The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar

To re-cap: Evolution and Rise of the American 12-String Guitar as postulated by Gregg Miner.

Feb 8, 1896: Carl E. Brown, a musical instrument inventor, submits a patent for a new 10-string guitar he dubs “the Harp-Guitar.” It has a pear-shaped body; the 4 low courses are strung in octaves, while the 2 high strings are single. There is a lever to grab the 4 high extra strings and move them out of playing position.

Sep 22, 1896: The patent is granted.

Fall of 1896: Brown engages two different firms to build it – the Hamilton Gordon Company and the Rene Grunewald Company. Gordon will make theirs in the shape of the patent design; Grunewald will make the body with a traditional guitar shape.

c.1900-1901: Sometime between late 1898 and late 1902, Grunewald has doubled the two remaining high strings, creating a production 12-string guitar, still called “The Harp-Guitar.” During this same period, Holzapfel & Beitel begin building similar 12-string guitars.

Why did the 12-string evolve from the 10-string? Because of octave stringing and steel string limitations around 1900. The B and high E strings couldn't be doubled an octave higher because metal wire thin and strong enough didn't exist yet. Thus, early makers built 10-string guitars first. When players noticed the tonal imbalance, makers doubled the top two strings in unison, giving birth to the modern American 12-string guitar.