Steve Schell
07-22-2009, 12:02 AM
How's that for a thread title? Well, the subject will relate to Lansing Heritage, that much I promise.
For the past couple of years I have been reading up on the history of guitar companies, especially those located in southern California. I was sucked in big time when I read that National Dobro Corporation was located in 1935 and 1936 at 6920 McKinley Avenue in Los Angeles... directly next door to Lansing Manufacturing Company!
As I have discovered, Lansing Mfg. Co. supplied loudspeakers to all the guitar companies in Los Angeles that were building amplifiers by the mid 1930s: Rickenbacher, National, Dobro and Schireson Brothers. This was probably Jim Lansing's earliest involvement in professional sound, likely predating his work with the Shearer team at MGM Studios. I have also seen a model 212 12" Lansing field coil speaker in the speaker cabinet of a mid 1930s RCA Theremin musical instrument (okay, some would argue the "musical" part). When these companies needed high output, reliable, clean sounding speakers for their groundbreaking efforts in electrified musical instruments, they all came to Jim Lansing.
John Dopyera was the inventor of the three basic types of resonator (resophonic) string instruments that are still popular today: the tri-cone, the single cone biscuit and the single cone spider bridge type. John and his brother Rudy helped to found the National String Instrument Company in 1926, but by early 1929 they (especially John) had had all they could take of the other principals and left National to found the Dobro Corporation. By 1933 National was on the ropes financially and Louis Dopyera (the financier brother) brought the companies together to create the National Dobro Corporation. It was at this time that they moved into 6920 McKinley and proceeded to build both the National (tri-cone, single cone biscuit) and Dobro (spider bridge) instruments under one roof.
It seems that some cross pollination resulted from the proximity of the Dopyeras and Lansing. Jim Lansing began making thin aluminum diaphragms for compression drivers in 1935. He chose a spinning technique rather than the pressing method used by Bell Labs and Western Electric, his mentors in other aspects of compression driver design. The Dopyeras had been spinning aluminum cone diaphragms for their guitars for a decade. The Dopyeras installed Lansing field coil speakers in most or all of the National and Dobro instrument amplifiers produced at their McKinley plant. National had been using lead coated sheet steel to build many of their metal bodied guitars. When Lansing began building multicellular horns in 1935, he chose to build them from lead coated sheet steel. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
By 1936 the electric guitar had largely obsoleted the resonator guitar and National Dobro began moving its operation to Chicago, to be close to several suppliers and the center of much of the nation's musical manufacturing and distribution. By all accounts this move took place over several months.
Letritia Kandle is a pioneering steel guitarist who played with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra among others from the 1930s on. Her father built two ambitious and remarkable "Letar" (contraction of Letritia and guitar) console steel guitars for her in the mid to late 1930s, assisted by the folks at National Dobro. These are among the first multi-neck console steel guitars built, and may be the very first. I am not sure whether these instruments were built in Los Angeles or Chicago. National Dobro amps built in Chicago were usually fitted with Jensen or other locally produced speakers, yet Letritia's "Grand Letar" is equipped with two Lansing model 212 field coil speakers.
There is a rather remarkable four page thread on the subject of Letritia and her instruments on The Steel Guitar forum. This thread contains history, the thrill of discovery, tragedy, and quite a bit of emotion. It is quite a read, and is located here:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=120173&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
For the past couple of years I have been reading up on the history of guitar companies, especially those located in southern California. I was sucked in big time when I read that National Dobro Corporation was located in 1935 and 1936 at 6920 McKinley Avenue in Los Angeles... directly next door to Lansing Manufacturing Company!
As I have discovered, Lansing Mfg. Co. supplied loudspeakers to all the guitar companies in Los Angeles that were building amplifiers by the mid 1930s: Rickenbacher, National, Dobro and Schireson Brothers. This was probably Jim Lansing's earliest involvement in professional sound, likely predating his work with the Shearer team at MGM Studios. I have also seen a model 212 12" Lansing field coil speaker in the speaker cabinet of a mid 1930s RCA Theremin musical instrument (okay, some would argue the "musical" part). When these companies needed high output, reliable, clean sounding speakers for their groundbreaking efforts in electrified musical instruments, they all came to Jim Lansing.
John Dopyera was the inventor of the three basic types of resonator (resophonic) string instruments that are still popular today: the tri-cone, the single cone biscuit and the single cone spider bridge type. John and his brother Rudy helped to found the National String Instrument Company in 1926, but by early 1929 they (especially John) had had all they could take of the other principals and left National to found the Dobro Corporation. By 1933 National was on the ropes financially and Louis Dopyera (the financier brother) brought the companies together to create the National Dobro Corporation. It was at this time that they moved into 6920 McKinley and proceeded to build both the National (tri-cone, single cone biscuit) and Dobro (spider bridge) instruments under one roof.
It seems that some cross pollination resulted from the proximity of the Dopyeras and Lansing. Jim Lansing began making thin aluminum diaphragms for compression drivers in 1935. He chose a spinning technique rather than the pressing method used by Bell Labs and Western Electric, his mentors in other aspects of compression driver design. The Dopyeras had been spinning aluminum cone diaphragms for their guitars for a decade. The Dopyeras installed Lansing field coil speakers in most or all of the National and Dobro instrument amplifiers produced at their McKinley plant. National had been using lead coated sheet steel to build many of their metal bodied guitars. When Lansing began building multicellular horns in 1935, he chose to build them from lead coated sheet steel. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
By 1936 the electric guitar had largely obsoleted the resonator guitar and National Dobro began moving its operation to Chicago, to be close to several suppliers and the center of much of the nation's musical manufacturing and distribution. By all accounts this move took place over several months.
Letritia Kandle is a pioneering steel guitarist who played with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra among others from the 1930s on. Her father built two ambitious and remarkable "Letar" (contraction of Letritia and guitar) console steel guitars for her in the mid to late 1930s, assisted by the folks at National Dobro. These are among the first multi-neck console steel guitars built, and may be the very first. I am not sure whether these instruments were built in Los Angeles or Chicago. National Dobro amps built in Chicago were usually fitted with Jensen or other locally produced speakers, yet Letritia's "Grand Letar" is equipped with two Lansing model 212 field coil speakers.
There is a rather remarkable four page thread on the subject of Letritia and her instruments on The Steel Guitar forum. This thread contains history, the thrill of discovery, tragedy, and quite a bit of emotion. It is quite a read, and is located here:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=120173&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0