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Topic: History of the PSG I |
C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 3:59 pm |
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I am sincerely sorry that I must remove myself from the SGF.
May Jesus bless you all,
c.
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:42 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Carl Williams
From:
Oklahoma
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 4:53 pm
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| Mighty kind of you Carl. Standing by for the “Rest of the Story.†ðŸ‘. Carl |
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Cassondra Campbell
From:
Georgia, USA (NYS originally)
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 6:03 pm
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Deleted
_________________
That Seventh tone is NOT dim. It's a dominant seven!
Last edited by Cassondra Campbell on 4 Sep 2020 12:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jon Voth
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 6:51 pm
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This is interesting-and a hoot for for us like me that don't know the history well.
And Cassondra love that phrase on your avatar, I'm gonna use that sometime. |
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Cassondra Campbell
From:
Georgia, USA (NYS originally)
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 7:53 pm
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Deleted
_________________
That Seventh tone is NOT dim. It's a dominant seven!
Last edited by Cassondra Campbell on 4 Sep 2020 12:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 7:58 pm
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2020 8:42 pm
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 2:29 am
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Thank you for starting this thread Carl!
In the interest of accuracy, correct spelling is important: it is “Harlin†rather than “Harlen.â€
_________________
Mark |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 6:18 am
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Doug Taylor
From:
Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 7:03 am
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| Thanks for posting this history, please keep going. Much appreciated! |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 7:20 am
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The Gibson Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, introduced their Electraharp in mid-1941. It is widely considered to be the first commercially available "pedal steel" guitar.
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 7:25 am Letritia Kandle and the Multi-Kord
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:44 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 7:34 am
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 7:39 am
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 7:55 am
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The mid-1941 date for Gibson is well documented in the wonderful book by AR Duchossoir, Gibson Electric Steel Guitars 1935-1967.
The instrument in the photo in my above post is from the collection of the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota.
https://emuseum.nmmusd.org/objects/9690/electric-pedalsteel-guitar?ctx=9dd6ee51-9c3c-4294-91b8-ea85a5cc984a&idx=0
Any credit should go to John Moore, a Connecticut machinist who patented the mechanism, and musician Alvino Rey, who worked closely with both Mr. Moore and the Gibson Company. The original Electraharps are uncommon, as only 13 were produced in 1941. After the war, a totally new, redesigned Electraharp was introduced by Gibson in 1949.
Forumite Lynn Wheelwright is a treasure trove of information about Rey, Gibson, and their early collaborations. |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 9:04 am
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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John Sluszny
From:
Brussels, Belgium
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 9:11 am
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| Very interesting indeed ! Thank you Mr Dixon. |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 9:13 am
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:48 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 10:39 am
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I was under the impression that the Harlin brothers made their instruments in 1940 and/or'41, and stopped when WW2 erupted, and Chuck Wright and Paul Bigsby started making them in'48, followed by Eddie Fukawka in 1950.
I could be mistaken.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Ian Worley
From:
Sacramento, CA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 10:43 am
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| C Dixon wrote: |
| To my knowledge the first commercial PSG was manufactured in Indianapolis, IN, by the Harlen Bros. This was in 1948. |
| Jack Hanson wrote: |
| The Gibson Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, introduced their Electraharp in mid-1941. It is widely considered to be the first commercially available "pedal steel" guitar. |
I'm not sure about the "commercially available" part of the equation, but both the Multi-Kord and the Electraharp were available well before 1948. There have been a number of discussions here about the Multi-Kord and the Electraharp, which came first. One is here: https://steelguitarforum.com/Archives/Archive-000003/HTML/20011227-1-009047.html. There is a post about a third of the way down by JD Sauser that states Jay Harlin actually sued Gibson in the 1940s for copyright infringement and won in court, forcing Gibson to alter their design. He was apparenty able to sufficiently document that his invention pre-dated Gibson's (~'39) despite not yet having applied for a patent (the Multi-Kord patent was not filed until after the war in '47, US2458263. There is another later discussion here https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=234168&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 where Danny James says among other things that "there was a controversy over patent right infringement". It's an interesting topic, there are some good discussions in the old forum archives.
Edited for clarity since to OP was deleted
Last edited by Ian Worley on 5 Sep 2020 8:37 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 11:25 am
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:46 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 12:06 pm
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Here is a general pedal steel history timeline (the short version). I've tried to do the research and make things accurate as possible, but I welcome input from anyone who can supply more information. I don't claim to be an expert.
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Early 1930's (1931-1933) The "Hawaiian Harmolin" an acoustic Hawaiian guitar, was developed and sold in various 6 and 7 string iterations. It featured two knee-operated levers, and a third hand-operated lever mounted on the top of the guitar. It was designed by either Arthur Harmon or Kenneth Clark, depending on which period reference you use. (Some were said to have been made up until the late 1930's.)
Mid 1930's (1935-1937) Jay Harlin designs the first "Kalina Multi-Kord" electric pedal steel guitar. He built one for himself that had 15 pedals, but the ones that later went into production had only 4 or 6 pedals. Jay's guitar was noted being used in 1937, and Gibson apparently used the Harlin design changer, and produced their first pedal steel in 1939. A lawsuit was soon initiated and won by Jay Harlin which forced Gibson to redesign their guitar after only a few were built. Even Gibson's considerable financial resources and profound presence as a world-known manufacturer couldn't defeat Jay's claims.
In 1948, both the Wright Custom and Bigsby pedal steels came about. (I've yet to find out which was definitely "first" in production that year.) Both were more conventional-looking and more substantial than the mass-produced Harlin guitars. They were also far more expensive. So, beginners usually opted for the Multi-Kords, and the more well-to-do or famous players went for the Gibsons, Wright Customs, and Bigsby guitars.
In 1955, Fender designed their first D8 Model 1000 pedal steel. There were only a couple built for R&D purposes, and forumite Jody Carver got one of them. (He also assured me that he got his guitar in 1955.) These guitars went into full production in late 1956 or 1957, and became extremely popular for a very short period. And in 1958, they introduced the single-neck version, Model 400.
More to come as I find the time. Special thanks to Carl Dixon for starting this thread. |
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 12:17 pm
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deleted
_________________
A broken heart + † = a new heart.
Last edited by C Dixon on 4 Sep 2020 12:46 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Ian Worley
From:
Sacramento, CA
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Posted 3 Sep 2020 12:19 pm
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I found this in Lorene Ruymar's "Hawaiian Steel Guitar" book (bottom of the page)
This is from a Google Books preview, the next page is not available, does anyone have it? |
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