The one stringed guitar, also known as a Unitar is a somewhat less known version of the standard
electric guitar. Although rare, the one-string guitar is sometimes heard, particularly in
Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
, where improvised
folk instruments were popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
Eddie "One String" Jones had some regional success with a Mississippi blues musician,
Lonnie Pitchford
Lonnie Pitchford (October 8, 1955 – November 8, 1998) was an American blues musician and instrument maker from Lexington, Mississippi, United States. He was notable in that he was one of only a handful of young African American musicians f ...
, who played a similar homemade instrument.
In a more contemporary style, Little Willie Joe Duncan, the inventor of the Unitar,
had a considerable
rhythm and blues instrumental hit in the 1950s with "Twitchy", recorded with the
Rene Hall Orchestra.
Design
The home-made unitar often has a
piezoelectric sensor
A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure changes in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain, or force by converting them to an electrical charge. The prefix ''piezo-'' is Greek for 'press' or 'squeeze'. ...
as a
pick-up, requiring an external
amplifier to be attached to produce a satisfactory sound.
[ PVC piping is a common neck material. As with a normal electric guitar, the unitar does not require a reverberating body like an ]acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
.
Notable one string players
* Seasick Steve
*Brushy One String
Andrew Chin, better known by the stage name Brushy One String, is a Jamaican singer and bassist.
Early life
Andrew Chin is the son of Jamaican reggae singer Freddie McKay. According to Chin, the idea of playing a guitar with a single string ...
See also
* Diddley bow
* Ektara
*Whamola
The Whamola is a bass instrument used in funk- jazz styles of music. The name is a portmanteau of whammy bar and viola.
The Whamola is a direct descendant of the washtub bass, an American folk instrument popular with skiffle and jug band ...
References
{{Reflist
Guitars