Kay Musical Instrument Company Kay Musical Instrument Company Kay Musical Instrument Company was a musical instrument manufacturer of the United States, in operation from the 1930s until the 1960s. Kay was established in 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, by Henry Kay Kuhrmeyer, from the assets of the former Stromberg-Voisinet (founded as Groeschel Mandolin Company in 1890). Kay offered their first electric guitar in 1936 — five years after the Rickenbacker "Frying pan", and the same year as the Gibson ES-150. However, the Kuhrmeyer-owned Stromberg-Voisinet brand had produced the Stromberg Electro even earlier, in 1928, making the short-lived model arguably the first commercial electric guitar. The
Leblanc (musical instrument manufacturer) Leblanc (musical instrument manufacturer) Leblanc, Inc. was a musical instrument manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The company was a woodwind manufacturer known mainly for its clarinets. In 2004 the firm was sold to Conn-Selmer, a division of Steinway Musical Instruments. Leblanc has ceased to exist as an independent operation and has become a brand of Conn-Selmer. G. Leblanc Cie. was a French company founded by Georges Leblanc late in the 19th century, in La Couture-Boussey. In 1904 the company acquired Noblet, the oldest instrument manufacturer in France. In 1945, Léon Leblanc (1900–2000) met Vito Pascucci (1922–2003), then on duty as