1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from half 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works, No Love all Things Tech, and I 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: had a listener recently give me a request to cover 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: the story of Gibson Guitars, which has been in the 7 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: news recently after the company filed for bankruptcy. Listener who 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: requested this, I apologize because while I did a search 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: in my email and on Twitter, I couldn't find where 10 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: it was. And maybe you asked me somewhere else, And 11 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: I apologize for for leaving your name out. If you 12 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: can get in touch with me and let me know 13 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: who you are, I'll make sure to to confirm your 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: identity in a future episode. But I thought it was 15 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: a great request. I have talked about electric guitars in 16 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: the past, but it was a long long time ago. 17 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: Chris Poulette, my original co host, and I we talked 18 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: all about electric guitars. We're gonna cover some of that 19 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: same territory here, but it's been like eight years, so 20 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: I think it's okay for me to go back over it. 21 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: So in this episode, we're gonna take a look at 22 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: the founder of Gibson Guitars, how acoustic guitars work, the 23 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: early days of electric guitars and how they work, and 24 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: how the company grew into a household name if your 25 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: household was pretty musical. In our next episode, we're gonna 26 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: skip ahead to learn about why the company had to 27 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: declare bankruptcy and what will come next for it. So 28 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: we're gonna kind of book end the company in these 29 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: two episodes. Now, the story of Gibson begins with its founder, 30 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: Orville H. Gibson. Orville was born in eighteen fifty six 31 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: in Chatta Gay, New York, or Chateau Gay if you 32 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: want to pronounce it the French way, But as far 33 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: as I could tell, the actual local pronunciation is closer 34 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: to Chatta Gay. And I couldn't even be getting that wrong. 35 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: And I apologize because I probably am. I'm a Southerner. 36 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: That's a Yankee town. Let's chalk it up to that. Anyway, 37 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: This town is not that far from the boy her 38 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: with Canada, and his dad was originally from England. His 39 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: mom was an American and very little is known about 40 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: his life. He had several siblings. He was the youngest 41 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: of the Gibson children, But there aren't a whole lot 42 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: of records of his life, uh that have been discovered 43 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: over time. So a lot of the stuff that we've 44 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: learned about Gibson we've learned kind of through circumstantial evidence. 45 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: There are a few records that we can cite, but 46 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: we only know a few facts. So when he was 47 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: in his late teens, Gibson moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. We're 48 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: not entirely sure why. He may have left with his brother, 49 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: one of his older brothers, but we don't really know. 50 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 1: He clearly had an interest in woodcarving and music when 51 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: he was a kid. He became an accomplished musician, and 52 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: he was the leader of a group called the Orpheus 53 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:52,080 Speaker 1: Mandolin Club. Author Joyce Brumbaugh suggests in her book Orville H. 54 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: Gibson A Peculiar Excellency, that he was likely an animated 55 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: and energetic person because he was performing on the vaudeville's stage. 56 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: So if you're in vaudeville theater, in order to keep 57 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: the audience's attention, you have to be really personable. This 58 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: stands and start contrast with the standard photograph of Orville H. Gibson. 59 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: It shows in unsmiling, heavily mustached gentleman with a really 60 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: intense stare. He does not look like a fun loving individual, 61 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: but since he was the band leader of a vaudeville group, 62 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: he probably lightened up a bit on stage. Gibson began 63 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,839 Speaker 1: making musical instruments in Kalamazoo, possibly starting as early as 64 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: the eighteen eighties. He worked as a clerk for a 65 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: couple of Kalamazoo businesses to support himself, and he made 66 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: instruments on commission only on occasion. Brumbal says that Orville 67 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: may have viewed being a luthier, that's a person who 68 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: actually builds stringed instruments as a kind of retirement plan, 69 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:51,839 Speaker 1: like once he got to a certain age, he would 70 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: be making these kind of out of pleasure on his 71 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: own pace for money. The first documented Gibson instrument, according 72 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: to the company official history page, dates to eighteen ninety four. 73 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: By then, Gibson had his own wood shop. His designs 74 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: built off the arch top design of the violin. I'll 75 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about what that arch top 76 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: design means in just a second, but first let's talk 77 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: about the basic structure of stringed instruments like guitars and mandolins, 78 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: again understanding of their anatomy. Now I'm gonna focus mostly 79 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: on guitars for our discussion, but many of the same 80 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: things apply to mandolin's. Mandolin's and guitars are not that different, 81 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: although their strings are grouped and tuned differently. Guitars have 82 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 1: three major parts. You have the body, and acoustic guitars 83 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: have a hollow body, upon which is the soundboard. More 84 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: on that in a second. Then there's the neck of 85 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: the guitar, upon which are the frets, and at the 86 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: very end of it is the head of the guitar, 87 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: which has the tuning pegs. So let's start with talking 88 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: about the body. Now, you can divide the body of 89 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: most acoustic guitars into three more parts, so you can 90 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: think of a guitar kind of has almost like a 91 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: pair shape or a figure rate shape in a way. 92 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: The narrow part of an acoustic guitar is called the waist, 93 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: and it's meant to make it easier to rest the 94 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: guitar against your knee for playing. The wider sections, the 95 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: ones that are that bow out a bit, they're called bouts. 96 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: So the upper bout of a guitar is the bit 97 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,919 Speaker 1: that connects to the neck of the guitar. The lower 98 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 1: bout has the bridge attached to it. The body on 99 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: an acoustic guitar tends to have a large hole in it, called, 100 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: appropriately enough, the sound hole. Below the sound hole is 101 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: a piece called the bridge. This is the piece that 102 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: acts as the anchor point for the strings on that 103 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,239 Speaker 1: end of the guitar. On the bridge is another piece 104 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: called the saddle, and the strings of the guitar rest 105 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: against the saddle, which provides a raised point so that 106 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: the strings are clear of the bridge and of the 107 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: rest of the guitar the frets along the neck. Otherwise 108 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 1: the strings would not be able to vibrate properly. They 109 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: would be uh brushing up against the guitar and you 110 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: would get a buzzing noise. Strings stretch up to the 111 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,559 Speaker 1: neck to the head of the guitar, where they pass 112 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: through a piece called the nut and wrap around the 113 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: tuning pegs. So the nut is a piece with grooves 114 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: in it that the strings fit through, and it's kind 115 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: of similar to the saddle on the other end of 116 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: the guitar. The nut and saddle act as as sort 117 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: of um a raised section that keeps those strings clear 118 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: of the rest of the guitar. Right, So very similar 119 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: in many ways to the bridge and and saddle. If 120 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: you to turn the tuning pegs, you can increase or 121 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: decrease the amount of tension on individual strings, which changes 122 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: their rate of vibration and therefore their pitch. The saddle 123 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: and the nut represent the two ends of a guitar string. 124 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,039 Speaker 1: So even though the string technically extends past the nut 125 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 1: and the saddle, so on one end, on the nut end, 126 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: it continues on to wrap around the tuning peg. On 127 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: the saddle end, it continues down to the anchor point 128 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,359 Speaker 1: on the bridge. Uh, we actually considered the length of 129 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: the string to be saddle to nut. Now that distance 130 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,800 Speaker 1: between the nut and the saddle is the scale length 131 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: of the guitar. When you strum a string, you cause 132 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: it to vibrate, and vibrations pass through the saddle to 133 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: the bridge and therefore to the soundboard. And let's stick 134 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: with the strings for a second to have a discussion 135 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: about pitch and notes, and then we'll get back to 136 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: the soundboard and the body of the guitar and talk 137 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: a little bit about acoustics, the frequency of the strings 138 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: vibration determines its pitch. Rapidly vibrating strings create higher pitches 139 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: than slower vibrating strings, and several factors determine how fast 140 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,720 Speaker 1: a string will vibrate. So one of those is the 141 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: length of the string. Another is the amount of tension 142 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,679 Speaker 1: that's on the string. The more tension is on the string, 143 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: the faster it's going to vibrate. The weight of the 144 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,560 Speaker 1: string matters. The lighter the string is, the faster it 145 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: will vibrate, and how springy the string is. So if 146 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: you have a very springy material like a rubber band, 147 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: that vibrates a lot more than non stringy springy material 148 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: like twine. For example, the first string on a guitar 149 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: tends to be very very thin and have less weight, 150 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: and the sixth string, the last string on a standard guitar, 151 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: is much thicker and heavier. Pressing down on a string 152 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 1: at a fret will decrease the strength strings length, and 153 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: that increases the frequency of the strings vibrations, which also 154 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:25,679 Speaker 1: means it makes the pitch of the strings note higher. 155 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:27,960 Speaker 1: So when you have a guitar, you got that neck, 156 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 1: you got all the frets on there. If you put 157 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: your finger down on a string and you press down 158 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: and you play that string, it's going to play at 159 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: a higher pitch than it would if you didn't have 160 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: your finger there, if you were playing it as they 161 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: say open. Open is when you do not have a 162 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: finger on the neck where you're pressing down at a 163 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: fret on a particular string. And as you move up 164 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 1: the neck closer toward the bridge, the pitch of the 165 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: note you play will increase. It will go higher because 166 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: you're decreasing the length of the string and making it 167 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: vibrate more frequently within a second. Now, when I talk 168 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: about frequency, what I'm really talking about is the number 169 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: of times the string passes over an arbitrary point after 170 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: you strum it. So imagine you've got a little sensor 171 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: placed just below a string, and you strum the string, 172 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: and the sensor counts every time the string leaves and 173 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: returns to a certain position. So every time it moves 174 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: out and back counts as a wave, like a sound wave. 175 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: The frequency of those waves determines the pitch. So, for example, 176 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: let's say you've got a guitar and you've tuned it 177 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: to the standard guitar tuning, which is E, B, G, 178 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: D A E. Your first string is tuned to EAT. Now, 179 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,080 Speaker 1: if you were to press down on the first string 180 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 1: at the fifth fret, and then you were to strum 181 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 1: that string, the string would vibrate at a frequency of 182 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: four forty times per second, and that would produce and 183 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: A note that is the frequency of an A note. 184 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: Strumming an open first string to produce the E note 185 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: it naturally would produce would cause the string to vibrate 186 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,319 Speaker 1: at three nine point six times per second. That's because 187 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: an open note represents a longer string, so that's why 188 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: it has fewer vibrations per second. It's a longer string. 189 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: If you have a scale length of twenty six inches, 190 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: meaning that's the distance between the nut and the saddle, 191 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: the E note would represent a string that's twenty six 192 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 1: inches long at that particular tension and that particular weight. 193 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: If you put your finger on the fifth threat, the 194 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,199 Speaker 1: strings length has been reduced to nineteen point four eight inches, 195 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: and if you were to go all the way down 196 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:25,679 Speaker 1: to the twelfth fret, you'd be at thirteen inches. You 197 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:27,719 Speaker 1: would produce an E note again, but that would be 198 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: an octave higher than your original E. The notes from 199 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 1: the major scale the C scale R, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, 200 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: and then C again. The frequencies for those notes are 201 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 1: two hundred sixty four hurts for C to ninety seven 202 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: hurts for D, three hurts for E, three fifty two 203 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: hurts for F, three nine six hurts for G four 204 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: or forty hurts for A four, nine five hurts for B, 205 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: and five eight hurts for C. Again, that means to 206 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: go from C to D you would have to multiply 207 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,560 Speaker 1: sees frequency by nine eight. But to get from D 208 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: to E you would have to multiply ds frequency by 209 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: ten ninths. And to go from E to F you 210 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: got to multiply by sixteen fifteen. Which sounds like some 211 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 1: really screwy math. So how did we figure all this out? 212 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: We'll explain all that in a minute, but first let's 213 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: take a quick break to thank our sponsor. So how 214 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 1: did we get this weird math where we take one 215 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: frequency and then we start multiplying it by stuff like 216 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: nine eighth or sixteen fifteen or ten ninths or whatever. Well, 217 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 1: we actually work backward. The major scale represents songs or 218 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: notes rather that we humans find pleasant, So what happened 219 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,440 Speaker 1: was we figured out the notes that we most like 220 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: to listen to, and we started tuning our instruments to 221 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 1: those notes. We said, oh, this is this has got 222 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: a nice sound to it. It It appeals to me, so 223 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: I'm going to tune this inst are meant to play 224 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: these notes, And we just kept working with instruments to 225 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: find the tunings that pleased us, and then they became 226 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: the standard. Later, when acoustics really began to emerge as 227 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,479 Speaker 1: a branch of physics, we started to understand the mathematical 228 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 1: relationships between these notes. Really, when you get down to it, 229 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 1: music is math. So for example, the first ce and 230 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 1: the major scale has a frequency of two hundred sixty 231 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: four hurts. If you move up an octave to the 232 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: next see as a frequency of five eight hurts. And 233 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 1: if you pay attention, you see that that is twice 234 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,440 Speaker 1: the number of two sixty four. So the notes we 235 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: are familiar with end up being arbitrary, right, the thing 236 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: we called to see it's called a cee for arbitrary reasons, 237 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: and in fact, the reason why we picked that set 238 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: of frequencies as opposed to some other one. You know, 239 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: we picked two sixty four instead of to seventy. It's 240 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:56,080 Speaker 1: because it sounded good to us, so we happen to 241 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: like those notes. That's the ones that ended up being picked. 242 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: And then it just turns out that, uh, we started 243 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: learning about the mathematical relationships later. The mathematical connection allows 244 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: for alternate tunings. If we take the same progression of 245 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: fractions that we used in the C scale. You know 246 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: when I said nine eights and then ten ninths and 247 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: in fifteen sixteenth, it will use the exact same progression 248 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: that you use to determine the different frequencies in the 249 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: C major scale. And then you started with D as 250 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,199 Speaker 1: your first note. So you begin with D and then 251 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: you decide to go up nine eighths and then etcetera, etcetera. 252 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:34,880 Speaker 1: You would find out that some of the notes would 253 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: still have the same frequency as on the C major scale, 254 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: but some of them would be a little different, not 255 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: a lot, maybe just a few uh maybe a few 256 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,559 Speaker 1: waves difference of frequency maybe if you hurts difference, I 257 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: should say in frequency. But you would also notice that 258 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: the both the f uh and the C would have 259 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 1: frequencies significantly higher than they did on the C scale. 260 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: So you look at the D scale, and you say, huh. 261 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: While most of these are more or less in line 262 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: with their compatriots over in the C scale, F and 263 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: C on this D scale are very different. They're higher. 264 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: That's where we get F sharp and C sharp, and 265 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: in fact that's where we get sharps. In general. That's 266 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 1: why certain letters have a sharp or a flat. By 267 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: the way, sharp and flat, it's all dependent on your perspective. 268 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: Uh So a G sharp is or rather a G 269 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: flat is the same as an F sharp. So F 270 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: sharp would mean that the frequency is a little higher 271 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: than your standard F note. G flat means that the 272 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: frequency is a little lower than your standard G note. 273 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 1: But F and G are right next to each other, 274 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,440 Speaker 1: So and F sharp and a G flat they're the 275 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: same thing. Um so good to know. Also, when you 276 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: play a note, you typically don't get one pure note, 277 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: especially on the guitar, you actually get harmonics. Plucking a 278 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: note doesn't just generate the frequency, the fundamental frequency for 279 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: that note, but the harmonics at two, three, and four 280 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: times the pure tone. However, each step up also has 281 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: a reduction in amplitude or volume. So for example, let's 282 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: say you play an A note, which is that four 283 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: forty hurts. Uh. You also get some harmonics at eight 284 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: eight hurts, but your amplitude will be lower, like half 285 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: the amplitude of your fundamental frequency. So we tend to 286 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: perceive these fundamental frequencies and their overtones as a single note, 287 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: like we're not hearing multiple notes when we pluck this. 288 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: They all kind of blend together to make one note. 289 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: But combinations of overtones can create a different feel for sounds, 290 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,320 Speaker 1: so they are important in acoustics. The hollow body of 291 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: the guitar amplifies the vibrations from the strings. The vibrations 292 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: move through the strings, through the bridge onto the sound board. 293 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: It causes air molecules inside the hollow body of the 294 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: guitar to vibrate. They emerge from this whole in a concentration, 295 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: and then those vibrating air molecules cause other air molecules 296 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:01,920 Speaker 1: to vibrate, and so on and so forth, until air 297 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: molecules in your ear canals start to vibrate and press 298 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: against your tim panic membrane or create areas of low pressure, 299 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: allowing your tim tympanic membrane to press outward, and again 300 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 1: we get the stimulation of nerve cells in our ears 301 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: that ultimately our brains interpret as sound. But I've talked 302 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,000 Speaker 1: about that a lot in recent episodes, so we're not 303 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: going to go over it again in any greater detail 304 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: than what I just did. That is so Gibson's designs 305 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: incorporated an arch structure. I mentioned that earlier. So what 306 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: did that actually mean? Well, that was something that was 307 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: common in violins, and by arch structure, I mean that 308 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: the soundboard on the guitar bowed out, bowed out maybe 309 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: or arched out. That's probably the better way of putting it. 310 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: Arched out rather than being perfectly flat. So instead of 311 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: having a flat face guitar, the face of the guitar 312 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: actually uh arched outward a little bit from the player. 313 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 1: The whole instrument was carved out of a single piece 314 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: of wood, and Orville also hollowed out part of the 315 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: neck of the guitar because he was hoping that it 316 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: would help improve the quality of sound the guitar would produce. 317 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: So at the base of the neck where it joins 318 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: that upper bout that was actually hollowed out to try 319 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: and create more resonance for the guitar. Orville Gibson actually 320 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:18,240 Speaker 1: filed a patent for his design, though specifically he filed 321 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,199 Speaker 1: it for mandolins, but it was the same approach and 322 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 1: he filed for it in and the Patent Office granted 323 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,880 Speaker 1: him a patent in eight While constructing a guitar, Gibson 324 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,479 Speaker 1: would tap upon the partially finished body and listen for 325 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 1: the sound that it made when he tapped it, and 326 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: this would be a way that he would tune the 327 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: guitar's body painstakingly between carving sessions to get it just right. 328 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:43,880 Speaker 1: So he listened to it and think, that's not the 329 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,400 Speaker 1: sound quality I'm gonna need. I'll carve away a little 330 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,120 Speaker 1: bit more to get the right kind of resonance. This 331 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: was the same approach that master violin builders were using 332 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: when they were making their incredible instruments, so it made 333 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: the process of building a guitar really methodical. Another word 334 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 1: from methodical would be really slow. Gibson actually gained a 335 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: reputation as a talented luthier, and his instruments were really 336 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: in demand, but he was not able to produce as 337 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: many instruments as people wanted, and so he began to 338 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: look around for a way to expand this and in 339 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,560 Speaker 1: nineteen o two he sought out help in the form 340 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: of a business agreement with a collection of Kalamazoo business 341 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: owners essentially five owners who were willing to launch a 342 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: business around this. They formed the Gibson Mandolin Guitar Manufacturing Company. 343 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: Here's the weird thing. Gibson himself was not a partner 344 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: in this firm. Instead, he accepted a one time payment 345 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: of two thousand five dollars for his patents where his 346 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: patent I should say, and served as a consultant for 347 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: the first two years of the company's history. But in 348 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: nineteen o four, Orville Gibson left the company that bore 349 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,439 Speaker 1: his own name, and he would later leave Kalamazoo, Michigan entirely, 350 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,680 Speaker 1: perhaps due to declining health. He drew a pension from 351 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: the company until his death in nineteen eight teen, um 352 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,720 Speaker 1: he died from heart failure. The company was building instruments 353 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:08,160 Speaker 1: based off of Orville Gibson's designs, however, and in nineteen 354 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: nineteen Lloyd Lore joined the company l O. A. R. 355 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: He'd become an important person at Gibson, as would another 356 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,480 Speaker 1: employee named Ted McHugh, and at that point the company's 357 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: guitar line was called the L Series. The series had 358 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 1: eschewed some of Gibson's original designs, like the intricate inlays 359 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: that he would create for his soundboards that cut down 360 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: on their manufacturing time and had also cut down on 361 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: a cost. He also they also had abandoned the idea 362 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: of carving out the UH the instruments sides and next 363 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: from a single piece of wood, or hollowing out a neck. 364 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: They had pretty much given up on some of the 365 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: more time consuming elements of this. There were models that 366 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: were called the L the and then they had the 367 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: L one to the L four someone which had been 368 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: discontinued by the time that Laura came on, But some 369 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: of them were actually available in multiple sizes, so different 370 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: model of guitar UH, sometimes with different sizes within a 371 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: single model family. MQ would develop a steel bar that 372 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: could fit inside the neck of a guitar to improve 373 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:14,879 Speaker 1: the instrument's strength and rigidity, while also giving Luthier's the 374 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,160 Speaker 1: ability to make the next a little more slim, which 375 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,200 Speaker 1: would make them easier to hold and more comfortable to play. 376 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: His invention was called a truss rod, and it would 377 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: find its way into what many people consider to be 378 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:30,080 Speaker 1: the first modern acoustic guitar, the L five. The L 379 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:33,119 Speaker 1: five was Lloyd Lore's baby. He had created some novel 380 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,960 Speaker 1: designs for the company's F five mandolin, and he decided 381 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,679 Speaker 1: to use those same design principles when working on the 382 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: L five guitar. The design included getting rid of the 383 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 1: sound hole entirely, so instead of having that sort of 384 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: oval sound hole that's in the face of the guitar, 385 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,719 Speaker 1: he went with a pair of F holes. They're so 386 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: called because they look kind of like a lower case 387 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,239 Speaker 1: stylized letter F, and they were on either side of 388 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: where the string were. This is similar to the way 389 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: violins were constructed and the F five mandolin as well. 390 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: So this was a new way of um allowing sound 391 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: to emerge from the body of the guitar, and it 392 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: gave it a slightly different tone than the guitars that 393 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: had round or oval sound holes. The guitar also had 394 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:25,240 Speaker 1: an adjustable bridge, and an adjustable bridge leads to adjustable action. 395 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: The action on a guitar refers to the height of 396 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: the strings above the guitars fretboard, so you're looking at 397 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,879 Speaker 1: the neck of the guitar, you're looking at the frets. 398 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: The frets are slightly raised from the neck. That's the 399 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,639 Speaker 1: point where you can put pressure so that the string 400 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,399 Speaker 1: ends up changing its length. You can make the strings 401 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 1: shorter by pressing down on the strings at the frets. Well, 402 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: you want to have the right height between your guitar 403 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: strings and the frets in order to get the sound 404 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,560 Speaker 1: you want. You can actually measure it by setting a 405 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 1: ruler down on the fret and then seeing where the 406 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 1: string falls on the rulers measurements typic. You would use 407 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: the twelfth fret on a guitar to measure a strings action. 408 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: It's kind of the middle of the neck, and keeping 409 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: the height of the strings relative to the frets at 410 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: a good action is important to make sure the guitar 411 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,919 Speaker 1: plays well and stays in tune properly. Low action is 412 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 1: easier to play because you don't have to press is 413 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: hard to have the strings make contact with the frets. However, 414 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: it also can create a buzz sound as you play, 415 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: because sometimes the strings are gonna make contact with the 416 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: frets and they're gonna vibrate against the frets. That's where 417 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 1: you get that buzzing sound. High action is harder to 418 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 1: play because you have to press harder to make the 419 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 1: strings make contact with the frets, but they It also 420 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:43,159 Speaker 1: plays at a higher volume than low action does, and 421 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,120 Speaker 1: adjustable bridge made it easier from musicians to get their 422 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 1: instruments set just right for their style of play. And uh, 423 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,679 Speaker 1: you also find that acoustic guitars in general have higher 424 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 1: action than electric guitars because that higher volume is necessary 425 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: for an acoustic guitar. With electric guitar, you've got electricification. 426 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,120 Speaker 1: An acoustic guitar you don't have that necessarily. Laura would 427 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: stay with Gibson until nineteen twenty four, and he would 428 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,199 Speaker 1: leave the company after trying to convince executives and they 429 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 1: should let him experiment with designing electric instruments. They said, no, 430 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: that doesn't make any sense. There's that's not going anywhere. 431 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: Stop doing it. So he left the company and he 432 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 1: would go on to found his own instruments company with 433 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: a couple of other former Gibson employees, and they would 434 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: start producing electric instruments beginning in nineteen thirty three, although 435 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:33,920 Speaker 1: the method they used was not the one that would 436 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 1: become the standard for electric guitars moving forward. Gibson itself 437 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: would not start getting into the electric guitar business until 438 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six, and I'll talk a little bit more 439 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: about electric guitars and how they work in just a second, 440 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: But first let's take another quick break to thank our sponsor. 441 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: After Lare left Gibson the and he continued to design 442 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,400 Speaker 1: guitars built off of his work. To improve the volume, 443 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: new models became a bit larger, to around sixteen to 444 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: seventeen inches across the body. In nineteen thirty four, Gibson 445 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:18,160 Speaker 1: introduced a guitar called the Super four hundred, a luxury instrument. 446 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 1: It had gold plated tuning features at pearl inlays along 447 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: the neck and ebony fingerboard, and a lot of other embellishments. 448 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,360 Speaker 1: The name came from the instruments price tag of four 449 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:33,439 Speaker 1: hundred dollars in nineteen thirty four. If we had just 450 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,359 Speaker 1: for inflation, that guitar would cost seven thousand, five hundred 451 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:42,120 Speaker 1: sixty dollars in today's money. Who It was also bigger 452 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: than the standard Gibson guitars. It measured eighteen inches across 453 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: the body, compared to that sixteen or seventeen inch average 454 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,199 Speaker 1: that Gibson typically made. Some musicians felt that this was 455 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,560 Speaker 1: just too big. Some people thought that really the guitar 456 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,920 Speaker 1: only existed as kind of a status symbol and not 457 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 1: really as a practical guitar. But other folks really like 458 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: the design. They really felt that they got superior sound 459 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,880 Speaker 1: of this guitar style. Gibson also started making flat top 460 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:10,919 Speaker 1: acoustic guitars around this time and introduced some lower cost guitars, so, 461 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: in other words, they started making some guitars that didn't 462 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: have that arch front face to them, but the company 463 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: was still slow to adopt the electric guitar approach. There 464 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,679 Speaker 1: was a call for electric guitars because the acoustic guitar 465 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: is such a relatively quiet instrument. One of the popular 466 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 1: styles of music at around this time in history was 467 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: big band, which used drums and really louder instruments to 468 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: drive the music. So the guitar wasn't really a good 469 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:43,439 Speaker 1: match for those types of pieces. The other instruments in 470 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,640 Speaker 1: the band would drown out the music the guitar was making. 471 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,800 Speaker 1: In fact, um there were musicians in that era who 472 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: would say, yeah, you know, I knew the guy was 473 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:55,719 Speaker 1: playing the guitar, but you couldn't hear it. I mean, 474 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: they might as well just have saved themselves the effort 475 00:25:57,520 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 1: to just kind of move their hand in front of 476 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:00,959 Speaker 1: the strings, because no one was going to hear it anyway, 477 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: because all the other instruments were so loud. If you 478 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,120 Speaker 1: listen to my episodes on speakers, the ones that just published, 479 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: you know that this was the same time people were 480 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: working on creating electronic loudspeakers. So one solution would be 481 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:17,160 Speaker 1: to use a microphone and an acoustic guitar, but that 482 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,959 Speaker 1: was not really ideal. Uh, you would get a lot 483 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: of acoustic feedback, you would get a lot of interference 484 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,120 Speaker 1: stuff where the sounds coming out of the loudspeaker would 485 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: not sound as smooth or natural as the rest of 486 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: the instruments in the band. So it wasn't a great solution. 487 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,679 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty one, musician George bow Champ and an 488 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,119 Speaker 1: electrical engineer named Adolf Rickenbacker decided to tackle this problem 489 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: and find a way to electrically amplify the volume of 490 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,119 Speaker 1: a played string. Now, there had been a couple of 491 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: other experiments creating electric guitars, but they were taking a 492 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: totally different approach than what anyone else had done at 493 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: that point. So bo Schamp, he played Hawaiian guitar and 494 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 1: Hawaiian music it tends to rely upon the guitar as 495 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:04,959 Speaker 1: the melodic leader of a piece of music, so you 496 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: really had to make sure the guitar could be heard 497 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: because that was the heart of the music you were playing. 498 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: So you had to have something that would allow the 499 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,160 Speaker 1: guitar to be heard clearly above other instruments. So they 500 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 1: came up with a pretty genius idea that we now 501 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,959 Speaker 1: call a pickup. Pickups rely upon one of my favorite 502 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: things to talk about, Magnetic Fields, not the band, though 503 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: I do love the Magnetic Fields and their Songbook of 504 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,679 Speaker 1: Love is amazing, so you should go listen to it. 505 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: If you've not heard Book of Love by the Magnetic Fields, 506 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: go listen to that. Anyway, I'm talking about the physics 507 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: of magnetic fields and electro magnetism. The heart of the 508 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 1: pickup is a coil of conductive wire, typically made of copper, 509 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: and it tends to be wrapped around a permanent magnet. 510 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,840 Speaker 1: This is inside the body of the guitar and positioned 511 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: underneath the strings. So you might use a bar magnet 512 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:58,600 Speaker 1: which stretches over the entire length of where the strings 513 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,360 Speaker 1: are wrapped thousands and thousands of times by very thin 514 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 1: copper wire or you might use a series of magnets, 515 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: one under each string, and each of them wrapped with 516 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:13,679 Speaker 1: copper wire. Those strings are made The strings of the 517 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,640 Speaker 1: guitar are made out of ferro magnetic material, so they 518 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: are also you can magnetize them. In fact, due to 519 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,439 Speaker 1: the proximity of the strings to the permanent magnet in 520 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: the pickup, the strings themselves are slightly magnetized, and you 521 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: could even design a pickup in which there's no permanent 522 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,720 Speaker 1: magnet in the pickup itself. You could have the coils 523 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 1: of copper wrapped around some other material that's not a magnet, 524 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: not a permanent magnetol on its own, as long as 525 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: the strings of the guitar itself were magnetized. If the 526 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,479 Speaker 1: strings are magnetized, this is still going to work. So 527 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 1: when you cause one of these strings to vibrate, the 528 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: magnetized string creates a source of magnetic flux. It's kind 529 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: of like a fluctuating magnetic field, just caused by the 530 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 1: vibration of the string. So the magnetic fields moving, and 531 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: that's similar to the way a magnetic field would change 532 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,480 Speaker 1: if you were to run alternating current through an electro magnet. 533 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: For example, This moving magnet near the coil of conductive 534 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 1: wire induces a change of voltage in the wire, allowing 535 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 1: current to flow through, and if you transfer that current 536 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: to an amplifier and then that that amplified signal to 537 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: a speaker, you get amplified guitar strings. You're ready to rock. 538 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: The guitar itself is passive, by the way, so you're 539 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 1: not sending electricity to the guitar. You're not powering the guitar. Instead, 540 00:29:34,720 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: the guitar is generating electricity through this process of magnetic flux, 541 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 1: inducing a change of voltage in the pickup. So the 542 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 1: cable you plug into an electric guitar is there to 543 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: convey the electric signal from the guitar to an amplifier. 544 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 1: It's not sending any power to the device itself. There 545 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,720 Speaker 1: are some guitars that have active power elements, but your 546 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 1: basic electric guitar doesn't need them. It's completely passive. Gibson 547 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: started making their own hollow body electric guitars in nineteen 548 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,479 Speaker 1: thirty six, starting with the e H one fifty. The 549 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,960 Speaker 1: e H stood for Electric Hawaiian, meaning it was an 550 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: electric Hawaiian style guitar and it was meant to be 551 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: played on your lap as a steel guitar would be, 552 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: so it's a lap guitar. Following that was the E 553 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: S one fifty E stood for electric Spanish. Spanish is 554 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,040 Speaker 1: the general term for the style of guitar that we 555 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 1: typically associate with acoustic guitar, just that basic kind of 556 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: pear shape, hollow body style, that's a Spanish guitar. In 557 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,400 Speaker 1: nineteen forty there was a guy named Les Paul who 558 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: invented a new type of solid body electric guitar. So 559 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: there's no hollow element to this. UH. It was more 560 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: like a Frankenstein's Monster version of a guitar because he 561 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,760 Speaker 1: was using bits and pieces of other guitars in this. 562 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: But the heart of it, the main piece of it, 563 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 1: from the head all the way down to the base 564 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,720 Speaker 1: of the guitar, was a solid piece of hindwood. It 565 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: was a pinewood block. The UH actually the neck and 566 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: fingerboard ended up being from a Gibson guitar. So he 567 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: would cut this pine block short, put a actual guitar 568 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: neck and front board onto it, and then on either 569 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:18,800 Speaker 1: side of this pine board block he put the old 570 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: sides to an epiphone archtop guitar. So it makes it 571 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 1: look more like a guitar, but the block of what 572 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 1: itself was solid. He had an electric pickup, actually, he 573 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: had a couple of electric pickups installed on this thing. 574 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: But the guitar itself didn't have any hollow element to 575 00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:41,120 Speaker 1: its body, so it had no resonating chamber. And this 576 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: was a whole new idea, this idea of you don't 577 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,560 Speaker 1: need that hollow body to generate sound. You can just 578 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: use the electric pickups to pull out these vibrations and 579 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: create sound this way. And he called his creation the log. 580 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,960 Speaker 1: The thing was the guitar just had a amazing qualities 581 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,320 Speaker 1: that other guitars didn't like, like an incredible sustain You 582 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,600 Speaker 1: could play a note and it would sustain for a 583 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 1: really long time. Because his pickups were nice and sensitive, 584 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 1: they could really detect when the vibration was still going, 585 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: even when it would normally be inaudible to us, it 586 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:17,680 Speaker 1: would be it would generate enough of a signal that 587 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:19,720 Speaker 1: through an amplifier you could keep hearing it for a 588 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 1: really long time. And there was no acoustic feedback because 589 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 1: there was no there was no hollow body there, so 590 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: you didn't have any acoustic interference coming in as you 591 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,880 Speaker 1: played it. So he went to Gibson and he showed 592 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 1: off his design and said, I think this might be 593 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,960 Speaker 1: really useful for you guys. But the company was not 594 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,280 Speaker 1: blown away and they dismissed less Paul initially. But then 595 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 1: along came a competitor that changed things. That competitor was 596 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: a guy named Leo Fender who was coming to the 597 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: same conclusion as less Paul with regard to solid body 598 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 1: electric guitar construction. So he had similar ideas of how 599 00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 1: this should be done, and he began working on this 600 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: idea in the early nineteen forties and that design that 601 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 1: he started working on slowly evolved into what would become 602 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 1: the first commercial, mass produced solid body Spanish style electric guitar. 603 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:16,000 Speaker 1: It took about a decade for him to do it, 604 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:18,239 Speaker 1: but he was able to do it and launch it, 605 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:23,760 Speaker 1: and that was the Fender Telecaster. The Gibson company took notice. 606 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 1: Then a decade had past, Gibson had still not really 607 00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 1: looked at this solid body design. But then Fender comes 608 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: out with this thing. People are blown away by it, 609 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 1: and Gibson says, WHOA, we could have jumped on this 610 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,680 Speaker 1: a decade earlier, but we didn't. And they get back 611 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: in touch with less Paul. So less Paul comes back 612 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,320 Speaker 1: out and they essentially asked him to kind of consult 613 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: with them as they start to build a solid body 614 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 1: electric guitar design for the company. The extent of less 615 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 1: Paul's involvement in that particular design is a matter of 616 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,400 Speaker 1: some debate. Some people say that he oversaw a design 617 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:57,080 Speaker 1: but didn't really have a whole lot of inputs. Some 618 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,239 Speaker 1: people say that he had a lot of influence on 619 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 1: the design of the guitar. Either way, he did agree 620 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 1: to endorse it and that was the birth of the 621 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: Gibson Les Paul. He became an official product in nineteen 622 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:12,879 Speaker 1: fifty two and became the signature guitar for the Gibson company. 623 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:17,160 Speaker 1: Gibson would introduce several innovations in guitars over the following years, 624 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 1: including a double coil pickup called the Humbucker, the flying 625 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:26,359 Speaker 1: V body style of guitar those are pretty wicked, and 626 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:29,439 Speaker 1: then uh a lot more as well. Ted McCarty, who 627 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: was the president of the company during this era of innovation, 628 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:36,600 Speaker 1: he even was inventing stuff that was going into production, 629 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:40,080 Speaker 1: including a bridge called the tune oh Manic that had 630 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:44,319 Speaker 1: individually adjustable saddles to fine tune guitar action, so each 631 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,560 Speaker 1: string had its own individual saddle. McCarty ended up leaving 632 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,360 Speaker 1: the company in nineteen sixty six, and following his departure, 633 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: there was a sort of tumultuous time at Gibson, a 634 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: lot of uncertainty, and there was also a series of 635 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:02,880 Speaker 1: mergers and acquisitions that made things pretty complicated and sometimes 636 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 1: put the company in a very difficult position. And I'll 637 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 1: talk a little bit more about that series of decisions 638 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,439 Speaker 1: in the next episode when we unravel the reasons why 639 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: Gibson recently declared bankruptcy and then look at what the 640 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 1: company hopes to accomplish once it emerges from bankruptcy. But 641 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 1: that's in the next episode. For now, I invite you 642 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 1: guys to get in touch with me. Let me know 643 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: what you think, Let me know if there are any 644 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 1: topics you would like me to cover in future episodes 645 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff. Maybe there's a technology, maybe there's a 646 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:35,960 Speaker 1: company or a person that you would like me to 647 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:37,799 Speaker 1: talk about. Maybe there's someone you would like me to 648 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,560 Speaker 1: interview or have on as a guest. I would love 649 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,960 Speaker 1: to hear all of those ideas. Write me. The address 650 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,160 Speaker 1: is tech Stuff at how stuff works dot com, or 651 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: you can drop me a message on Facebook or Twitter 652 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,440 Speaker 1: the handle with both of those tech stuff hs W, 653 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: follow us on Instagram, and make sure you go to 654 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,759 Speaker 1: twitch dot tv slash tech stuff. You can watch me 655 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 1: record these shows live on Wednesdays and Fridays. We have 656 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,279 Speaker 1: a chat room there you can participate in that as well. 657 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,400 Speaker 1: I look forward to seeing you and I'll talk to 658 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:12,360 Speaker 1: you again really soon. For moral this and thousands of 659 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:24,400 Speaker 1: other topics, is that how stuff works dot com