BO DIDDLEY’S TWANG MACHINE
THE AXE
Ellas Bates’ original strummer was a self-designed, one-ofa-kind head-titler that he crafted out of an old cigar box. Growing up in poverty, the legend soon to be immortalised as Bo Diddley was a resourceful player, making his instruments out of whatever materials were available to him; in an interview with Vintage Guitar, he noted that its pickup was “part of a Victrola record player where the needle went in”. The first Diddley-built Twang Machine would eventually be stolen, but in 1958 he collaborated with Gretsch to develop a more proper, stage-ready beast. We’re talking a semi-hollow body with maple top and mahogany back, maple set neck, ebony fingerboard and mother-of-pearl thumbprint inlays.
THE STORY
Diddley was a pioneer of the ultra-bright, shimmering rhythm sound that came to define rock ’n’ roll at the turn of the ‘50s; his tones were as unique as his personality, and true to his passion for improvisation and DIY attitude, a great majority of his guitars were designed and built by Diddley himself. He had a knack for unconventional designs made from unconventional materials and built in unconventional ways – none more famous than the Twang Machine, which turned heads with its wacky rectangular design, and then had them bopping with its inimitable sounds. His original model was a lot bulkier than the Gretsch-made Twang Machine he played later down the line – notably, version
2.0 had a much slimmer and more compact profile, which Diddley found necessary after accidentally smacking himself in the groin with the notably weighty Gibson L5.
THE REPLICA
The Twang Machine remains one of the few guitars most builders won’t even attempt to recreate, lest they butcher what made Diddley’s original models so special. We’ve still got our fingers crossed that one day, Gretsch will break out the blueprints and issue at least a small run of replicas, but until then, players looking for that signature warbly, whistling twang will have to reach out to one of the many boutique luthiers specialising in cigar-box guitars. They’re relatively rare and certainly an instrument of its own classification, but they’ve a tone entirely of their own, and are well worth looking into for any country and blues diehards (with the spare change to spend on a well-built one).