Jimmy Hayes of Hayes House of Music believes Shutt’s contributions deserve greater recognition, as many of his innovations continue to shape today’s music technology and best practices.

This mandolin was sent to me from Missoula, Montana. It was made in 1912 by Albert Shutt, a Topeka native who was like the Tesla of the music industry—an inventor ahead of his time.

Shutt held numerous patents, including one for a clip-on tuner in 1906, the double bass harp guitar, and the unique body style you see in this mandolin—one that Gibson later adopted. In fact, Gibson borrowed heavily from Shutt’s innovations, and the music industry still owes him a great deal of credit.

This particular mandolin is the oldest known example of this model, stamped 1912. The next oldest recorded mandolin of this design dates back to 1913. Its serial number is 2007, which, by an incredible coincidence, matches the address of our shop: 2007 SW 6th Ave.

I have a personal connection to Shutt’s family as well. I once met his granddaughter while asking for a pen at a Righteous Brothers show. By sheer chance, I also happen to go to church with the wife and daughter of his grandson. These small connections make this instrument even more meaningful to Hayes House of Music.

Shutt was also a pioneer in radio. He was part of the first-ever WIBW broadcast as a live musician, performing in an all-banjo jazz band. He remained on the program for 14 years. His legacy continues to resonate—one of his former mandolin students still has handwritten sheet music from him, which will one day rest here in the shop alongside this historic mandolin.

"Shutt designed the instruments himself and assembled them in his home. It is thought that he had expert violin makers assisting—perhaps carving the tops and backs. No one knows exactly how many people worked for him or how many instruments he made. Other than his inventions and prototypes, he only built instruments as orders came in. Later, he supplied tenor banjos for his various groups. Jack’s father, Melvin, believed that Albert made only about a hundred instruments in total—most likely with the help of his workers. While this seems like a low number, it aligns with the extremely limited number of surviving Shutt instruments today."