1965 Magnatone Zephyr

guitarz.blogspot.com:

There is something I find really appealing about this Magnatone Zephyr in Lake Placid blue. It's quite a conservative-looking unassuming little guitar, but I find its proportions and softly rounded body horns most attractive, whilst the DeArmond pickups (described by the seller as "STRONG" in capitals) and behind-the-bridge floating trem a la Jazzmaster just enhance its appeal. Instruments like this help to reinforce the notion that there's a lot more to vintage American guitars than the same old usual suspects (Fender, Gibson, etc).

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Bigsby Magnatone MkIII guitar from 1957

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Hear the name "Bigsby" and you automtically think of the now legendary Bigsby vibrato. It seems almost ironic that this "Bigsby" guitar doesn't have a vibrato (or tremolo) at all!

In fact this is a Bigsby-designed Magnatone MkIII. Magnatone were best known for their Hawaiian guitars and amps, but contracted Paul Bigsby to design a "spanish"-style electric. (That always sounds funny to me, because I think of Spanish guitar as being acoustic nylon-string. However, "Spanish" in this instance refers to the playing style familiar to all of us today as opposed to the lap style of playing.)

You can read more about the Bigsby Magnatone MkIII here.

Of course, Paul Bigsby together with Merle Travis developed what is arguably the first solid-bodied electric guitar back in 1947, which in turn influenced a certain Mr Leo Fender. You can see where the influence for the Fender headstock design may have come from (read more about that here).

See also: www.bigsbyguitars.com

G L Wilson

NB: There are a lot of blogs STEALING content and bandwidth. If you read this anywhere else but on guitarz.blogspot.com then you are reading a blog that STEALS content. Please support original bloggers!

Magnatone Lap Steel Guitar

I think that on a casual glance you could be forgiven for not realising that this
Magnatone Lap Steel is even a guitar. It's one of the most un-guitar-like guitars I have ever seen.

Actually, I'd even question it being a lap steel. Even without having a headstock, it still appears to be quite a substantial piece of gear. Possibly it's supposed to have legs attached, as it looks too hefty to play on the lap.