THE BEST SELLING GUITAR ON THE PLANET

PAUL BIGSBY

By the late 40's after decades of trying to convert guitars that were designed without a plan to electrify them successfully it became evident that a total rethinking needed to be done. Yes there were several that experimented with different ideas but a friend and neighbor of Leo Fender had practical solutions that seemed to be a very good start. That guy was a motor cycle racer and builder Paul Bigsby. He built his first solid body guitar in 1944. 

You will note just how many features that Leo Fender borrowed from Paul. 

Both Leo Fender and Les Paul put Paul's guitars under a microscope. 

Five years had past before they had anything you and I would play today.

Paul saw the electric guitar as a Custom Shop thing not a consumer product to be banged out in a factory. In short he was a luthier who had made a new musical instrument prepaid one at a time. The Dumble of guitar makers.

His instruments and others that soon followed made an instrument that did not even have a vocabulary for years.

LEO FENDER

Leo Fender was all about manufacturing so his bottom line was all about keeping the price as cheap as possible. Even so the price in todays money was $1800.00 USD. $1800.00 for what was a plank of wood with the neck held on with 4 screws that claimed to be

better than the real guitar you owned. I would have fallen over laughing. 

I didn't need a paddle for my canoe. Besides my paddle was a neck through, LOL.

In 1948 and 49 Leo did not give a guitar away. He new that the guy would only see value in it if they put out some money. He did do loaners but only to those he new and he came personally and took them back after a few weeks. Those guitars had a neck PU with pine bodies and a paddle headstock and the neck did not have a truss rod when even a Martin had that. 

He soon learnt that dark stages meant banging dents in the bodies and travelling players in the winter can be in New York one week and Florida in the next with a warped neck to prove it.

Bigsby PU

  

 

The Fender Tele for the last 3 years has been the best selling guitar on the planet. I am including Squier as it is a Fender Corp. Tele. Totally amazing as the idea was beyond stupid at the time. If for no other reason if you went to 10 clubs in 1950. Nearly all bands would have horns, reeds and woodwinds instruments, NOT a guitar at all. If they did it was NEVER featured or played a solo. If the guy missed the gig the audience would neither know or care because the radio hits were all about horns backing Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Patti Page.

WHAT MAKES THE DEFINITIVE  VIOLIN  ELECTRIC GUITAR 

When the first violins were made they came in many varied shapes and sizes until that just right shape for the vocabulary of the music written for them dictated that shape.

The biggest selling shape for decades has been taken from the Fender Stratocaster. It is a very short time since it will not even be 100 years until 2054. By then those who do not think an electric guitar is a legitimate instrument will all be dead. Just like all orchestra instruments it will begin to conform to a basic shape.

The leading candidate is the 1954 Fender Stratocaster. The PU's most used may change, vary or indeed function with several sounds to cover HB and/or single coil PU's, but it will indeed need a whammy to play all the vocabulary and techniques that will be taught to a student. 

 

WILL MODERN FOLK MUSIC USE A NEW INSTRUMENT ???

It well could. In 1950 the public and 98% of all musicians thought the Folk music which literally means what an average citizen consumes as their choice to sing, dance and listen to thought bands would always have reeds, woodwinds and brass instruments. It only took 10 years for the direction to be obvious and another 10 for most stores to not even sell them. In short? The electric guitar will as well all but disappear as an instrument found in an average consumers download. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ??? ...leave a comment below