I think the Tele, Strat, and Les Paul should absolutely get their own episode. I really like how you try to give everyone due credit rather than tearing any of them down. They are all very important and they don't need to be ranked.
Hey Josh, hope you see this. For the Telecaster episode, I have had the pleasure of talking with George Fullerton in person at an event at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA back in 2004. When there he gave his own narrative of the history of Fender and G&L guitars. One tid bit, the reason the Telecaster has such a thin head stock is so they could get two necks out of one blank, purely a cost saving measure. Also the Stratocaster was a refinement of the Telecaster based on the player feedback on the Telecaster. The recessed jack would eliminate jack breakage at the edge, three pickups were also requested and the trem was a new thing all in itself (though you alluded to its origins). You mentioned the telecaster referencing television as the inspiration, same with the Stratocaster, they like the idea of being able to project into the stratosphere. The later G&L products did some of the same, the ASAT is Anti Satellite, of course the Broadcaster was a trick from Dale Hyatt to get their name on the board. Another fun fact, George used to sneak into Leo's lab and tune his prototypes to a chord. Otherwise Leo would be strumming on dissonance as he had no musical ear. This especially happened at the G&L plant on Fender Ave as Leo's hearing started to fail him and it would ring throughout the factory.
This is such an amazing series Josh. I’m 54 and been playing for more than 30 years … and you have taught me loads in these 3 shows. Thank you for all this amazing research.
I like the format of the morning show rather than a podcast. I also like going over lots of stuff, AND focusing on one thing at a time. So whatever tickles your fancy for the format is 👍
Deep dives, timelines, old gear demos - it’s all good! Really enjoying this series, it combines three things dear to my heart - guitars, music and history. I loved the story of the three innovators hanging out on the patio, alongside the photo of the Strat, Bigsby, and Les Paul. That seemed to be a real pivotal moment in guitar evolution. Looking forward to more of these, many thanks Josh.
I listen at work, phone is Bluetoothed to a speaker. So I have something to do, but I enjoy the educational value. It gets me through my day. And yeah, podcast would work.
Great series. Don't forget The Nilsen guitar made from march 1950 - several hundreds were made with a patented pickup. Prototypes made from 1947 onwards.
Yes, PLEASE make this a weekly podcast! The hour long format is perfect for commutes and it opens JHS media to a whole new audience of people that don’t use TH-cam (they do exist 🤣)
I've noticed that Josh's video quality seems to get better every week on these Monday Monologues. Grateful to see this segment being treated with the value it deserves.
I really like this series! Suggestion: Interview TK Smith in conjunction with this era. Amazing engineer / luthier true to the Bigsby history and a great player.
I too would love to listen to these episodes as a podcast, but I also love watching the episodes to see the photos and support add revenue for the channel. Thank you very much for making such wonderful historical discussions! I have learned much!
I'm so flooded I'm hung up on the Bigsby not having a Bigsby vibrato. Thank you for this, and yes, please do podcast, and, Yes, please post vids with various amps and/or rigs Again, thank you for all your contributions and adjacent possibles
9:40 Maybe would be a nice way to add a wee bit of jamming into the monday streams. In any case I always find it exciting when I get to hear music equipment that is older than me. Very fascinating to think about its past, how would it be buying and owning it back in the day, and all that...
I just realized I was a terrible student in high school because there was no guitar topics thanks for attending to our attention spans with this great lecture series 😉 🎸
I've been really enjoying your History of Guitar series, particularly for getting a more accurate view of when key inventions and innovations were made, and who actually made them. I'm not a fan of false histories, and how some people take or are given credit for the work and genius of others. A history of pickups, designs, single or multiple, placement, parallel or angled, etc. and their relationship to the development of electric guitar stings could be worth a video or two. Thanks
Thanks again, Josh - another great and edifying episode. The story of Les Paul, Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender being all together illustrates a corollary to the "innovation is really evolution" idea. One view is that it is a fortuitous coincidence for the history of guitar that the those three particular men were together. Another view is that it was always going to be the case that the evolution of the guitar was going to move forward - it's just that any evolution of technology is sped up when differing talents are in close contact. By the way, you are posing your question about podcasting to the wrong people. You need to pose it to the potential audience of podcast listeners who are currently unknown to you because they aren't watching this. ;)
I love this Josh, I look forward to each Monday for the new episodes. You can and should absolutely do a series on demonstrating your old amps, obviously they played a huge supporting role in the development of the electric guitar. 👍🏻👍🏻 Also I want to commend you on your academic commitment to the topics you cover. You clearly enjoy these discoveries and you present them with genuine enthusiasm and passion, unsullied by any prospect to gain financially. Keep it going!! ❤
The Monday show is my favorite show on TH-cam. Yes to individual shows, like the 1949 Telecaster! I hope there's some 53 Gretsch Jet talk as well. Thanks!
Love these Monday episodes. On the Wondery “Business Wars” podcast about Gibson & Fender, they mention that Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender met at Les Paul’s house during some jam sessions. If true, all three of these guys were talking about the solid-body ES guitar. But Paul Bigsby was first and Wondery said he brought it over to Les Paul’s house. Leo then borrowed it from Merle Travis to make some notes.
This series is really interesting, I wrote a paper during my Masters on Future Studies - looking at the world today and modelling where we go to next, this is like the exact opposite, seeing where we are today with rock music, and tracing the branches back to the trunk. Looking forward to Tele next week Josh!
I really enjoy these. Graveyards are a somewhat tangible way to connect to the past. I usually try to stop at the Buddy Holly crash site whenever I am in the area. Standing by the memorial and looking out into the field gives me pause.
I totally agree on the Merle Travis being the, "first" electric guitar looking at it as we see and think of today. Nobody will ever know who made the literal first guitar period and most likely it would still be in contention because of the way we all see things a bit differently so, yeah the Merle wins my vote, check that fretboard how it meets the body too- looks like a modern bespoke boutique acoustic in the style.
I can’t find them at the moment, but I have a series of pictures that show a cello headstock, the headstock from a Martin guitar, the headstock the the Bigsby-Travis guitar, and then the Strat. The Strat headstock always seemed out of left field until I started looking at the history that led to it.
I think you’re giving a great overview for those willing to take a deeper dive. What would be interesting to me is the complete history of the electric (and/or fretted) bass. I feel like most of this matter is not well known, despite being adjacent to the progression of the electric guitar.
Another really interesting episode, thank you very much. You know, there are o many things that I have heard about before but it's really good to see the loose ends being tied together. Putting things into perspective on the time line.
I reckon that it's Eli Whitney that gets credit for making interchangeable gun parts, I always admired the Ford assembly line in the Model T days, and whenever I think about replacing the funky neck on my Strat that picture comes to mind.
I’m a born and raised Wisconsin guy. Been here for 28 years, and I never knew Les Paul was from Wisconsin and his grave is in Wisconsin! Found my weekend activity this week
- Yes on podcast-ification - Yes on deeper dives on specific models/etc - Yes on hauling out old gear, talking about it and playing with it--would be a nice contrast for the endless stream of TH-camrs showing off the latest & greatest
Super cool episode! It seems like you're now into five watt world territory where you could hyperfocus on specific topics, but some more general episodes might still make sense too. And I would absolutely watch the heck out of you playing some old or otherwise interesting gear!!
I thought you all might get a kick out of this. I was just talking to my Dad while I had watched half of this video, and we started talking about it as he was a huge Les Paul fan back in the day. Now, my Dad was born in 1935 and grew up in Hull in the U.K. He sprang a memory on me tonight that he first saw someone play an electric guitar when he went to see a pantomime at the theatre when he was 7 or 8. As he put it “There was a woman playing guitar, and it was louder than the entire orchestra had previously been. Nobody knew where the sound was coming from.” Now I have to wonder who it was 😎
I don't listem to them either - But the JHS show, especially these monday talks, it's all perfect podcast material! Your stuff is very listenable. So by all means, get the Monday Talk podcast going so I have an excuse to start listening to podcasts in general!
I knew of the patio chats, very cool in fact. And I was told repeatedly "back in the early Internets" that the Bigsby Travis came much later ... which I felt wasn't accurate based on pictures and copyrights. Bigsby and Kaufmann, glad their getting their names known. Feels like I am watching another "Back to the Future".
Was there an episode 4? I can't find it anywhere. And not a single soul in the comments mentions it, meaning...I'm the stupid one and episode 4 is somewhere out there? Please help. I love this.
Hey Josh, I watched all of the Monday Monologs and I really like the content and the format. Now maybe, for the next part of the History of Guitar episodes I like the idea of the next few focusing on each of the Guitars individually. Then return to overview/timeline format to introduce the next idea/topic. As far as podcasts, not sure about that, because I like seeing the pics and text to contextualise the content. Oh yeah gotta release an Adjacent Possible T Shirt.
Interesting story about the Vibro set. Unfortunately the wrong picture. That is an early K&F set. Also, Docs idea of flippin the chassis was to keep dirt out of the chassis and keep the tubes from getting broken by throwing cables and such into the back,
I like the chronological order of these chats. If Leo and the Broadcaster / Telecaster take an entire Monday morning, then so be it. The following week you can continue the saga with subsequent subject matter.
Great series, Josh. I'd love to hear more about the development of some of the specific components of the electric guitar. E.g. the pickup, amp, etc. I was fascinated to hear pickups were fashioned from scrap ford model t parts for example. I know the basic science of how a pickup works but the nerd in me wants to know more about the design, development and materials used.
I‘d find it interesting to hear a full hour about one specific milestone (tele, les paul etc.) Just because theyre part reason, why millions of people love music!
Thoughts as I belatedly watch this (and thanks as always, I love these!): - Yep, radio was indescribably huge. Everything since has been minor in comparison. Suddenly people were aware of a world beyond the back 40 in a whole new way. TV, internet, etc. all build on that, but radio was first, therefore formative, setting in place patterns and traditions that endure even today. - I knew what you meant with the nylon thing. No sane person would believe that nylon existed in the 19th century. The nitpickers need to chill. - That ES-300 is something I'd love to hear (did not know the Bill Haley thing). The idea makes sense - having the pole pieces like that should give you rounder bass and more penetrating, crispy highs. You need to acquire or borrow one of these and play it for us! Please and thank you. - I wanna know more about that book about female guitarists! - Giving up on complaining about the AP term being repeated so often. (I may be uniquely repulsed by what perhaps I alone perceive as corporate buzzword-speak, others probably love it, and it does in fact convey a concept). Zipping it... - I recognize that photo of Les! From the cover of Guitar Player magazine circa late 70's. I subscribed from 74-2004 or so. It was insanely great in the 70's especially, but you know that. - I'm with George on the phonograph needle thing. - "they hear with their eyes" epitomizes Les Paul - endearingly smarter than everyone, which makes you willing to forgive the Vaudevillian work ethic he applied to all things. If anyone was "always on" it was Les, not that the world isn't a better place because of it. He was always always selling/performing - that's who he was. - Love the point made about the internationality of the electric. - We owe our idea of what an electric guitar should look like to Merle Travis's aesthetic sense! History is so weird! - Junior was an important guy, loved hearing about his connection to Doc and Leo. Not so sure about him being the first recorded distortion. Lots of grey area here. And have you listened to Tiny Moore's electric mandolin (solid body I believe) solos on Wills' Tiffany Transcriptions? Much more fluent and exciting musically, but you kids gotta have your dirt... Tiny was amazing. - Love the story about Les, Leo and Paul lounging amidst the orange trees. Time machine worthy! - The evolution of the Tele would take a lot of time. Maybe do the precursors first, the a history of the Tele itself as a longer second part? The Ask Zac guy is seriously Tele knowledgeable... Thanks again for doing these, and maybe even reading this.
Breaking down the next series into individual segments on each guitar is fine. But I would still love a brief 20 minute year by year synopsis every 4 or 5 videos to show how the previous segments made each other better by innovation, etc.
The headstock design used by Fender and Bigsby is likely derived from instruments such as the Tamburitza. it has the hallmarks we know and appreciate: inline tuners, flat headstock geometry (as opposed to tilt-back or a box as seen in classical stringed instruments) and the scroll-like shape we are familiar with. there may be a connection to the Martin-Stauffer headstock design as well, though the lines are blurred on where Martin, Fender, and Bigsby got the design itself. However, it's worth noting that the design, while arguably seeing its first use on a Martin acoustic guitar, is predated by the Croatian Tamburitza! IOW, it's up in the air as to whether Bigsby was inspired by the Martin or the Tamburitza; Fender's design is a bit more directly linked to the instrument as one may notice when taking a look at their 12-string headstock pattern - the resemblance is uncanny! Edit: after a bit more digging, I have found a TalkBass post that references a 1971 Guitar Player interview with Leo, where he explains that he has seen the design on Croatian instruments. The same post discusses that Martin had ties to Johann Georg Stauffer from Vienna, who himself made guitars with the asymmetrically shaped headstock.
RE: Podcast discussion - I think running the monday shows as they are now (livestreaming) is really good for the chat interaction, but it would be great if the podcast version was simply the audio from the video uploaded onto a podcast platform. I understand that would take time and money, so understandable if you guys don't want to start a whole other 'media production' which doesn't pay for itself for a long time.
I would watch a video just about an amp. Amps fascinate me most. People make such a big deal about which kind of guitar but which kind of amp matters just as much in many cases.
The yellow bigsby looked more like a telecaster before the sharp horn was cut off. Especially with the neck and headstock!!! Also I would like to see when they all came into existence with the timelines as well!!!
Josh is correct that an es300 was used on rock around the clock. However, it was a mid 40s model with a p90. The long diagonal pickup only lasted a year or so.
I think the Tele, Strat, and Les Paul should absolutely get their own episode.
I really like how you try to give everyone due credit rather than tearing any of them down. They are all very important and they don't need to be ranked.
Shout out to 5 Watt World. He has basically already done this.
@@BubbleWrapPerson I second this. They're great episodes. There are also so many books on these wonderful solid body guitars =)
where is next episode? Loved this one :)
Details, details, details. Can't get enough!
Hey Josh, hope you see this. For the Telecaster episode, I have had the pleasure of talking with George Fullerton in person at an event at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA back in 2004. When there he gave his own narrative of the history of Fender and G&L guitars. One tid bit, the reason the Telecaster has such a thin head stock is so they could get two necks out of one blank, purely a cost saving measure. Also the Stratocaster was a refinement of the Telecaster based on the player feedback on the Telecaster. The recessed jack would eliminate jack breakage at the edge, three pickups were also requested and the trem was a new thing all in itself (though you alluded to its origins). You mentioned the telecaster referencing television as the inspiration, same with the Stratocaster, they like the idea of being able to project into the stratosphere. The later G&L products did some of the same, the ASAT is Anti Satellite, of course the Broadcaster was a trick from Dale Hyatt to get their name on the board. Another fun fact, George used to sneak into Leo's lab and tune his prototypes to a chord. Otherwise Leo would be strumming on dissonance as he had no musical ear. This especially happened at the G&L plant on Fender Ave as Leo's hearing started to fail him and it would ring throughout the factory.
I look forward to these every Monday! Thanks.
I don't listen to podcasts, but I think I'm more the exception than the rule.
Another big up-vote here for historical deep-dives in PODCAST form! (Thanks so much for this content, Josh.)
Looking forward to the next episode.
Thank you Scott. This series has been outstanding.
I'm really enjoying this series and hope it continues. And the telecaster definitely deserves its own episode.
I would be interested in deeper dives from here on out. This has been fascinating. Thanks.
This is such an amazing series Josh. I’m 54 and been playing for more than 30 years … and you have taught me loads in these 3 shows. Thank you for all this amazing research.
YAAAAAS! One episode per evolutionary step would be awesome!
I like the format of the morning show rather than a podcast. I also like going over lots of stuff, AND focusing on one thing at a time. So whatever tickles your fancy for the format is 👍
YES PLEASE! A Podcast would be the best thing to happen this quarter. Haha
Deep dives, timelines, old gear demos - it’s all good! Really enjoying this series, it combines three things dear to my heart - guitars, music and history. I loved the story of the three innovators hanging out on the patio, alongside the photo of the Strat, Bigsby, and Les Paul. That seemed to be a real pivotal moment in guitar evolution.
Looking forward to more of these, many thanks Josh.
I listen at work, phone is Bluetoothed to a speaker. So I have something to do, but I enjoy the educational value. It gets me through my day. And yeah, podcast would work.
Great series. Don't forget The Nilsen guitar made from march 1950 - several hundreds were made with a patented pickup. Prototypes made from 1947 onwards.
Thanks!
Yes, PLEASE make this a weekly podcast! The hour long format is perfect for commutes and it opens JHS media to a whole new audience of people that don’t use TH-cam (they do exist 🤣)
I've noticed that Josh's video quality seems to get better every week on these Monday Monologues. Grateful to see this segment being treated with the value it deserves.
I really like this series!
Suggestion: Interview TK Smith in conjunction with this era. Amazing engineer / luthier true to the Bigsby history and a great player.
As a guitar nerd, am loving this series - enough detail, without getting ridiculous.
I too would love to listen to these episodes as a podcast, but I also love watching the episodes to see the photos and support add revenue for the channel. Thank you very much for making such wonderful historical discussions! I have learned much!
The three guitars side by side was crazy awesome to see. Clear lines/style...
No Podcast needed!
LUV this series!!
I'm so flooded I'm hung up on the Bigsby not having a Bigsby vibrato.
Thank you for this, and yes, please do podcast,
and,
Yes, please post vids with various amps and/or rigs
Again, thank you for all your contributions and adjacent possibles
There focused topic items are really great. Love the candid insights about equipment history.
Is the next episode out yet? I can't find anything
Yes, please consider making this a podcast! These have been super cool to listen to! A humble thank you for the great and cool content
Yes yes yes yes yes to podcast form!
Hey, totally enjoying this type of live show. I been looking forward to Monday mornings
Thanks, Josh. I am with you on splitting it into singular subjects from this point on. The hollow body alone has a lot to be said.
I like watching/listening to these when doing guitar tech work. Could easily see them as a podcast. I may just do it myself
Thanks for that Josh, really interesting and informative. Looking forward to the next one - go deep!
I'm really enjoying this topic. I've enjoyed all the Monday shows, haven't missed one yet. Have a great week Josh.
9:40 Maybe would be a nice way to add a wee bit of jamming into the monday streams. In any case I always find it exciting when I get to hear music equipment that is older than me. Very fascinating to think about its past, how would it be buying and owning it back in the day, and all that...
Jhs pedals been crushing it for years. 👍🤘
I just realized I was a terrible student in high school because there was no guitar topics thanks for attending to our attention spans with this great lecture series 😉 🎸
Enjoyed this series, thank you.
You aren’t alone. Ilford PAN 50 was my favourite high dynamic range B&w film. Great episode thank you
This is great! I would really like to hear more specific stories of every model from now on. Thanks!!!!
I've been really enjoying your History of Guitar series, particularly for getting a more accurate view of when key inventions and innovations were made, and who actually made them. I'm not a fan of false histories, and how some people take or are given credit for the work and genius of others. A history of pickups, designs, single or multiple, placement, parallel or angled, etc. and their relationship to the development of electric guitar stings could be worth a video or two. Thanks
I got to see Les in NYC in 2005. He was an amazing player even in his 90s, and a great entertainer to boot!
I knew I should had watched this, listen to this earlier. Work, but love you all.
Thanks again, Josh - another great and edifying episode. The story of Les Paul, Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender being all together illustrates a corollary to the "innovation is really evolution" idea. One view is that it is a fortuitous coincidence for the history of guitar that the those three particular men were together. Another view is that it was always going to be the case that the evolution of the guitar was going to move forward - it's just that any evolution of technology is sped up when differing talents are in close contact. By the way, you are posing your question about podcasting to the wrong people. You need to pose it to the potential audience of podcast listeners who are currently unknown to you because they aren't watching this. ;)
Yes singular talks in specific guitars, brands! Please include Gretsch!!!!!!!!
I love this Josh, I look forward to each Monday for the new episodes. You can and should absolutely do a series on demonstrating your old amps, obviously they played a huge supporting role in the development of the electric guitar. 👍🏻👍🏻
Also I want to commend you on your academic commitment to the topics you cover. You clearly enjoy these discoveries and you present them with genuine enthusiasm and passion, unsullied by any prospect to gain financially. Keep it going!! ❤
The Monday show is my favorite show on TH-cam. Yes to individual shows, like the 1949 Telecaster! I hope there's some 53 Gretsch Jet talk as well. Thanks!
Love these Monday episodes. On the Wondery “Business Wars” podcast about Gibson & Fender, they mention that Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender met at Les Paul’s house during some jam sessions. If true, all three of these guys were talking about the solid-body ES guitar. But Paul Bigsby was first and Wondery said he brought it over to Les Paul’s house. Leo then borrowed it from Merle Travis to make some notes.
spread it out Josh, loving it!
Great series, very informative
That Les Paul grave photo looks crisp man! Love Ilford films, my fav and go to is the HP5. Glad to hear you still like film photography
This series is really interesting, I wrote a paper during my Masters on Future Studies - looking at the world today and modelling where we go to next, this is like the exact opposite, seeing where we are today with rock music, and tracing the branches back to the trunk. Looking forward to Tele next week Josh!
I would love to see an episode just on the development, introduction, and evolution of the Telecaster. This series is amazing. Thank you!
I really enjoy these. Graveyards are a somewhat tangible way to connect to the past. I usually try to stop at the Buddy Holly crash site whenever I am in the area. Standing by the memorial and looking out into the field gives me pause.
I totally agree on the Merle Travis being the, "first" electric guitar looking at it as we see and think of today. Nobody will ever know who made the literal first guitar period and most likely it would still be in contention because of the way we all see things a bit differently so, yeah the Merle wins my vote, check that fretboard how it meets the body too- looks like a modern bespoke boutique acoustic in the style.
I can’t find them at the moment, but I have a series of pictures that show a cello headstock, the headstock from a Martin guitar, the headstock the the Bigsby-Travis guitar, and then the Strat. The Strat headstock always seemed out of left field until I started looking at the history that led to it.
It's not too early for me, so I'll have some bourbon as i listen. I really love this series. Cheers!
Guitar history is *sometimes* cooler than the music!
Nope. Lol
@@ryangunwitch-black Kramer has a pretty cool history if you’re into that kind of stuff (EVH, etc). But there’s also a ton of boring history too lol.
Josh, i will watch whatever content you put out. It doesn't matter how nich or boring it is. I will watch it.
I would listen to the podcast!
Enjoying these history lessons!
Thanks, Josh! 🙏
I like the detail trivia, great series.
Too early for whiskey? What has the world come to!!
Loving these talks. Please do not stop.
I think you’re giving a great overview for those willing to take a deeper dive. What would be interesting to me is the complete history of the electric (and/or fretted) bass. I feel like most of this matter is not well known, despite being adjacent to the progression of the electric guitar.
Thank you for these videos. Very interesting.
Another really interesting episode, thank you very much.
You know, there are o many things that I have heard about before but it's really good to see the loose ends being tied together. Putting things into perspective on the time line.
I reckon that it's Eli Whitney that gets credit for making interchangeable gun parts, I always admired the Ford assembly line in the Model T days, and whenever I think about replacing the funky neck on my Strat that picture comes to mind.
A deep dive into the tele would be great. I really love this history series that you're doing
I’m a born and raised Wisconsin guy. Been here for 28 years, and I never knew Les Paul was from Wisconsin and his grave is in Wisconsin! Found my weekend activity this week
- Yes on podcast-ification
- Yes on deeper dives on specific models/etc
- Yes on hauling out old gear, talking about it and playing with it--would be a nice contrast for the endless stream of TH-camrs showing off the latest & greatest
Yes! Podcast, please!
I listen to at least 3 whole podcasts every day.
Mr.Scott , podcasts would be wicked. Thank you sir.
Yes,Podcast please! ✌🏻
Super cool episode! It seems like you're now into five watt world territory where you could hyperfocus on specific topics, but some more general episodes might still make sense too. And I would absolutely watch the heck out of you playing some old or otherwise interesting gear!!
I thought you all might get a kick out of this.
I was just talking to my Dad while I had watched half of this video, and we started talking about it as he was a huge Les Paul fan back in the day.
Now, my Dad was born in 1935 and grew up in Hull in the U.K. He sprang a memory on me tonight that he first saw someone play an electric guitar when he went to see a pantomime at the theatre when he was 7 or 8. As he put it “There was a woman playing guitar, and it was louder than the entire orchestra had previously been. Nobody knew where the sound was coming from.”
Now I have to wonder who it was 😎
I don't listem to them either - But the JHS show, especially these monday talks, it's all perfect podcast material! Your stuff is very listenable. So by all means, get the Monday Talk podcast going so I have an excuse to start listening to podcasts in general!
I knew of the patio chats, very cool in fact. And I was told repeatedly "back in the early Internets" that the Bigsby Travis came much later ... which I felt wasn't accurate based on pictures and copyrights.
Bigsby and Kaufmann, glad their getting their names known. Feels like I am watching another "Back to the Future".
I'm literally begging to make this a podcast
Was there an episode 4? I can't find it anywhere. And not a single soul in the comments mentions it, meaning...I'm the stupid one and episode 4 is somewhere out there? Please help. I love this.
it doesn't exist. sorry!
I haven’t commented in a long time but I’d totally watch vintage gear demos. Would love to see an episode visiting those Sovteks.
I would love this as a podcast
Hey Josh, I watched all of the Monday Monologs and I really like the content and the format.
Now maybe, for the next part of the History of Guitar episodes I like the idea of the next few focusing on each of the Guitars individually.
Then return to overview/timeline format to introduce the next idea/topic.
As far as podcasts, not sure about that, because I like seeing the pics and text to contextualise the content.
Oh yeah gotta release an Adjacent Possible T Shirt.
Interesting story about the Vibro set. Unfortunately the wrong picture. That is an early K&F set. Also, Docs idea of flippin the chassis was to keep dirt out of the chassis and keep the tubes from getting broken by throwing cables and such into the back,
I love the old gear Demo idea! You could play it in between talking about guitar history and old gear.
I like the chronological order of these chats. If Leo and the Broadcaster / Telecaster take an entire Monday morning, then so be it. The following week you can continue the saga with subsequent subject matter.
Great series, Josh. I'd love to hear more about the development of some of the specific components of the electric guitar. E.g. the pickup, amp, etc.
I was fascinated to hear pickups were fashioned from scrap ford model t parts for example. I know the basic science of how a pickup works but the nerd in me wants to know more about the design, development and materials used.
I‘d find it interesting to hear a full hour about one specific milestone (tele, les paul etc.)
Just because theyre part reason, why millions of people love music!
Thoughts as I belatedly watch this (and thanks as always, I love these!):
- Yep, radio was indescribably huge. Everything since has been minor in comparison. Suddenly people were aware of a world beyond the back 40 in a whole new way. TV, internet, etc. all build on that, but radio was first, therefore formative, setting in place patterns and traditions that endure even today.
- I knew what you meant with the nylon thing. No sane person would believe that nylon existed in the 19th century. The nitpickers need to chill.
- That ES-300 is something I'd love to hear (did not know the Bill Haley thing). The idea makes sense - having the pole pieces like that should give you rounder bass and more penetrating, crispy highs. You need to acquire or borrow one of these and play it for us! Please and thank you.
- I wanna know more about that book about female guitarists!
- Giving up on complaining about the AP term being repeated so often. (I may be uniquely repulsed by what perhaps I alone perceive as corporate buzzword-speak, others probably love it, and it does in fact convey a concept). Zipping it...
- I recognize that photo of Les! From the cover of Guitar Player magazine circa late 70's. I subscribed from 74-2004 or so. It was insanely great in the 70's especially, but you know that.
- I'm with George on the phonograph needle thing.
- "they hear with their eyes" epitomizes Les Paul - endearingly smarter than everyone, which makes you willing to forgive the Vaudevillian work ethic he applied to all things. If anyone was "always on" it was Les, not that the world isn't a better place because of it. He was always always selling/performing - that's who he was.
- Love the point made about the internationality of the electric.
- We owe our idea of what an electric guitar should look like to Merle Travis's aesthetic sense! History is so weird!
- Junior was an important guy, loved hearing about his connection to Doc and Leo. Not so sure about him being the first recorded distortion. Lots of grey area here. And have you listened to Tiny Moore's electric mandolin (solid body I believe) solos on Wills' Tiffany Transcriptions? Much more fluent and exciting musically, but you kids gotta have your dirt... Tiny was amazing.
- Love the story about Les, Leo and Paul lounging amidst the orange trees. Time machine worthy!
- The evolution of the Tele would take a lot of time. Maybe do the precursors first, the a history of the Tele itself as a longer second part? The Ask Zac guy is seriously Tele knowledgeable...
Thanks again for doing these, and maybe even reading this.
Breaking down the next series into individual segments on each guitar is fine. But I would still love a brief 20 minute year by year synopsis every 4 or 5 videos to show how the previous segments made each other better by innovation, etc.
Good to hear that Ilford still exists and it is used.
The headstock design used by Fender and Bigsby is likely derived from instruments such as the Tamburitza. it has the hallmarks we know and appreciate: inline tuners, flat headstock geometry (as opposed to tilt-back or a box as seen in classical stringed instruments) and the scroll-like shape we are familiar with. there may be a connection to the Martin-Stauffer headstock design as well, though the lines are blurred on where Martin, Fender, and Bigsby got the design itself. However, it's worth noting that the design, while arguably seeing its first use on a Martin acoustic guitar, is predated by the Croatian Tamburitza! IOW, it's up in the air as to whether Bigsby was inspired by the Martin or the Tamburitza; Fender's design is a bit more directly linked to the instrument as one may notice when taking a look at their 12-string headstock pattern - the resemblance is uncanny!
Edit: after a bit more digging, I have found a TalkBass post that references a 1971 Guitar Player interview with Leo, where he explains that he has seen the design on Croatian instruments. The same post discusses that Martin had ties to Johann Georg Stauffer from Vienna, who himself made guitars with the asymmetrically shaped headstock.
The Bigsby Travis guitar looks suuuuuper cool.
Yes please, do a PODCAST!
RE: Podcast discussion - I think running the monday shows as they are now (livestreaming) is really good for the chat interaction, but it would be great if the podcast version was simply the audio from the video uploaded onto a podcast platform.
I understand that would take time and money, so understandable if you guys don't want to start a whole other 'media production' which doesn't pay for itself for a long time.
I would watch a video just about an amp. Amps fascinate me most. People make such a big deal about which kind of guitar but which kind of amp matters just as much in many cases.
The yellow bigsby looked more like a telecaster before the sharp horn was cut off. Especially with the neck and headstock!!! Also I would like to see when they all came into existence with the timelines as well!!!
Josh is correct that an es300 was used on rock around the clock. However, it was a mid 40s model with a p90. The long diagonal pickup only lasted a year or so.
Gotta save this for later. Reading "The Birth of Loud" currently. This will be nice to follow up with