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Recently, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum featured an exhibit called “Turn it up to 90!” which honored the 90th anniversary of the electric guitar’s Wichita world debut.
The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was the first ever commercially produced, full scale electric guitar. Introduced by Rickenbacker in 1935, the model was terminated in 1938. Only around 50 of these guitars were manufactured and six or seven are known to exist today. One sold in 2017 for $7.5million, the highest price paid for a guitar at that time.
The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was the first ever commercially produced, full scale electric guitar. Introduced by Rickenbacker in 1935, the model was terminated in 1938. Only around 50 of these guitars were manufactured and six or seven are known to exist today. One sold in 2017 for $7.5million, the highest price paid for a guitar at that time.
Category Photography / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 853px
File Size 211.8 kB
Listed in Folders
I love the open-pore finish on the wood. My resonator ukulele, The Ukenator, has a similar finish.
Beautiful photo, sir! Now that's patina!
Guitar Nerd Trivia: The Ken Roberts is the second "artist signature" guitar that I know of; the first was the 1924 Gibson Nick Lucas model, after the man who was first known for the song "Tiptoe Through The Tulips". The idea of artist-endorsed guitars picked up momentum in the early 1950s with Les Paul and Chet Atkins, who endorsed Gibson and Gretsch respectively, and it's still common today.
Guitar Nerd Trivia: The Ken Roberts is the second "artist signature" guitar that I know of; the first was the 1924 Gibson Nick Lucas model, after the man who was first known for the song "Tiptoe Through The Tulips". The idea of artist-endorsed guitars picked up momentum in the early 1950s with Les Paul and Chet Atkins, who endorsed Gibson and Gretsch respectively, and it's still common today.
Always glad to hear more of that GNT (Guitar Nerd Trivia). Thanks, Gus.
Here's some back at you: It was after trying to fix a worn-out Kaufman vibrato like the one on this guitar, that Paul Bigsby designed the vibrato mechanism that has become synonymous with his name.
Here's some back at you: It was after trying to fix a worn-out Kaufman vibrato like the one on this guitar, that Paul Bigsby designed the vibrato mechanism that has become synonymous with his name.
I love this stuff... ^__^
I've read that the worn-out Kaufman that inspired Mr. Bigsby to create his own design was on a Gibson L-10 that belonged to Bigsby's friend and fellow motorcycle enthusiast, the legendary guitarist Merle Travis. He also built a beautiful solidbody electric guitar for Travis, which inspired other guitarists like Hank Garland and Tiny Moore to commission Paul Bigsby to build one for them.
The story goes that Mr. Bigsby finally told a guitarist who wanted one:
"I ain't got time to turn around building those stupid-looking things. If you want one, go to Fullerton -- that fellow Fender's making them"
I've read that the worn-out Kaufman that inspired Mr. Bigsby to create his own design was on a Gibson L-10 that belonged to Bigsby's friend and fellow motorcycle enthusiast, the legendary guitarist Merle Travis. He also built a beautiful solidbody electric guitar for Travis, which inspired other guitarists like Hank Garland and Tiny Moore to commission Paul Bigsby to build one for them.
The story goes that Mr. Bigsby finally told a guitarist who wanted one:
"I ain't got time to turn around building those stupid-looking things. If you want one, go to Fullerton -- that fellow Fender's making them"
I love patina. Musical instruments, furniture, houses, automobiles...I love the look that comes with decades of aging and use, especially old instruments. The way each one shows its age and use reveals things about the people who played them.
That's why I prefer preservation over restoration; restoring and refinishing an old instrument (or anything) effectively erases all that history. As the car guys and gals like to say: it's only original once...
That's why I prefer preservation over restoration; restoring and refinishing an old instrument (or anything) effectively erases all that history. As the car guys and gals like to say: it's only original once...
I don't know. While these were being produced, I imagine most were the property of musicians who toured around. They were probably played a lot and as tools of the trade, not necessarily handled with a lot of care. The original owners probably never imagined they they would become collectible.
Still, one can only hope that there are more out there somewhere. Perhaps one will show up on an episode of "American Pickers" some day. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check my attic...
Still, one can only hope that there are more out there somewhere. Perhaps one will show up on an episode of "American Pickers" some day. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check my attic...
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