This model was made for songwriter Merle Travis in 1948.

Though not the very first solidbody electric, it predated Leo Fender’s Broadcaster by two years.

It featured neck-thru-body construction, a style that would distinguish some of the early Rickenbacker solidbodies and would appear in the 60’s on Gibson’s Firebirds.
Its most obvious influence on future guitars was its headstock, which Travis reportedly drew up for Bigsby on a napkin!

The six-on-a-side tuner configuration not only became a standard feature on Bigsby’s instruments, it appeared in a very similar form on the Fender Stratocaster in 1954.