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Topic: BIGSBY PHOTO's |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 24 Aug 2003 8:48 am |
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On the Tommy Kizziah & His West Coast Ramblers....Web Site, in the "guest section", there is a great pix of Billy Jack WIlls Band...with Vance Terry and his Bigsby.
Also in the photo, is "TINY" with what appears to be a Bigsby Mandolin.
Just tho't some of you might enjoy seeing the Mandolin as I seem to recall some chit chat about it some weeks back. |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2003 12:12 pm
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Thanks, Ray! I'll check that out.
I just saw a picture of Noel Boggs playing a T-8 Bigsby in the late forties. I never knew he had one, I figured he was a "true blue" Fender player by that time! |
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 24 Aug 2003 5:55 pm
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Chris
Was the picture you saw "Hollywood Square Dance"? Noel was playing a T-8 Bigsby at the time. Leon McAullife played a D-8 Bigsby that Paul inlaid the "Take It Away Leon" on the front apron.
I played a T-8 Bigsby for a short time as well. There are many misconceptions regarding the rumors that surround Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender,there was nothing as much as people have made of it.
True,Paul A. was supposed to have designed the 6 in line that Leo saw and went back and made a guitar for Travis.
I know some of the folklore and not all of it
but it is factual that Bigsby did in fact design the 6 in line prior to Leo Fender.
As far as Noel playing a Bigsby? yes and he
thought it was a fine guitar. His connection
with Leo Fender went beyond just as an endorser,Noel was a paid consultant for Fender, and in being so was loyal to Fender and therefore gave up playing his Bigsby.
Paul Bigsby understood Noels position and accepted the fact that business was business.
I asked Noel Boggs his opinion of the Bigsby compared to his Fender and his comment was,I like them both for different applications.
I told Noel Boggs I was considering ordering a Bigsby and his comment was,you wont be sorry,I think you will appreciate the sound of both once you hear them side by side.
Spade Cooley was the main factor in Noel choosing Fender,Cooley felt that the Fender
had a better cutting edge that was best suited for the Western Swing sound that Cooley was famous for. Joaquins sound of his Bigsby was perfect for the tone JM was known for.The sweet tone of a Bigsby with wood necks was hard to beat as the Fender had more of a bite sound. I cant imagine JM playing a Fender,he was a fantastic musician
an the Bigsby was made for his sweet style and hot playing. Boggs had his solid full chord and sometimes bar slam techique that pleased Cooley more than the Bigsby.
When Noel informed Cooley that he (Noel was a consultant for Leo Fender,Cooley told Noel
to offer the Bigsby back to Paul Bigsby.
Spade Cooley and Leo and Forrest White were close friends with Cooley and since that was the situation as well as Noels invlovment with Fender,Noel gave up playing his Bigsby.
If I had my way,,I would loved to have had both,but that was like having two wives under the same roof.  I love my wife but oh you kid 
Much has been said about the bitterness that existed between Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender & 98% of it is not true.
I know,Leo used to like to rub it into Paul and Paul always knew Leo was a pot stirrer and paid little or no attention.
Off the playing field they were friendly,not they were NOT the best of friends,but they had respect for each other.
Dont beleive all this Hate stuff,it was not true. I have to copyright this,so undertand I have to include this and my story of how I went to Bigsby's house unbeknown to Leo Fender and spoke to Paul Bigsby about building me a guitar. And what transpired after Leo found that I was playing a Bigsby.
 edited to ask,,where did you see that picture? was it a photo? or the movie Hollywood Square Dance.?
I was NOT asked to give up my Bigsby,you may be aware of the circumstances that surround
what is now reffered to as "My Long Lost Bigsby" I wished I had it back. 
------------------
Copyright(c) 2003 by
Jody Carver "All Rights
Reserved"[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 24 August 2003 at 07:03 PM.] |
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 24 Aug 2003 10:25 pm
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| There's a great picture in Bear Family's Tommy Duncan "Texas Moon" cd-booklet of Tommy and his fresh Western All Stars-band in theire first Capitol session. Noel is playing his T8 Bigsby. Spade's RCA EP "Plays Billy Hill" also has photo of the band and Noel with his Bigsby. And one issue of Tom Bradshaw's "Steel Guitar"-mag had a full page promo picture of Noel with the guitar. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 25 Aug 2003 5:00 am
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| it is indeed a bigsby mandolin tiny played. and as much as it looked really cool, it was an incredible sounding instrument in tiny's hands. when he'd take a ride, the song would jump to new levels of excitement everytime...sounding like the hottest jazz guitar you ever heard. he later had another mandolin that a friend made him that looked about the same. he played it more often, maybe to save the bigsby. both were 5 strings. tiny was a real gentleman and a one of a kind electric mando monster picker...great fiddler also. |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 25 Aug 2003 4:37 pm
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I and many like myself past and present have made a living and then some from....
Leo's designs which he desribed as merely "Plank Guitars"- |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2003 5:56 pm
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| It seems there was a lot of good ol' southern California sneek and peek going on between the giants of 40/50s guitar innovation. Les Paul told me, as I'm sure he has many others, that P.A. Bigsby stole his vibrato. Note, that Les always has a Bigsby on his guitars when he plays on stage. In the end, I think it all worked out pretty good and all around for everybody concerned. I know I'm happy with their stuff! |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2003 7:01 pm
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Jody, the picture was in a friend's copy of "Steel Guitarist Magazine" from circa 1981.
Leo also "learned" a few things from Semie Mosley of Mosrite guitars. Semie's daughter lives in here Nashville.
She told me that her father and Leo where friends, and Leo respected Semie very much.
She was proud to say that Leo was very curious as to how Mosrite got their guitars to play so easily. I asked and she said,"It's a family secret". |
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 26 Aug 2003 9:04 am
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Paul my friend
I am not taking issue with you.This is not very important to me as to how many necks Leon had. So I was mistaken I know he has a double neck after his triple neck as he told me the triple was too heavy. Now so far as weight is concerned..How mouch did a triple Bigsby WO pedal weigh case and legs included?
More than the Double neck Leon had that I saw with my own two eyes.And my eyes were 20/20.
Did the Triple Bigsby weigh more than the Fender Quad Leon played througout his career?
Was it not the sound that Leon prefferred of the Fender?. Weigh the Quad and compare it to the triple Bigsby,,besides Leon seldom carried his guitars.
AS far as Mr.McCarty who was a fine man,I met him years ago and many people had the same chance as Leo Fender at sucess but they were missing one important factor,,Donald D.Randall.He was the man who was the marketing mind behind the Fender Company.
Bigsby was a custom company and was NOT competing against Fender.
I'll tell you a story regarding the GIBSON people back when.
When I started out with Fender,I had an old car and a blonde by my side..my Telecaster, I didnt have to feed her,I did hold her many times and she was a beauty.
The Gibson salesman who drove fancy cars and wore expensive clothes would laugh at me and say that that plank of wood came from a tree in the Jungle and thats where it belongs.
Those salesman would rub it in to me as I was struggling to survive, but I knew someday
that would change. I worked my butt off and took all the insults about the area I worked calling those who bought Fender were stupid and they should buy a real guitar like a Gibson.
They would call me Jungle Jody because I worked the eastern part of the US..As time went by and more and more planks with necks were in dealers stores,,the Gibson reps would look like ...what??
One day as I walked into the Gibson display in Chicago,one of those same salesman said out loud,here comes Jumgle Jody and laughed at me.
I said "You are Right" These guitars belong in the Jungle and I started singing..
In the Jungle The Mighty Jungle Leo The Lion Sleeps tonight .
They never bothered me again. So you see what goes round comes round.
What Mr.McCarty told you was his feelings about Leo Fender and I can assure you Leo didnt feel the bitterness that MrMcCarty felt. Why should he..he was King Of The Jungle and I was his main Monkey.
No hard feelings,but I beg to differ with you
The Knight Of Fender Tweed Has Spoken. |
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 26 Aug 2003 10:16 am
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quote:
The Knight Of Fender Tweed Has Spoken.
Knight Jody, who were some of the other knights that sat at that round table with you?
...just jousting. Rick |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Jody Carver
From:
KNIGHT OF FENDER TWEED
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Posted 26 Aug 2003 1:05 pm
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-I love you man!-
Me too |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Mylos Sonka
From:
Larkspur CA USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2003 5:43 am
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| That picture was taken at the KBFK radio studios in Sacramento sometime after May of 1954, which if memory serves is when Vance Terry had Paul Bigsby put the pedals on his steel. Terry left for college after the Bob Wills session of January 1955, so the photo is from mid-to-late 1954. |
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Paul Warnik
From:
Illinois,USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2003 6:39 am
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| I got Vance's Bigsby set up down in my bunker right now-what a great horn-The music that was played on that one makes it greater than the sum of its parts-I think Vances spirit still lives a little in those necks-you dont even have to plug it in and it sounds like VANCE'S Bigsby-The year 1951 was a good year for Bigsby steel production |
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Chris Scruggs
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2003 7:03 am
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For Fender Amp fans, which is everybody:
If you browse around that website, there's some great photo's of TV front Pro Amps, and
V-front Super Amps. All shiny new! |
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Rick Collins
From:
Claremont , CA USA
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Posted 27 Aug 2003 7:21 am
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| Mr. Ray Montee, that's a great picture of a neat band___not a slob in the group. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 27 Aug 2003 12:31 pm
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Rick.....in those days of olde, musicians took as much pride in their professional appearance as they did their playing styles and skills. That was a nice era, one I'm proud to have played a small role in.
My quad Bigsby, six pedals w/bar and case, weighs in at 105 lbs. |
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RON PRESTON
From:
Dodson, Louisiana, USA
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I love "plank guitars" I have made money on them too!