Bigsby Solid-body No. 2 (serial no. 8 1848)

Paul A. Bigsby, one of the first true artisans of the electric guitar, who built extravagant electric pedal steel and Spanish models for top country-western musicians. He built his first solid-body electric Spanish guitar in collaboration with guitarist Merle Travis. This instrument, the second example Bigsby made, features highly figured woods in a design where the neck is integrated within the body instead of set and glued externally. Bigsby’s scroll headstock with six tuning pegs in a row strongly influenced renowned guitar maker Leo Fender. Today, Bigsby is best known for the vibrato tailpiece system that bears his name.

Technical Description:
Chambered solid body with Florentine cutaway; bird’s eye maple body and neck, rosewood fingerboard; 25 in. scale; natural finish; neck-through-body construction with pearloid diamond, dot, and block inlays to fingerboard; carved scroll headstock with figured walnut veneer and all tuners on one side, inlaid pearloid Bigsby logo; one blade-style single-coil pickup at bridge, volume and tone knobs; metal bridge and Kluson tuners, walnut tailpiece, decorative pickup frame, knobs, pickguard, and body details