American Stringed Instrument Inventors

Stringed musical instrument development in the United States dates back to the early days of the republic. While most stringed musical instruments were developed before the birth of the USA, America has made significant contributions to stringed musical instrument innovation, invention and advancement.

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                                                   American Musical Instrument Engineers

Notable American Stringed Instrument Engineers

American stringed instrument engineers are rare. The first dates back to the early days of the republic while the fourth instrument was introduced as recently as 2011. Each of the four American instruments are noteworthy examples of musical instrument innovation in the USA.

America's First Stringed Instrument Engineer:
Joel Walker Sweeney

                                                   Joel Walker Sweeney - 1st American Stringed Instrument Inventor

Joel Walker Sweeney - The 5-String Banjo

Joel Walker Sweeney of Appomattox County, Virginia was instrumental in engineering and developing the 5-string banjo. It has been reported that he found his inspiration for the 5-string banjo concept after hearing the ‘banjar’, an ancient African instrument brought to the US in the early days of the republic. Joel Sweeney was raised in rural Virginia in the early 1800's. As a boy he loved the African-based music brought to the North American continent by black slaves. Sweeney took the idea of the stringed "banjar" (a stringed instrument made from a gourd) and developed it into the modern 5-string banjo. Joel Sweeney and his siblings, brothers Sampson and Richard, and his sister Missouri, were leaders in developing minstrel music in the US and exporting their new sound while revealing the 5-string banjo concept to Europe.

America's Second Stringed Instrument Engineer:
John Dopyera

                                                   John Dopyera - 2nd American Stringed Instrument Inventor

John Dopyera - The Dobro

John Dopyera was a Slovak-American musician, stringed instrument engineer, and inventor who is known for engineering the resophonic guitar. It has been reported that the necessity of increasing the volume (loudness) of the acoustic guitar within the ‘big band’ environment led to the development of the resophonic guitar, also known as the Dobro. In the 1920s, John and his brother, Rudy, worked together to develop the resophonic resonator guitar. The guitar itself was not the innovative aspect of the instrument, as it pre-existed. The defining element of the resonator guitar was the advanced aluminum disc constituting the resonation device. The aluminum resonator disc was inserted into the guitar body in order to increase the volume and projection of the instrument. The dobro was an instant hit and quickly became one of the most popular instruments of bluegrass and country music. The dobro’s popularity led to a surge in demand, and the Dopyera brothers formed the National String Instrument Corporation to mass-produce the guitars. By the 1940s, the dobro had become a staple of bluegrass and country music. John Dopyera’s invention of the dobro revolutionized the guitar industry, and he is remembered as one of the most influential figures in the history of stringed instrument development in America.

America's Third Stringed Instrument Engineer:
Emmett Chapman

                                                   Emmett Chapman - 3rd American Stringed Instrument Inventor

Emmett Chapman - The Chapman Stick

Emmett Chapman is the innovator and creator of the Chapman Stick. In 1969, after experimenting with tapping on several customized guitars, it has been reported that Emmett decided to engineer the perfect tapping instrument: the Chapman Stick. He is also credited as being the author and first musician who showcased the "Free Hands" playing technique which is also referred to as the ’Tapping Method’. Emmett’s concept turned his instrument upright, eliminated a cumbersome body, and streamlined the shape of the instrument in order to create the perfect palette for his playing style. It has been reported that Chapman discovered how much more he could get out of the instrument when placing his fingers parallel to the frets. The Chapman Stick was officially introduced to the world in the early 1970s.

America's Fourth Stringed Instrument Engineer:
David Ridge

                                                   David Ridge - 4th American Stringed Instrument Inventor

David Ridge - The Banastar®

David Ridge is an American artist and inventor. He is the creator of the banastar. The banastar was initially developed as a three-finger picking alternative to the 5-string banjo. The banastar concept creates a 'mashup' of elements of the banjo, the bass, and the six-string guitar. The banastar can be produced as an acoustic or electric instrument. The banastar is the first ‘free-standing’ stringed instrument to be developed in the US since the Chapman Stick. The banastar was patented in 2012 and assigned US Patent 8319081. The trademark ‘banastar’ is a 'character-set' trademark and constitutes the creation of a new noun within the English language: banastar.
The banastar is a modern, physical, stringed musical instrument ‘mashup’. This 'mashup' creates a brand new instrument, artist palette, and configuration that sets the banastar apart from all other stringed instruments. The name banastar is an acronym derived from the names of the three original instruments within the mashup. While there are three original instruments in the mashup, the banastar concept and instrument are centered around the 5-string banjo.

Acoustic And Electric banastar® Instruments

Currently there are both electric and acoustic banastar® instruments in production. If you are interested in obtaining an instrument for your collection, contact us today.



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