This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. GEORGE BEAUCHAMP AND THE RISE OF THE ELECTRIC GUITAR UP TO 1939 Matthew William Hill PhD The University of Edinburgh 2013 Declaration I declare that this thesis is entirely my own work. Matthew William Hill ABSTRACT This thesis examines the rise of the electric guitar in the United States – arguably the most iconic and successful musical instrument of the 20th century – and the role of George Beauchamp in its invention and development. It focuses on Beauchamp's invention of the electromagnetic pickup, which is the component that makes an electric guitar an electric guitar. The research is based on examination of surviving instruments as well as archival research. An extensive contextual background is given regarding the historical development of electrical musical instruments in general and electric and electrified stringed instruments in particular. The instruments manufactured by Beauchamp’s company, the Electro String Instrument Corporation are discussed as well as difficulties and litigation Beauchamp and his company were faced with while trying to bring the instruments to market. The thesis focuses on the period between the first electrification of a fretted string instrument in 1890, and the conclusion of “the Miessner matter” (a period of prolonged threatened legal action against Electro String and other electric guitar manufacturers) in 1939. The thesis also considers competing pickup systems that emerged in the wake of Beauchamp's invention. Brother musician listen to a MIRACLE! Electro String Instrument Corporation sales brochure, 1933 “When everybody began to make them, everybody began to play them.” Adolph Rickenbacher, 1972 “The electric guitar is here to stay.” Al Frost, president of National-Dobro Corporation, in a letter to the Dopyera brothers, December 22, 1939 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Declaration Abstract Quotations Table of Contents iv List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgements xiv Terminology and Conventions xvi The Parts of an Electric Guitar xvi Definition of Special Terms xvii Conventions xix List of Abbreviations xx Introduction 1 What Makes an Electric Guitar an Electric Guitar? 2 The Hawaiian Guitar vs. the Spanish Guitar 3 1. Electric and Electrified Stringed Instruments before 1931 11 The Earliest Electrified Musical Instruments 11 The 19th Century 13 George Breed and the First Electrified Fretted Stringed Instrument 14 The Context and Driving Forces Behind the Electric Guitar 25 The Amplifier 27 Amplified Stringed Instrument Experimenters of the 1920s 30 Stromberg-Voisinet “Electro” 35 Vega Electric Banjo 1928 41 Neo-Bechstein Electric Piano 42 iv Table of Contents 2. “The Mysterious Mr Beauchamp” 46 The Resonator Guitar and Its Development 48 Collaboration with John Dopyera and the Creation of the Resonator Guitar 51 John, Paul, George and Adolph: The Formation of the National Stringed Instrument Corp. 56 National and Dobro Merge 68 George Beauchamp after Patenting of the Frying Pan 69 3. George Beauchamp and the Development of the “Frying Pan” 72 Comparative Description of the Frying Pan Prototype and Production Models 78 The Frying Pan Prototype 78 Contextual Comments on the Frying Pan Prototype 89 Production Frying Pan Models 92 Model A25 93 Model A22 99 Model A22 Seven String 100 Contextual Comments on the Production Frying Pan Models 101 A Possible Rickenbacker Model A22 Prototype 104 4. The Early Ro-Pat-In and Electro String Instrument Corporations 107 The Early Activities of the Ro-Pat-In Corporation 107 Producing the Frying Pan 110 Key People in Ro-Pat-In/Electro String 113 Adolph Rickenbacher 113 Paul Barth 115 C. W. Lane 116 C. L. Farr 117 Doc Kauffman 118 The Growth of Ro-Pat-In/Electro String 121 Legal Action by the Electro String Instrument Corporation 121 v Table of Contents 5. Guitar Family Instruments of the Ro-Pat-In and Electro String Instrument Corporations 124 The First Ro-Pat-In Guitars 124 Gage Brewer’s Instruments 124 Alvino Rey 127 The Stolen Shipment 128 The Transition to Bakelite 128 Models of Rickenbacker Guitar Family Instruments up to 1939 130 Hawaiian-Style Guitars Cast Aluminium-Bodied Frying Pan Instruments A25, A22, A22 Seven String 130 Bakelite-Bodied Instruments Model B: B6- 6 string, B7- 7string, B8- 8 String, B10- 10 string 131 Stamped Metal-Bodied Instruments Silver Hawaiian 133 Model 59 135 Spanish-Style Guitars Wood-Bodied Instruments Electro Spanish Guitar 135 Ken Roberts Model 136 Artist Model Spanish Guitar 138 Bakelite-Bodied Instruments Model B Spanish Guitar 138 Vibrola Spanish Guitar 140 Premiervox 141 Henri Selmer Electric Spanish Guitar 142 George Beauchamp’s Design for an Electric Spanish Guitar with Vibrato 143 vi Table of Contents 6. Non-Guitar Family Instruments of the Ro-Pat-In and Electro String Instrument Corporations 146 Out of the Frying Pan and into the Orchestra 146 Rickenbacker Non-Guitar Family Instruments up to 1939 146 Violin Family Instruments Bakelite Instruments Violin, Viola, Violoncello 146 Cast Metal Instruments Bass Viol 148 Instruments With Aluminium-tube Construction Violin, Viola, Violoncello, Bass Viol 152 Other Rickenbacker Instruments up to 1939 Mandolin 154 Fretted Double Bass 154 Harpo Marx’s Electric Harp 158 Electric Piano 160 7. Patenting the Horseshoe Pickup 161 The First Patent Attempt 162 The Second Patent Attempt 163 Proving It Worked 166 8. Bringing Electric Instruments to Market 171 The Early Electric Guitar Market 171 The Early Adopters 172 Gage Brewer 172 Jack Miller 174 The Jobbers 174 Bringing the Electric Guitar to the Wider Public 177 9. The “Miessner Matter” 180 vii Table of Contents 10. Competitors of the Ro-Pat-In and Electro String Instrument Corporations 194 Competitors Using Beauchamp-Derived Designs 195 Dobro, 1933 196 Audiovox, 1935 198 Epiphone, 1935 199 Gibson, 1935 201 Regal, 1936, 202 Slingerland, 1936 204 Competitors Using Other Pickup Systems 205 ViViTone, 1933 205 Gibson, 1935 207 Volu-tone, 1935 209 Sound Projects, 1938 211 Non-Commercially Made “Homebrew” Instruments 213 Summary and Conclusion 218 The Electric Guitar Within the Context of the Twentieth Century and Beyond 224 Appendices 229 How an Electromagnetic Pickup Works 229 United States Patent Number 2, 089, 171 231 Bibliography 239 viii List of Illustrations LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Introduction Figure 0.1 – Spanish-style and Hawaiian-style electric guitars. 4 1. Electric and Electrified Stringed Instruments before 1931 Figure 1.1 – Delaborde’s clavecin électrique, 1759. 12 Figure 1.2 – George Breed’s 1890 guitar design. 20 Figure 1.3 – Joseph J. McCrann’s “Radio Violin”, Popular Science, Oct 1922. 33 Figure 1.4 – Cover of Radio News, April 1927. 34 Figure 1.5 – Stromberg Voisinet “Electro” instruments and amplifier as depicted in the Chicago Musical Instruments wholesale catalogue, 1929. 37 Figure 1.6 – Probable Stromberg Voisinet “Electro” pickup from the collection of Lynn Wheelwright. 38 Figure 1.7 – Neo-Bechstein piano, c1930. 43 Figure 1.8 – Pickups on the Neo-Bechstein piano, c1930. 44 2. “The Mysterious Mr Beauchamp” Figure 2.1 – 1929 National “Style 2” Tricone resonator guitar. 49 Figure 2.2 – 1930 National Style “O” resonator guitar. 50 Figure 2.3 – John Dopyera, “Stringed Musical Instrument”, U S Patent 1,762,617 54 Figure 2.4 – National String Instrument Catalogue (Back Cover), 1930. 63 Figure 2.5 –Guitar Presented to George Beauchamp by Board of Directors of National String Instrument Corporation, January, 1932 67 Figure 2.6 – George Beauchamp’s letter of resignation. 70 ix List of Illustrations 3. George Beauchamp and the Development of the “Frying Pan” Figure 2.1 – The Frying Pan prototype in its display case at Rickenbacker International Corporation, Santa Ana California. 77 Figure 2.2 – The Body of the Frying Pan prototype. 78 Figure 2.3 – The Headstock of the Frying Pan prototype. 80 Figure 2.4 – The Neck and Fingerboard of the Frying Pan prototype. 81 Figure 2.5 – The Nut of the Frying Pan prototype. 83 Figure 2.6 – The Tuning Machines of the Frying Pan prototype. 83 Figure 2.7 – The Horseshoe Pickup of the Frying Pan prototype. 85 Figure 2.8 – Visitors at 1956 trade show holding the Frying Pan prototype. 88 Figure 2.9 – Rickenbacker model A25, serial no. 30, formerly owned by Alvino Rey. 94 Figure 2.10 – Rickenbacker model A22, serial no. 87. 101 Figure 2.11 – Rickenbacker model A22, possible prototype. 104 4. The Early Ro-Pat-In and Electro String Instrument Corporations Figure 4.1 – Letterhead on Ro-Pat-In company statement form. 108 Figure 4.2 – Examples of the use of “RO-Pat-In” and “Ro-Pat-In” on early handwritten and typed company documents. 109 Figure 4.3 – Jack Levy. 111 Figure 4.4 – Adolph Rickenbacher. 114 Figure 4.5 – Paul Barth. 116 Figure 4.6 – C. L. Farr. 117 Figure 4.6 – Clayton Orr “Doc” Kauffman in 1982 playing a late 1930s Bakelite-bodied Rickenbacher electric Spanish guitar fitted his “Vib-Rola” tailpiece. 120 x List of Illustrations 5. Guitar Family Instruments of the Ro-Pat-In and Electro String Instrument Corporations Figure 5.1 – Gage Brewer's 1932 Electro Spanish Guitar.