Rickenbacker Aluminum-Cast "Frying Pan", 1934

Advances in technology often inspire innovations in musical instruments. The harnessing of electrical energy
in the late 1800s and early 1900s coupled with the need for the guitar to have a louder presence in the
increasingly large bands and venues, ultimately led to the development of the electric guitar. After much
experimentation by designers and engineers, an electric guitar referred to as the "Frying Pan" appeared on
the market in 1932. So called because of its appearance, the "Frying Pan" was a lap steel (used in Hawaiian 
music so popular at the time) manufactured by the Ro-Pat-In company, known today as Rickenbacker.