Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Years ago, I found this pic on Ebay :
It seemed to be some kind of Bigsby add-on for a primitive early B-Bender, but there were obviously some parts missing. A real headscratcher, but I never figured it out.
A couple of days ago, someone posted this link on the Gretsch forum :
http://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/web/our-catalogue/Gretsch/item/3985
And all of a sudden this thing makes sense - it was missing the pedal!
I enthousiastically emailed the pic and the dealer link to Deke Dickerson, (California rockabilly artist, self proclaimed guitar geek, and all around nice guy), thinking he might know more about this, and if he didn't, he'd be interested, and Deke emailed me back straight away, this is what he said :
"Walter-You have solved another mystery for me.
Here's the scoop--there was a really hot guitar player in San Diego named Tommy Turman (he's still alive) that always claimed he invented the Bigsby palm pedal in the 1950's. Well, I knew that the actual Bigsby palm pedal didn't come out until the late 60's under Ted McCarty's ownership, so I couldn't make sense of it.
Last year, I decided to press him further about it, and he then told me that he had invented this thing that used a foot pedal and a motorcycle cable-wire to control the b-string, like a B-bender but with a foot pedal. I asked him if they ever made any and he said maybe 10 or 20, that it never actually went into production.
He also told a cool story about going to see Chet Atkins with Paul Bigsby in about 1957 when Chet was doing a show in Los Angeles. Of course Bigsby already knew Chet so they got backstage and Bigsby and Tommy demonstrated this thing. Chet said it was cool but that it should be adjustable for either a half step or a whole step change, because at the time it could only do a whole step change. Pretty cool, huh?"
I didn't want to keep this from my fellow Bigsby-fetishists on this forum!
If you do a Google patent search for "tone changer" btw, the patent for this contraption does come up, and it's indeed in Mr Turman's name.
It seemed to be some kind of Bigsby add-on for a primitive early B-Bender, but there were obviously some parts missing. A real headscratcher, but I never figured it out.
A couple of days ago, someone posted this link on the Gretsch forum :
http://www.vintageandrareguitars.com/web/our-catalogue/Gretsch/item/3985
And all of a sudden this thing makes sense - it was missing the pedal!
I enthousiastically emailed the pic and the dealer link to Deke Dickerson, (California rockabilly artist, self proclaimed guitar geek, and all around nice guy), thinking he might know more about this, and if he didn't, he'd be interested, and Deke emailed me back straight away, this is what he said :
"Walter-You have solved another mystery for me.
Here's the scoop--there was a really hot guitar player in San Diego named Tommy Turman (he's still alive) that always claimed he invented the Bigsby palm pedal in the 1950's. Well, I knew that the actual Bigsby palm pedal didn't come out until the late 60's under Ted McCarty's ownership, so I couldn't make sense of it.
Last year, I decided to press him further about it, and he then told me that he had invented this thing that used a foot pedal and a motorcycle cable-wire to control the b-string, like a B-bender but with a foot pedal. I asked him if they ever made any and he said maybe 10 or 20, that it never actually went into production.
He also told a cool story about going to see Chet Atkins with Paul Bigsby in about 1957 when Chet was doing a show in Los Angeles. Of course Bigsby already knew Chet so they got backstage and Bigsby and Tommy demonstrated this thing. Chet said it was cool but that it should be adjustable for either a half step or a whole step change, because at the time it could only do a whole step change. Pretty cool, huh?"
I didn't want to keep this from my fellow Bigsby-fetishists on this forum!
If you do a Google patent search for "tone changer" btw, the patent for this contraption does come up, and it's indeed in Mr Turman's name.
