Editing Rickenbacker (section)

===Fry-pan & Electro-Spanish===
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At the end of 1931, Beauchamp, Barth, Rickenbacker and several other individuals banded together and formed the Ro-Pat-In Corporation (elekt''RO''-''PAT''ent-''IN''struments) to manufacture and distribute electrically amplified musical instruments, with an emphasis on their newly developed A-25 Hawaiian Guitar, often referred to as the "fry-pan" lap-steel electric guitar, as well as an Electric Spanish (standard) model and companion amplifiers. In the summer of 1932, Ro-Pat-In began to manufacture cast aluminum production versions of the Fry-Pan as well as a lesser number of standard Spanish Electrics also known as "Electro-Spanish" models, built from wooden bodies similar to those made in Chicago for the National Company. These instruments constitute the origin of the electric guitar by virtue of their string-driven electro-magnetic pick-ups. In 1933 the Ro-Pat-In company's name was changed to Electro String Instrument Corporation and its instruments were labeled simply as "Electro". In 1934 the name of "Rickenbacker" was added in honor of the company's principal partner, Adolph Rickenbacker.<ref name="Retrofret">{{cite web|title=Rickenbacker Ken Roberts Model Hollow Body Electric Guitar, c. 1935|url=http://www.retrofret.com/products.asp?ProductID=6407|publisher=Retrofret|access-date=7 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827110732/http://www.retrofret.com/products.asp?ProductID=6407|archive-date=27 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|title=The Earliest Days of the Electric Guitar|url=http://www.rickenbacker.com/history_early.asp|website=Rickenbacker|publisher=RIC|access-date=8 August 2015}}</ref>

During the early production of the A-22 Fry-Pan, Beauchamp and Rickenbacker would experiment with wooden-bodied Spanish guitars and solid body prototypes; ultimately giving birth to the [[Electro-Spanish Model B]] and the [[Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts]]. Both models had been experimental, produced as early as 1931, and officially released in 1935. The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts model was subject to a limited production of forty-six. There were several new design elements found on the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts. The instrument was the first of its kind to be named for an endorser. While most arch-top guitars had 14-[[fret]] neck joints, the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts fingerboard joined the body at the 17th fret allowing much greater access to the higher frets, creating a full 25-1/2" inch scale. This addition made the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts the first production full-scale (25-1/2") electrified guitar.<ref name="Retrofret"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Another new feature on the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts is the stock Kauffman Vib-rola tailpiece, the world's first patented [[tremolo]] ({{US patent|2241911A}}). The Ken Roberts is the first instrument of any type to feature a hand-operated [[Vibrato systems for guitar|vibrato]] as standard equipment. It also marks Rickenbacker's first link to the unit's originator, Clayton [[Doc Kauffman]], who would become a design collaborator for the company a couple of years later.<ref name="Retrofret"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/>