Bigsby Electric Guitar Formerly Owned by Hezzy Hall, 1953

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Bigsby Electric Guitar Formerly Owned by Hezzy Hall, 1953

Inventor Paul Bigsby

Manufacturer Bigsby Electric Guitars

Date1953

Mediummaple; abalone shell; rosewood

DimensionsOverall (HWD) (body): 5 11/16 × 46 in. (14.478 × 116.84 cm)
overall1 (body overall): 46 1/2 in. (118.11 cm)
overall2 (neck): 46 in. (116.84 cm)
overall3 (overall): 104 11/16 × 64 11/16 × 11 3/16 × 37 in. (265.939 × 164.338 × 28.448 × 93.98 cm)

Credit LineMoPOP permanent collection

Object number1995.50.1

Text Entries

Portal Description

Luthier Paul Bigsby (1899-1968) created this custom solidbody guitar for Country & Western musician Hezzy Hall (b. unknown) in 1953.

Paul Bigsby was an early innovator in the development of the solidbody guitar. He first designed this body shape in 1947 for country star Merle Travis (1917-1983), according to specifications Travis sketched out. Some of his signature inventions are seen on this model: the tuning keys moved to one side of the headstock for ease of tuning, as well as Bigsby’s signature vibrato which was designed to not pull the strings out of tune. The new vibrato, in particular, was such an improvement upon existing designs that Gibson, Gretsch and other famous guitar makers adopted it, and to this day it is a common vibrato tailpiece on many manufacturer’s guitars.

Physical Description

Body is made of birds-eye maple, has a blond finish and a black pickguard with the name "Hezzy Hall" inlaid. Tailpiece has a Bigsby vibrato that is marked with the words "Patent Pendg." Abalone fret markers are inlaid into a dark wood (possibly rosewood) neck. Has two brown control knobs and a switch to control pickup reception.

CopyrightThe organization that has made the Item available reasonably believes that the Item is not restricted by copyright or related rights, but a conclusive determination could not be made. For more information, see http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/

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