In 1967 a new American guitar company, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, contracted out the production of one of the most original electric guitar designs of all time. Perhaps taking Les Paul’s original “plank” concept to its only logical realization, the La Baye company’s ‘2 x 4’ was completed in time to be launched at the 1967 NAMM music industry showcase in Chicago.
Forty-five La Bayes were produced
Built in Kansas, by the Holman-Woodell company, (who had previously made the Wurlitzer guitar line), approximately forty-five La Bayes were produced, (mostly guitars, but also a handful of basses and 12-strings), then shipped to Chicago for the NAMM show, where, despite much interest, the company received not a single order for their radical instrument.
DEVO’s Bob Mothersbaugh
La Baye quickly packed it in, their designer, Dan Helland, subsequently enjoying a long career as a commercial photographer, however enough ‘2 x 4’ parts were left over in Kansas for Holman-Woodell to assemble another two dozen or so guitars, variously branded as Holman, Alray or 21st Century. And that was it for the ‘2 x 4’… until sometime in the mid-seventies, when DEVO’s Bob Mothersbaugh, (Bob 1), began playing one on stage*.
US$2500 - $3000
With a name player using “the stick”, as some people called it, the few instruments available for sale anywhere were quickly snapped up, (Mothersbaugh has owned 3 over the years), and prices steadily rose, eventually reaching around the US$2500 - $3000 mark.
Custom options
And now the ‘2 x 4’ is back! In one of the first releases from their new custom shop, Canada’s Eastwood Guitars recently built a very limited number of ‘2 x 4’s, on a subscription-only basis. Several custom options were available, so we grabbed everything on offer! We have the Bigsby, the exclusive hard case, (see pic # 8), the gig bag, the t-shirt, (pic #7)…
Licensed Bigsby
Speaking of the Bigsby, this is a proper, licensed Bigsby, not the original’s cheap Wurlitzer leftover. Another improvement on Helland’s 1967 design is that the pickup selector, originally located on the edge below the high-e string, has been shifted to the top edge, out of the way of your playing hand.
Listen to our soundfile
The ‘2 x 4’ is brand new, shipped to us direct from Eastwood and if you listen to our soundfile, you’ll hear that Les Paul was on the right track – you really don’t seem to need all that extra timber!
Exclusive
Complete with its exclusive ‘Mr DNA’ hard case, plus matching gig bag & t-shirt and Eastwood certificate of authenticity, your La Baye ‘2 x 4’ reissue SHIPS FREE to any address in Australia. ($100 shipping to New Zealand, $175 to the US, Canada, UK and mainstream European countries) We only have the one, so don’t miss out on this exclusive, limited edition chunk of music history.
*Prior to DEVO bringing the ‘2 x 4’ into greater acclaim, the previous big name act associated with the guitar was Tommy James & The Shondells, of ‘Crimson & Clover’ and ‘Crystal Blue Persuasion’ fame.