THE REBIRTH OF MAESTRO PART III by Doug Doppler
Welcome to the third installment on the rebirth of Maestro . As I mentioned in the previous installment , from the FZ-1 ( first-ever drive pedal ) to the Echoplex , Maestro ’ s role in the history of guitar gear is truly an iconic one . With that in mind , we wanted to frame that story with the history of the brands , gear , and players whose innovations laid the foundation for the gear we use today .
IT ’ S ALL IN A NAME Manufacturers have not always done the best job when it comes to naming their products . As I mentioned in the last installment , Gibson used the EH-150 name concurrently for both an Electric Hawaiian guitar ( hence the EH ) and an amplifier , the 150 referring to the price point at which they were both offered . The ES-150 on the other hand was an Electric Spanish guitar that as you probably guessed was intended to sell for $ 150 . Guitarist Alvino Rey was a key contributor in the development of the EH-150 and is credited for suggesting the integration of a tone control into the design .
In the first installment of this series , we put forth our belief that Lloyd Loar invented the first electric guitar during his tenure at Gibson per his experiments with amplifying various instruments including guitar , banjo , and bass . Of note is the fact that like Alvino Rey , Loar was a multi-instrumentalist . Although Rey was best known for his Lap Steel playing , various recordings and photos show him playing Electric Spanish guitar as well as banjo .
As the name implies , Hawaiian aka Lap Steel guitars are designed to be played in a seated position with a bar / slide and feature a square neck profile . Spanish guitars were designed to be played with the face of the instrument pointing at the audience and feature a rounded neck ideal for chords , as well as slide work . When played in an ensemble , both instruments had a challenge competing with their musical
Jar Krumphans Praha Resophonic Violin Courtesy of Retrofret Vintage Guitars |
counterparts , key to this story . |
Beauchamp ’ s musical career led him to Los |
Angeles which had already become a major |
IN THE BEGINNING In 1932 , another multi-instrumentalist named |
show-biz hub by the time he moved there in the 1920s . |
George Beauchamp is credited with being |
the driving force behind the worlds first |
Perhaps inspired by instruments like the |
commercially available Electric Hawaiian and |
Jar |
Krumphans |
Praha |
resophonic |
violin , |
Electric Spanish guitars . The journey that led him there started a few years prior and is key to understanding the players and process that made this possible . |
Beauchamp asked the violin-playing luthier John Dopyera to construct a guitar fitted with a horn to help project the sound . While this instrument was a failure , it did inspire John Dopyera and |
As |
a |
professional |
Vaudeville |
musician , |
brother Rudy to craft a metal body fitted with a trio of resonators . This tricone ‘ Resonator ’ |
Beauchamp knew firsthand the frustration guitarists faced when it came to being heard in an ensemble . Originally from Texas , |
guitar delivered so well in the volume and tone departments that Beauchamp opted to go into business with Dopyera , co-founding the |