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Bigsby Guitars is US-American company, which specialized in the production of guitar accessories, particularly Vibratos. The company was created into the 1940er years of Paul Adelburt Bigsby in Downey (Los Angeles County), California for the production of E-guitars and Lapsteels. Founder Paul Bigsby belonged with his early instruments to the pioneers of the E-Gitarrenbaus and affected with its ideas Leo Fender among other things.
The company "Bigsby Guitars" goes back on the "Crocker Motorcycle company", a motorcycle manufacturer, in which Paul Bigsby as mechanics and developer was active for the 1930er years. Bigsby, itself praised to be able to repair everything, came as a fan of Countrymusik into the 1940er years into contact with the musician Merle Travis, for a customer of Crocker. Travis reported Bigsby of problems with the worn Vibratosystem of its Gibson L-10 guitar, whereupon Bigsby for the guitar a new Vibrato developed. Heart of the Vibrato was a swivelling stored steel shaft, around which the strings were wound. This new Vibrato made even in both directions and could in place of the Saitenhalters on almost all Archtop Jazzgitarren for the time possible at that time be installed. Starting from the 1950er years Bigsby Vibratos were offered both and to standard of companies such as Gretsch and Gibson on their guitars, and of Bigsby as re-tooling set for guitars without Vibrato.
In the year 1946 Travis Bigsby reported of the idea to manufacture a new E-guitar. The guitar should flatten, possess partial solid Korpus, in order to avoid unwanted feedbacks. The up to then common E-guitars possessed still the hollow Korpus of the acoustic guitar, why they caught very easily the acoustic waves of the amplifiers and produced interferences. Beyond that the guitar should have an asymmetrical head end plate, on which the six Stimmechaniken in a line should be attached. Travis expected in relation to the traditional symetrischen "3-links-3-rechts" - arrangement a more comfortable being correct and a larger being correct stability. Further the Korpus a Cutaway should possess, in order to improve the taping barness of the high federations. Bigsby made a first copy of this guitar in the middle of 1948 after sketches of Travis. Bigsby kept orders for further instruments fast, after which Travis used the guitar regularly with live concerts and radio appearances. In the future Bigsby beside the Vibratos manufactured E-guitars, E-Mandolinen, Lapsteels and different double neck guitars, which combined guitar and Mandoline. Bigsby continued to rework the head end plates of conventional acoustic guitars on order on the new asymmetrical form.
In the year 1965 worsen the state of health of Paul Bigsby rapidly, why it gave up instrument production and on the production of the Vibratos concentrated. 1966 sold its company to Bigsby at the former giving on president Ted McCarty, which led the company up to its death in the year 2001. Paul Bigsby died 1968. 1999 took over the Fred Gretsch company Inc. the company Bigsby, who for its part part of the Fender company is. The production of the Vibratos takes place in particular in the USA, whereby meanwhile also outside firms in other countries manufacture Bigsby Vibratos. Distinguisher is frequently the patent number on the American originals, which is replaced with the reproductions by the signature "Licensed by" in the same character type.
The Merle Travis guitar was manufactured to large parts from maple and possessed a continuous neck with inserted steel bar. To its sides two partial hollow wings were attached, which accommodated electronics. The guitar possessed a single Coil pick-up as well as turnable regulator and a switch for the change of the sound. The Griffbrett consisted of Palisander and had as markings Perlmutteinlagen in the form of play map symbols. The large asymmetrical head end plate possessed six mechanisms and a saddle made of metal, installed in row. As many instruments of this type were not manufactured are well-known. It is to be assumed that however, the Bigsby, which by hand made the instruments on order, until 1965 any more than 100 instruments did not build inclusive E-Mandolinen and Lapsteels. The original from 1948 is today in the Country Music resounds to OF Fame in Nashville, threshing floor lake.
The Bigsby Merle Travis guitar is considered today as one of the first modern E-guitars, since she anticipated many constructional Detrails of the later Solidbody of instruments. , In particular Leo Fender, whose radio business was only few miles far away in Fullerton, was generally accepted was affected by the Design of the Merle Travis guitar. Although Leo Fender of time life each connection abstritt, is considered today as safe, which he could do the instruments of Bigsby. Fender, which already manufactured and repaired music amplifiers successfully into the 1940er years, was present as technicians on many concerts in California. There it came also to meetings with Merle Travis. Travis stated even that he had lent the Bigsby guitar after a concert for some days at Leo Fender on its desire. In the exchange it is to have received an early prototype of the Fender Telecaster to the opinion. The first prototypes of the Telecaster actually point a symetrische head end plate with "3-links-3-rechts" - arrangement of the mechanisms up, which Fender briefly before commencement of production 1950 in favor of an asymmetrical "6-in-Reihe" - to arrangement similarly the Bigsby guitar rejected.
The Bigsby Vibrato found as one the first Tremolosysteme to today far spreading. Particularly on guitars the Bigsby Vibrato was in series offered to the company Gretsch, in addition, on instruments of Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker and others or later installed. The Vibrato consists of a baseplate of solid aluminum, in which a steel shaft is swivelling stored. The strings are wound around the steel shaft, to which also the Vibratohebel is fastened. If one moves the Vibratohebel, the strings are completed or and the pitch changes accordingly for varying string tension. The Bigsby Vibrato permits easy fluctuations to the pitch around approximately 1-2 half-tones. A solid feather/spring works against the string course, which originally originates from the engine of a Harley Davidson of motorcycle. The feather/spring is to today in the spare part program of Harley Davidson. The most common types of the Bigsby Vibratos are:
The Bigsby guitars and Lapsteels are to be heard only on few photographs of the 1950er years, since they were displaced fast by the instruments of the company Fender. Beside Merle Travis played among other things Jimmy Bryant and Grady Martin guitars of Bigsby, the latter also a double neck guitar. The Lapsteels was used among other things by Speedy west.
Common as the instruments the Bigsby Vibratos, which permits it due to its building method to add the guitar clay/tone a charakterisches "glows", is further. This sound is used particularly in that Stilistiken, in which the guitar sound little is not distorted at all or as in the jazz, Blues or skirt "n" roll. Hearing examples are both with Countrymusikern and Chet Atkins and Duane Eddy up to the Rockabilly Punks of the Stray Cats. John Lennon let itself be installed into the 1960er year a Bigsby B 5 Vibrato onto its legendary Rickenbacker guitar.
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