As the Jazz Age matured in the 1930s,
the loud, rhythmic pulse of the banjo
gave way to the silky, even tones of the
archtop guitar. The popularity of Bing
Crosby and his virtuoso guitarist Eddie
Lang inspired bandleaders to replace
the banjo with the guitar. Banjo players
wanting to continue working had to
learn the guitar. To aid those players not
wanting to learn a whole new system of
fingering, Gibson offered a four-string
tenor guitar with the same tuning as the
four-string tenor banjo. Most standard
guitar models could be special ordered
with a tenor neck (we have seen examples
into the ‘60s).
The guitar featured this month is, according
to the label, an ES-350 TG (tenor
guitar). The features, which include a
thick, full-sized body, individual gold
bonnet tone and volume knobs for each
pickup, and a three-way toggle switch,
seem to date the guitar to 1955. The
serial number, on the other hand, dates
the guitar at 1950. Could it be that the
guitar was started in 1950 and shelved
until 1955, when a tenor guitar order
came through? We may never know. The
last unique finishing touch is “bow tie”
banjo inlays on the fingerboard.
We’ve been looking for a thick-bodied
ES-350 with the four-knob layout for
a long time (if anyone has one, please
contact us) so it’s ironic that when one
finally shows up, it’s a tenor!
Dave's Guitar Shop
Daves Rogers’ Collection is tended to by
Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullally
Photos and words by Tim Mullally
Dave’s Collection is on display at:
Dave's Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
davesguitar.com