Chad Thorne Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Here's something I've always wondered. Who was it who first thought, "Hey, if I wrap some wire around this magnet, put it under guitar strings, run the wires over to this radio thingy - why, I could hear the guitar a LOT louder!" Leo Fender and Les Paul worked with existing technology, as, I think, did the engineers at Rickenbacker. So who is the granddaddy of the pickup? Does anyone know, perchance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Here\'s a pretty good article Excerpt: The first guitar pickups were much less refined. A Gibson engineer named Lloyd Loar, a musician himself, developed a functional coil-wound pickup as early as 1923, but Gibson was not yet interested in producing electric instruments, so it never introduced Loars invention onto the market. Even if it had, the technology needed to amplify the signal and reproduce it through loudspeakers was still a few years away from being commercial. Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g. Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 chad, I haven't checked lately, but there used to be a lot of good materials on the Bill Lawrence website. He was one of the pioneers who was around for much of the early development, and one if not the only who is still alive. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 GREAT article! Thanks, Geez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Red 67 Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Lloyd Loar. Now that should be a band name! Big Red's Ride Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hound Dog Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 I remember reading where some old guys talked about taking the guts of a record player out and sticking the needle in the wood of their guitars. I don't think this was necessarily before pickups, I think they probably just did it because that is what they had laying around. Quite inventive, though. Yum, Yum! Eat em up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Originally posted by Hound Dog: I remember reading where some old guys talked about taking the guts of a record player out and sticking the needle in the wood of their guitars. I don't think this was necessarily before pickups, I think they probably just did it because that is what they had laying around. Quite inventive, though.Les Paul did that... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiC Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Originally posted by Big Red 67: Lloyd Loar. Now that should be a band name!I prefer Royd Roar ! First album title: Hear Royd Roar You know... a lil' "R&R" ... Peace "Treat your wife with honor, respect, and understanding as you live together so that you can pray effectively as husband and wife." 1 Peter 3:7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 Lloyd Loar is a legend in musical instruments. He was the brains at Gibson behind the F-series mandolins, at a time when mandolins were as popular as guitars are today. There's plenty about him on the Gibson website. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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