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Lynn Wheelwright
Ro-Pat-In’s First Electric Spanish
Granddaddy to the Stars!
The story of George Beauchamp’s invention of what would become the first commercially successful electric guitar is shrouded in the mist of murky memory. But one critical element of the story – the first Spanish-neck electric guitar sold by Ro-Pat-In – has recently become more clear. As the first electric Spanish with a modern, string-driven,…
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Lynn Wheelwright
Alvino Rey’s “Mini” Gibsons
Alvino Rey’s 1936 Gibson mini guitar. From its beginnings, Gibson has built custom orders and unique instruments for specific artists, sometimes by request, other times to lure a potential endorser. Manufacturers have always known that a popular player seen in public or shown holding an instrument in print (or on TV) can be key to…
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Lynn Wheelwright
Gibson ES-300 Prototype
Les Paul and the First Gibson ES-300
When a guitar junkie hears the words “soapbar” and “P-90,” the mental image is usually that of a cream-colored rectangle seated deep in a sea of metallic gold, accentuating the curves of one of the most beautiful, sexy guitars ever created – the Gibson Les Paul. Combined with its pure, raw, in-your-face tone, it gave…
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Lynn Wheelwright
Stromberg Electro
Mid-’30s Stromberg/Kay Del Oro, with “resonator” containing the Stromberg electro unit. Without specifically mentioning it, an intriguing headline in The Mustic Trades, dated October 20, 1928, heralded the launch of the first commercially manufactured electric guitar. At the time, the use of an electromagnet to convert mechanical vibrations of a musical instrument into electrical impulses…
