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Handcrafted Bass and Guitars
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In honor of my Great Uncle Joe - Barber, Inventor, Luthier
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My great uncle was a serial entrepreneur. He was a barber, and made his own line of
hair tonics. He repaired Victrolas on the side and applied his understanding of
mechanical sound reproduction to a compact unique sound box he could retrofit to
violins. His retrofits were used in early recording studios by American and European
Symphony Orchestras because they improved the volume while maintaining the integrity
of the instrument’s voice.
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About Paul Tutmarc's Electric Bass
Paul Tutmarc had been experimenting with electrified
instruments throughout the 1930s. He first electrified
pianos and Spanish guitars via a magnet wrapped with
wire that he called a "pickup". The pickup was
connected to a radio modified for use as an amplifier. In
1935, Tutmarc built an electric upright bass, which was
designed to be both amplified and portable. The Electric
Bass Fiddle was two feet shorter than a traditional
upright bass. Although Tutmarc had already been
producing and demonstrating an electric steel guitar
through the Audiovox Manufacturing Company, his
electric upright bass was for demonstration and publicity
purposes only.
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However, Tutmarc intended to take his idea
to a whole new level. He later developed
and marketed a radically new design - an
electric bass that could be played
horizontally, had a fretted neck, and a solid
body. Despite the modern design and
popularity of the Fender Precision Bass
almost twenty years later, this is considered
to be the first electric bass guitar.
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