STVDIO Series
Country Squire Special
BT "Evocation"

Taking inspiration from the original guitar that Paul Bigsby built for Merle Travis is the Fret-King STVDIO BT Evocation.

What influence the original Bigsby guitar had on Leo Fender is anyones guess, but Trev Wilkinson's feelings are that it was quite profound.

"They were certainly aware of each others efforts in the fledgling industry we find ourselves in today.

Les Paul, Leo Fender and Paul Bigsby were actually drinking buddies and would often hang out at Les Pauls house.

One day, Merle Travis asked Bigsby to make a special guitar that was solid, but could sustain like a steel guitar and could be easily tuned. Travis sketched out a design. Before you know it we have an instrument with six-on-a-side tuning heads and a solid body, and that was probably the first production solid body electric guitar (I am not including Les Pauls log in this as that was a concept proving prototype, not a production instrument).

I personally feel that the head stock was influenced by a much earlier design found on an acoustic guitar built by J Stauffer who, coincidentally, was the guitar builder that C F Martin was apprenticed to in 1811 AD. Looking at this head stock you can see the Tele and Strat influences later popularised by Leo.

Whatever happened, I think the Merle Travis' guitar was more a piece of art than just a guitar, embellishments and design ideas from another time, all in all a very cool guitar. How I wish I'd have been a drinking buddy of theirs too!"

Specification
Body: Swamp Ash in see thru blonde maple rosewood.
Fingerboard: 21 fret neck vintage fret wire.
Pickups & Controls: Custom fret-king double pole mini humbucker with vari-coil option for single coil sounds master vol.
Pickguard etc: 50s' bakelite pickguard, arm rest, headstock trim and jumbo control knobs
all other specs as Country squire

YOU CAN BUY THIS GUITAR AT:

Musical Distributors Group, 9 Mars Court Unit C3, Boonton, NJ 07005, USA
Tel: 1-866-632-8346,
Fax: 973-335-7779, Email sales@musicaldistributors.com

SERIAL NO. FKS1811-AD

PRICE: CONTACT MDG

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