Unitar (instrument)

The one stringed guitar, also known as a Unitar is a somewhat less known version of the standard electric guitar. Although rare, the one-string guitar is sometimes heard, particularly in Delta blues, where improvised folk instruments were popular in the 1930s and 1940s.

History

Eddie "One String" Jones had some regional success with a Mississippi blues musician, Lonnie Pitchford, who played a similar homemade instrument. In a more contemporary style, Little Willie Joe, the inventor of the Unitar, had a considerable rhythm and blues instrumental hit in the 1950s with "Twitchy", recorded with the Rene Hall Orchestra.

Design

The homemade unitar often has been made with a piezoelectric sensor as a pickup on the unitar, requiring that an external amp be attached to operate. PVC piping is a common neck material. Like a normal electric guitar, it needs no reverberating back like an acoustic guitar needs.

Famous one string players