The Straturday Evening Post :: The Solidbody Pioneers

Did you know that nobody can say with any certainty who invented the Solidbody electric guitar? it is clear though, that during the 1940’s there were a number of experimentally minded people looking into the problem of feedback , sustain , etc. Ultimately they were all reaching the same conclusions.

Bigsby Merle Travis , 1947

The Solidbody Pioneers

Welcome to my first post in the Straturday Evening Post featured guitar. Today’s feature is the Bigsby Merle Travis, 1947.

In 1946 Paul Bigsby , a motorcycle loving engineer, and country guitarist Merle Travis came together through repair of a Gibson vibrato unit , inspiring Bigsby to come up with his own revolutionary vibrato system. This beautiful instrument (a pastel sketch I interpreted) was created from a sketch that Travis asked Bigsby if he could build. It lays claim to the first solidbody guitar.

It originated in 1947 in Downey, California , USA. Wood is a maple body , straight through neck with rosewood fingerboard. It has a home-built single coil pickup , bass and treble tone controls , and filter switches.

FUN FACTS ::

• The six-in-a-line headstock design pre-dates those used by Fender by three years.
• The neck features a heart , club , diamond and spade marker inlays.
• The cutaway is a Florentine curve.
• The name Merle Travis is set in Pearl, although not shown in sketch.
• It has a tone filter switch circuit.
• Decorative polished walnut panels adorn the body.

~ All information courtesy of The Practical Illustrated Book of the Electric Guitar by Terry Burrows and Ted Fuller.