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Gordie Tapp Guitar

Not available for use in Recording Studios

Not currently on exhibit

Artifact TypeGuitar, Acoustic

Manufacturer CBS Masterworks

Date20th Century

This CBS Masterworks flat-top acoustic guitar was formerly owned by Canadian entertainment legend Gordie Tapp and is personalized with Tapp’s initials. Working in country radio and on tv, Tapp is most remembered for his contributions to the television series Country Hoedown (CBC) and Hee Haw (CBS). Tapp was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1990.

Operation/FunctionThis particular artifact is an example of a steel-string, flat-top acoustic guitar. It consists of a hollow wooden body, which is itself comprised of a soundboard, box, and sound hole for amplification, as well as six steel strings and accompanying machine heads and metal fingerboard. This instrument employs standard tuning, with open string pitches beginning at the bottom with the highest pitch, the E a major third above middle C, and moving downwards in pitch by a fourth to B, downwards by a major third to G, downwards by a fourth to D, downwards by a fourth to A, and downwards by a fourth to E, spanning two octaves in total. The instrument is referred to as being ‘standard-handed’, meaning it is to be strummed with the right hand while the left hand controls the frets.Cultural SignificanceThe cultural significance of both the acoustic and electric guitar cannot be overstated. Gibson remains at the forefront of guitar manufacture as one of the leading companies. Although the acoustic guitar is perhaps not used quite as commonly as the electric guitar, both have remained throughout the course of the twentieth century one of, if not the most, exploited instruments in popular music. The steel-stringed flat-top has served as the most popular form of acoustic guitar, with its usage spanning a multitude of genres.Technological SignificanceBoth acoustic and electric guitars have undergone a number of technological advances that have improved their tone and construction quality, however it is the mere advent of the latter that has had the most lasting technological impact. Les Paul (1915 – 2009) helped pioneer both the design and popularity of the electric guitar, and is considered one of the founders of solid-body technology, having produced a prototype called “The Log” in 1940. Additionally, Paul also conducted a number of experiments in guitar design and recording technology, essentially establishing the revolutionary practices of multi-track recording and overdubbing, as well as delay and phasing effects. Fender was the first company to produce a commercial solid-body electric guitar in 1950 with the release of the Telecaster, and Gibson responded in 1952 with the Les Paul, named in recognition of the fact that Paul helped design the instrument with Gibson’s president of the time, Ted McCarty. Gibson also produced the first commercial humbucker pickup, designed in 1955 and patented in 1959, which eliminated the hum of single-coil pickups without compromising the tone quality. Although the acoustic guitar is not recognized as having made as significant a contribution in instrument technology, it has seen many important changes throughout its history. The instrument finds it origins in the lute, which featured a varying number of gut strings and was most popular throughout the Renaissance, and the Baroque guitar, which featured five sets or courses of gut strings and eclipsed the popularity of the lute in the early eighteenth century. The majority of usage of such instruments took place in Europe, however a number of variants of these instruments, such as the Middle Eastern oud, were equally as prevalent. The modern guitar shares the same basic construction approach as its predecessors, consisting of a curved wooden sound box and soundboard, designed to optimize amplification and tone quality, as well as a neck and fretboard across which a series of tuned strings are strung. Although performance techniques and tuning systems have been considerably adapted over the years, the same basic approach of plucking or strumming with one hand and coordinating frets with the other has also been maintained. The modern acoustic guitar was pioneered by the American C.F. Martin & Company, which was founded in 1833 by the German craftsman Christian Frederick Martin. Martin established the body shape and size still used in modern acoustic guitars, which employed a larger lower bout, smaller upper bout, and deeper box than its Classical predecessors so as to produce a louder volume and accentuate bass frequencies. Martin’s design was known as the “dreadnought”, and quickly became the most common body style on account of its ability to project the guitar above other instruments in an ensemble. Martin was also pivotal in introducing steel strings to replace the nylon strings used in Classical guitars. Steel strings significantly altered the structural requirements of the instrument and, along with Martin’s inclusion of a series of bracing pieces in the box and the truss rod in the headstock, further enhanced the tone quality and volume.Users/PerformersGordie Tapp was born on 4 June 1922 in London, Ontario, and is widely recognized for his contributions to the television series Country Hoedown (CBC) and Hee Haw (CBS). Tapp’s main Hee Haw character, Cousin Clem, was developed while working on Country Hoedown throughout the mid 1950s. Country Hoedown emerged as an extension of CHML radio in Hamilton, Ontario, where Tapp hosted a program called Main Street Jamboree, focusing on country and western music in Canada. Tapp was a graduate of the Lorne Green School of Broadcasting and spent a total of thirteen years with CBC radio and TV, the majority of that hosting Country Hoedown, which was later replaced by The Tommy Hunter Show. The opportunity to host CBS’s Hee Haw came after Tapp relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, with the show running from 1969 until 1993. Tapp was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the Order of Canada in 1998 and the Order of Ontario in 1999. In addition to his broadcasting contributions, Tapp was also an avid philanthropist, working for various medical charities including the Canadian Muscular Dystrophy campaign, the U.S. Shriner’s hospital, and the Tim Horton Foundation for Children.

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