar names all passed through its hands. Its instruments reached beginners, blues players, and future rock legends across the country. Then, at the height of America’s guitar boom, Valco made one enormous decision: it bought another struggling Chicago guitar company.
Within a remarkably short time, everything began to unravel.
How did one of America’s most important hidden guitar manufacturers disappear — while the instruments it built became more famous than ever?
This is the forgotten story of Valco Chicago, the invisible factory behind some of the most distinctive guitars and amplifiers in American music.
#ValcoGuitars #SuproGuitars #VintageGuitar
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Why Valco Bought Kay — And Collapsed Just One Year Later
Lost Music Factories
646 views
For decades, one Chicago factory quietly built guitars and amplifiers for some of America’s biggest retailers and music brands — while almost nobody knew the company behind them.
Its name was Valco.
Supro, National, Airline, Silvertone and other familiar names all passed through its hands. Its instruments reached beginners, blues players, and future rock legends across the country. Then, at the height of America’s guitar boom, Valco made one enormous decision: it bought another struggling Chicago guitar company.
Within a remarkably short time, everything began to unravel.
How did one of America’s most important hidden guitar manufacturers disappear — while the instruments it built became more famous than ever?
This is the forgotten story of Valco Chicago, the invisible factory behind some of the most distinctive guitars and amplifiers in American music.
#ValcoGuitars #SuproGuitars #VintageGuitar