The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar

Summary

Back to our story: February 12, 1898: TMTR: �The Grunewald Harp-Guitar� What�s going on? Not a month later, the trade journal again highlights the new instrument, with the same woodcut and 2 columns of hype, claiming that it is �attracting considerable attention in trade and musical circles.� In fact, �all who have examined it are unanimous in proclaiming it to be a radical and practical improvement upon the time-honored guitar.� True? There doesn�t seem to be reason to totally discount the report, yet where are all the surviving instruments? Perhaps all south of the border, as the company�s activity there is again specifically mentioned? This time, in the tone department, they�re having their cake and eating it too, describing the �quality of tone (that) resembles that of the mandolin and guitar, or more particularly that of the harp�� Personally, I consider a mandolin and harp very different (!) - the mandolin being steel strung, high and bright with short sustain, while available harps were all gut strung and meant to ring. Note that the �autoharp or mandolin� clues have informed us from the beginning that Brown�s original instrument and the two manufacturer�s were almost certainly all strung in steel (or silk & steel), which at the time was intended for amateurs and not �serious� guitar players. This piece ends with another reminder that the �ordinary guitar�is an instrument upon which�comparatively few can play.� It sounds like the Grunewald harp-guitar may indeed soon supersede it! April 16, 1898: TMTR: A short blurb tells of a Grunewald agent�s success in Mexico and soon South America with the harp-guitar. September 10, 1898: TMTR: �Rene Grunewald Forging Ahead� Now things are getting serious. First, they�re already talking about the �now famous harp-guitar.� We then learn that Grunewald is planning to aggressively market the instrument (along with his mandolins) throughout the United States, but also in Cuba and Puerto Rico (America�s �new possessions�). Fur...