In 1932, adolph rickenbacker and his business partner george beauchamp produced the first cast aluminum versions of the electric lap steel guitar, also known as the frying pan. An epic history of the style, sound, and revolution of the electric. May 29, 20 ringo starr shows how to play ticket to ride, come together and back off boogaloo duration. After later improvements, this guitar would end up being the backbone to almost all of rock and roll. In 1931 the electro string company was founded by paul barth, george beauchamp and adolph rickenbacker, and developed the first electric guitars marketed to the general public. He immigrated in 1891 to the united states with older relatives after his parents died, settling in columbus ohio. Eddie rickenbacker simple english wikipedia, the free. The first patent for the electric guitar was awarded to george beauchamp for a guitar he made with partner adolph rickenbacker in 1931. Quarterly rock history timeline timetoast timelines. In the 2004 novel the godfather returns, nick geraci is reading eddie rickenbacker s autobiography. Les paul modifies an ampex tape recorder allowing him to record overdubs.
Known as the frying pan, it was a lapsteel guitar with an electromagnetic pickup, created by adolph rickenbacker and george beauchamp, in which a current passed through a coil of wire wrapped around a magnet. Making guitars loud enough to be heard for performances with other musicians had long been the goal of many players. The goal of these early innovators was to amplify the natural sound of the guitar, but the signal was too weak. This changed how music has been played ever since and is one of. The family settled in wisconsin, later relocating to california, and adolph set up an engineering shop in. This is the company that created what is believed by most musical instrument historians to be the worlds first true solid body guitar, the a22 lap steel. The first electric guitar was invented by george beauchamp and adolph rickenbacker, his business partner. The iconic models of the 60s had fender, gibson and rickenbacker on. Adolph rickenbacher later spelled rickenbacker produces a working. The electric guitar was invented in the united states in the 1930s. South carolina had the highest population of rickenbacker families in 1880.
Rickenbacker is the only book of its kind to chronicle the history of the company who in 1931 introduced electric instruments to the world. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The most rickenbacker families were found in the usa in 1880. That was how beauchamp entered the business world and met adolph rickenbacker, an engineer and owner of a tool business close by where beauchamp and the dopyera brothers set up their tricone factory. Today the distinctive sound of rickenbacker guitars and basses figure prominently with artists such as ezra koenig and chris baio of vampire weekend, chris martin and guy berryman of coldplay, james iha of smashing pumpkins, eric judy of modest mouse, and roger waters of pink floyd. During his career as a race car driver in the nineteenteens he set a new speed record of. Timetoasts free timeline maker lets you create timelines online. The national string instrument corporation was one of his customers, eventually engaging adolph to make metal bodies for its resonator guitars. Beauchamp reached out to a local instrument maker, john dopyera, for help. The beatles in particular were responsible for the popularity of rickenbacker in the 1960s. The invention of the germanium transistor by employees of bell telephone laboratories would change the world of music technology. An epic history of the style, sound, and revolution of the electric guitar kindle edition by tolinski, brad, di perna, alan, santana, carlos.
The design isnt perfect and the sticker price is high. The company became the worlds first to produce electric guitars and eventually produced an iconic range of electric guitars and bass guitars. In this year, adolph rickenbacker invents the first amplifiable electric guitar. Do you know who patented the first electric guitar. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Adolph rickenbacher 18871976 by banz friedli swiss journalist lemmy just shows up from time to time. Inventions the electric guitar was one of his most famous inventions.
Beauchamp, this pioneering firm produced rickenbacker electro instruments, the first modern. The elctric guitar is invented by adolph rickenbacker. Beauchamp with the original name being the electro string. Rickenbacker guitars rickenbacker guitar history ed roman. Adolph rickenbacker biography adolph rickenbacker 1 april 1886 march 1976 was a swissamerican today remembered as one of the cofounders of the rickenbacker guitar, and one of the key people that were responsible for the creation and adoption of electric guitars that managed to change the shape and sound of the modern music industry altogether. Early life adolph rickenbacker was born in basel, switzerland on april 1st, 1886. Nevertheless, he continued instrument making until 1953 when he sold the company to f. Rickenbacker, also known as rickenbacher in their earliest days, is an electric string instrument manufacturer based in santa ana, california. The rise of the electric guitar by the end of the 1930s, electronic amplification proved to be one of the most successful innovations for building a louder electric guitar, despite the misgivings of some traditionalists about the new technology. Adolph rickenbacker had supplied metal bodies for national guitars when george beauchamp was there. Make educational timelines or create a timeline for your company website. Mar 06, 2012 the beauchamprickenbacker pickup was first released on a lapsteel known as the frying pan in 1931. Fang cochran quinn lewisgonzalez martina borquez 2nd hour science career and invention family sadness strikes early life adolph became an engineer in 1920 and later meets george beauchamp. At the time, it was expensive and didnt work very well.
Hall, a leading figure in the postwwii southern california music business. Rickenbacker international corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in santa ana, california. In 1880 there were 59 rickenbacker families living in south carolina. This was about 92% of all the recorded rickenbacker s in the usa. It was only when engineers utilized a more direct pickup system, in which the electromagnet registered string vibration from the strings themselves, that the modern electric guitar became a reality. This 12string semihollow electric was made popular by george harrison of the beatles. Eventually, he cofounded the ropatin corporation with adolph rickenbacker and paul barth, and later national stringed instruments corporation and rickenbacker guitars. Adolph rickenbacker april 3, 1886 march 21, 1976 was a swissamerican electrical engineer who cofounded the rickenbacker guitar company along with george beauchamp and paul barth. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Beauchamp, this pioneering firm produced rickenbacker electro instruments, the first modern electric guitars. Adolph rickenbacker april 1, 1886 march 21, 1976 was a swissamerican electrical engineer who cofounded the rickenbacker guitar company along with george beauchamp and paul barth rickenbacker was born in basel, switzerland as adolf rickenbacher. Delivering meaty, low end thunder and the crisp, defined midrange that has shaped rock and pop history, rickenbacker bass is the first software instrument to be officially approved by rickenbacker. Adolph rickenbacker 3 april 1886 march 1976 was a swissamerican who cofounded the rickenbacker guitar company along with george beauchamp and paul barth.
Today the distinctive sound of rickenbacker guitars and basses figure prominently with artists such as ezra koenig and chris baio of vampire weekend, chris martin and guy berryman of coldplay, james iha of smashing pumpkins, eric judy. During the 30s, rickenbacker made models like the frying pan model a25 and model bd lap steel, with its bakelite an early plastic construction. Finally, by the late 1960s we had amps that could go to 11. He was orphaned as a youngster and emigrated to the usa with relatives in 1891. It was in the year 1931 that adolph rickenbacker and george beauchamp decided that the world needed a fully electric musical instrument. You can filter them based on skills, years of employment, job, education, department, and prior employment. Transistors are much more robust than valves, have much lower operating voltages and waste less energy as heat. Rickenbacker, eddie international encyclopedia of the first.
Hall overhauled the business and began focusing on standard electric and acoustic guitars rather than the steel guitars the company pioneered. The rickenbacker international corporation ric grew out of the first company founded for. At a young age, rickenbacker had an interest in mechanical devices. As far back as 3000 bc, the concept of a stringed instrument has been popular. This created a field that amplified the strings vibrations. Then, in 1931, rickenbacker and beauchamp founded the rickenbacker international corporation ric and created the first modern electric guitars.
The evolution of the electric guitar truefire blog. Pronunciation of adolph rickenbacker with 1 audio pronunciation, 1 translation and more for adolph rickenbacker. The 21 most important music technology innovations of all. When he was fourteen years old, his father died after sustaining a head injury in a workplace altercation. We guitar players have always had the need to turn it up. Scarbee rickenbacker bass captures the unmistakable sound of a rickenbacker 4003 for the first time in software. The company is still in existence making guitars in the usa. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars in. As a last name rickenbacker was the 46,811 th most popular name in 2010.
Rickenbacker is the largest guitar company to make all of their guitars within the united states. Adolph rickenbacker created the electric guitar in 1931. Rickenbackers 36012, introduced in 1963, was a revolutionary design. The les paul was the first completely solidbody electric guitar. Get comprehensive information on the number of employees at rickenbacker international corp. This 256page softcover book gives a complete and illustrated history of the development of rickenbacker instruments from 1931 to the present.
The frying panadolph rickenbacker attached a electromagnetic pickup to their aluminum lapsteel guitar, dubbed it the frying pan. The first commercially successful model, the socalled frying pan. Adolph rickenbacker 1 april 1886 march 1976 was a swissamerican today remembered as one of the cofounders of the rickenbacker guitar, and one of the key people that were responsible for the creation and adoption of electric guitars that managed to change the shape and sound of the modern music industry altogether. Rics history now spans 89 years in business on the leading edge of music trends that have changed popular culture forever.
Four lists are currently available, a master list, a bass list, a 6 string list and a 12 string list. Jan 27, 2002 adolph rickenbacker had maintained other interests throughout electro strings short history. His company was the first in the united states to produce solidbodied electric guitars. Beauchamp and machinist adolph rickenbacker began selling the frying pan in 1932. It was initially called the electro string instrument corporation. He started experimentation with amplifying instruments as early as 1925 and played a major role in the national guitar company.
Please email the name of any additional artist along with the appropriate model or models. After this tragedy, rickenbacker dropped out of school and sought work. Billboard puts out its first record sales chart in 1936. He was anxious to manufacture the instrument and called on his friend adolph rickenbacker to help out.
Founded in 1931 by adolph rickenbacker and george d. Adolph rickenbacker produces the first cast aluminum versions of the electric lap steel guitar, also known as the frying pan. This changed how music has been played ever since and is one of the most important events in all of rock history. The rickenbacker international corporation ric blossomed from the first company founded out of the sole purpose of creating fully electric instruments and amplifiers, the l. Social security administration public data, the first name rickenbacker was not present. The electro string instrument company was founded in 1931 by adolph rickenbacker and george beauchamp. In the following years, musician les paul will try to improve. They made their guitars from cast aluminum and were played on a persons lap using a steel slide much like todays steel guitar. The history of rock and roll parent key course description. The roughneck from motorhead, a legendary heavy metal bass player, has himself chauffeured down to santa ana from l. Make a s l i d e a b o u t e d i s o n with an audio clip. Rickenbacker had developed a great deal of interest in machines since he was a child. Radiotel, purchased the electro string company from adolph rickenbacker in 1953. Eddie rickenbacker history of world war i ww1 the great war.
The acoustic guitar, on the other hand, has a very long history stretching back thousands of years. Hall overhauled the business and began focusing on standard electric and acoustic guitars rather than the steel guitars the. In 1932 the first iron steel electric guitar was made. The rickenbacker international corporation ric grew out of the first company founded for the sole purpose of creating and manufacturing fully electric musical instruments and. By the end of the 1930s, other manufacturers had begun experimenting with using electromagnetic pickups on traditional hollowbody spanishstyle guitars. Played by hawaiian musicians of the 1930s to jazz bassists of the 1990s, by. The company was founded by adolph rickenbacker wwi flying legend eddie rickenbacker s cousin and george d. In late 1931, beauchamp, rickenbacker, and partners formed the ropatin corporation for the purpose of developing electric guitars. Adolph did not attend college in switzerland or the united states. He immigrated in 1891 to the united states with older relatives after his parents died.
The rickenbacker family name was found in the usa between 1880 and 1920. Adolph rickenbacker 18861976 was a germanamerican guitar manufacturer who in 1931 founded the electro string instrument corporation. Adolph rickenbacker his company was the first in the united states to produce solidbodied electric guitars. Banz friedli takes a candid look at adolph rickenbacker and the history of the company bearing his name. Adolph rickenbacker originally made the metal components for dopera brothers. Rickenbacker was born in basel, switzerland as adolf rickenbacher. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading play it loud. Adolph rickenbacker had a metal working shop and produced metal bodies for national. Fender was started by leo fender in 1946 in fullerton, ca. The word luthier, meaning stringed instrument maker, is also derived from the french. Rickenbacker international corporation born to rock guitar exhibit at harrods, london, february 2007, featuring the 1931 rickenbacker frying pan. Telefunken helps develop magnetic tape for use with tape recorders. Adolph rickenbacker was born in 1886 in basel switzerland.
The bd is regarded as among the finest steels ever produced. This is where the man behind the brand name, adolph rickenbacher. Adolph rickenbacker had maintained other interests throughout electro strings short history. Rickenbacker s 36012, introduced in 1963, was a revolutionary design. Rickenbacker claims the invention of the electric guitar. With 26 aerial victories he was americas most successful fighter ace in the war. Pete johnson and joe turner cut their first boogie records in kansas city. History of the solid body electric guitar chasingguitars. The rickenbacker electro string this electric guitar was called the bakelite spanish guitar.
Beauchamp was awarded the first patent for a guitar with an electric pickup. Ropatin included beauchamps electric lap steel guitar and electric guitar in catalogues going back to 1932, though beauchamps hollowbody electric guitar wasnt patented. Jun 9, 2017 inventor of the electric guitar adolph rickenbacker was a swissamerican machinist and engineer of great skill who cofounded the famous rickenbacker guitar company. Played by hawaiian musicians of the 1930s to jazz bassists of the 1990s, by the beatles and byrds to the mostcurrent rock groups on mtv, the ringing sound of rickenbacker instruments has helped define music.
Rickenbacker simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aug 18, 2016 the earliest years of rickenbacker saw the company developing a range of designs. They are known for their electric guitars and basses. Discussion in the hokey ass message board started by gigantor, jan 1, 2012. His father encouraged rickenbacker through his words. Rickenbacker guitars rickenbacker guitar history ed.
The first solid body electric guitar was invented by les paul in 1941. A guy named adolph rickenbacker as the story goes, a fellow named george beauchamp, who was the general manager of the national guitar corporation, along with paul barth, the vice president, actually designed the first electrically amplified guitar in 1931. See more ideas about rickenbacker guitar, guitar and steel guitar. Adolph rickenbacher and george beauchamp founded the company in 1931 along with as the ropatin corporation.
Rics history now spans 85 years in business on the leading edge of music trends that have changed popular culture forever. Hall overhauled the business and began focusing on standard electric and acoustic guitars rather. This page is comprised of a list of names of those artists who have used or owned rickenbacker guitars and the specific models that they played or owned. In 1999, a body template marked les paul in what appears to be les own. Save money on used rickenbacker guitars at guitar center. Rickenbacker became the technical head of the national company, beauchamps business. Rickenbacker continued to specialize in steel guitars well into the 1950s, but with the advent of rock and roll, f.