In the early 1950’s, Leo L. Burrell, founder of Burrell Guitars,
would have learned to play the guitar while still in high school, but was discouraged from the
attempt by the uncomfortable box shape of the guitar and was unwilling to accept the challenge,
to quote: – “Bend your wrists like this, and now bend your fingers like that!”
He handed the guitar back to his friend Don Frisbe, saying, “I will learn to play the guitar
when the guitar can conform to my shape, rather than my having to conform to the shape of the guitar.”
He dreamed of a guitar shape that would fit against his body, and a neck that would change planes from
end-to-end to conform to the natural way his hand, wrist and arm move when extended outward. It
would be many years before he had an opportunity to develop that design.
In 1963 while working as a start-up engineer at a nuclear power plant,
he decided the time was right, and made the drawings of how the neck would be shaped to accomplish his
youthful goal. He received Patents (US No. 4,534,260 et al) in 1985 and started building electric
guitars. In 1987, he and his wife, Frances, went to visit Mr. “Tigger” Bloom, (He never
heard his real first name), then President of C. F. Martin Guitar Co. in Nazareth, PA, where he was encouraged
to go to Chicago's, McCormick Place, for the N.A.M.M. Summer Trade Show. He went to Chicago and set
up his own booth. Martin also displayed his instruments in their booth as well. They signed a tentative
Licensing Agreement by which Martin sent his instruments to Japan and Korea to consider building Martin Electric
Guitars with the patented “twisted neck”. They weren't able to build them, and their
agreement collapsed.
Fifty years after his youthful conception, Burrell Guitars now offers a
complete line of ergonomically designed acoustic and classical model guitars, as well as electric hollow-body jazz guitars,
electric solid-body guitars and electric bass guitars.
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