"The first console Bigsby steel guitar which was built for Joaquin Murphy has been found. This instrument has been missing for nearly 50 years. It is dated 1946, and is as far as we know, the earliest Paul A. Bigsby made instrument in existence, it was Murphy who first asked Bigsby to build guitars. This instrument documents Bigsby's extraordinary skill and craftsmanship even at the earliest stage of his guitar-building career. Of course every Murph fan here on the forum knows what it looks like, it's the guitar Murphy is most often pictured with. The importance of this guitar goes way beyond the fact that it was Murphy's. It was the first guitar ever to have features we now see in all modern pedal steels; console stair-step cabinet with metal endplates, separate raised necks instead of just fretboards on top and keyheads instead of just slots for keys. This Bigsby/Murphy Triple Eight Steel embodies not only an extremely important era in the American art of steel guitar, but the first major work of one of the 20th century's most influential post-war guitar builders. Furthermore, this was the guitar that really caught other players interest and got Bigsby into guitar building business, his next customer being the legendary Merle Travis, whom after meeting Joaquin was introduced to P.A. and requested a guitar solid in construction so that it would "sustain like a steel." Bigsby was a one-man operation who influenced other and much larger scale manufacturers like Leo Fender, Ted McCarty, Chuck Wright, etc. I could speculate even more, but you'll get the picture."

[This message was edited by Andy Sandoval on 18 September 2006 at 11:52 PM.]

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My Site - Instruction

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The current owner is a Bigsby enthusiast , and is looking for a possibility to have this guitar permanently displayed in a museum of some-kind, possibly the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame where it could sit next to Travis' electric for good. It's in remarkably great shape, sounds like million bucks, and even has the original Bigsby made hard case.

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I hope the owner will think hard and fast about Donating the Bigsby Guitar to any Museum without getting assurances, in writing, that the Guitar will be displayed in a prominent place. But even with assurances from the Museum, they have the right to do as they want as it pertains to the items donated to them. I would suggest that he "Loan" them the guitar for display and if they don't honor your request, as it pertains to displaying the instrument, you can simply remove it from their possession.

I won't go into the problems that I had with the "Birthplace Of Country Music Museum" when I donated Billy Bowman's Marlen Pedal Steel to them for display some years ago and eventually had to repossess it due to the Curator's lack of interest on displaying Billy's Guitar, after I was given assurances that this would be done. Billy's guitar is now in the possession of his brothers.

[This message was edited by Roger Kelly on 19 September 2006 at 05:57 AM.]

Here's some links from Retro Fret
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_02.jpg
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_05.jpg
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_03.jpg
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_09.jpg
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_08.jpg
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_06.jpg
http://www.retrofret.com/image_popup.asp?img=3226_guitar/3226_04.jpg

[This message was edited by chas smith on 19 September 2006 at 10:36 AM.]

Bobbe is a long time Bigsby player, restorer, collector, enthusiast, etc.. Over the years I recall always seeing Bigsby guitars around his various stores. At one point he had five or six of them in the Hendersonville store. I'm thinking that the dude is pretty much the Bigsby Guru of all time.

I remember when I first met Bobbe in the early eighties at his very first store, I was drooling all over the new Sho~Buds he had on the floor. The whole time I was there he was wrenching on an old Bigsby in the back room that he had just taken in.

One of his most prized posessions, if not the most is an old Bigsby volume pedal he has had since way back when. I have seen him turn down some princely sums for it.

When I worked at his Goodlettsville store I remember seeing a single neck five pedal guitar that looked like new! I actually would have liked to bought it, it was beautiful! Too pricey for me though. Bobbe and prospective buyers of that axe would talk prices so high a dog couldn't hear them!

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John Drury
NTSGA #3