Sheep intestines... is that what that smell is?

I've always been fascinated by history. 

Take the guitar, for example.

Up until the early 1800s a guitar's strings were made of sheep intestines. 

That was when C.F. Martin decided to innovate and do something no one had done in the hundreds of years prior - change the strings.

You see, banjo players played on steel strings and some of them were picking up guitars for the first time for their louder projection and warmer tone. Martin thought it would help them to transition if the strings were made of the same material.

There was a problem though - guitars had never been able to handle that much tension without snapping in half. 

And so another innovation was necessary. Well, it would have been necessary had Martin not already thought of it. 

The bracing inside of the guitar needed to be strong enough to hold the tension that had increased from 60 pounds (sheep intestines) to over 200 pounds (steel strings), but Martin had already created a unique X-brace decades before he began using steel strings. 

Which I find fascinating - building the right foundation will lead to greater breakthroughs later on down the road. 

What foundations are you building with your guitar? Send me a note, I'd love to hear from you! ([email protected]). 

Jam soon,

JB