Instruments From The Museum

A roller bridge is a device placed at the lower end of the strings on a guitar that allows strings to be vibrated with less friction and maintains tuning.

It was just like the guitar he owned from 1980 to 2007.

“It was too much of a coincidence,” Wyatt said.

So he leaned over the barrier, shined his penlight into the left f-hole, and saw the Illinois driver’s license number written on the paper label inside. It was his guitar.

As for how the guitar came to MIM in northeast Phoenix, Wyatt knows only part of the story.

He had long admired guitarist George Van Eps’ pianistic playing style. So, before a trip to New York in 1979, he wrote Bucky Pizzarelli, a jazz guitarist who played in this style and performed in the city at the time, to enlist his help in finding an appropriate instrument.

Pizzarelli directed Wyatt to Sam Ash Music, where he bought the guitar on the last day of 1979.

Twenty-seven years later, Wyatt sold the instrument to a dealer in Milwaukee. From there, the guitar somehow entered the MIM collection. Museum staff reported that Wyatt was delighted with the find.

The museum, at Tatum and Mayo boulevards, recently marked its first anniversary. For information about hours and admission,