Photograph: The Whole Works

Daily Herald Archive entitled 'The Whole Works'. The photograph shows 20 year old Roderic Batten playing his home-made electric guitar which has a built-in amplifier, twin speakers and echo and reverberation units. Dated December 20th 1965.

Photograph from the Daily Herald Archive, indexed as Music, Instruments, Guitars, Electric.

The Whole Works

Twenty-year old Roderic Batten of Higher Sandygate, Kingsteignton, Devon, is pictured here with his home-made electric guitar - an unusual instrument because it is completely self-contained.

Roderic, who is neither electrician nor musician (he works in a chain store which sells radio and domestic electrical appliances) built the guitar on the kitchen table with a drill, a screwdriver and soldering iron as his only tools. It took him 12 months to make.

The guitar has built-in amplifier and twin speakers, and echo an reverberation units, and no external amplifiers or speakers are needed. Yet the instrument weighs little more than a conventional electric guitar. Now only one task remains for Mr. Batten - learning to play his guitar. He is taking professional lessons.