Stromberg Master 400
Some musical instruments are subtle, perhaps even delicate. On the other hand, cannons have been used as musical instruments too.
Having had the privilege of listening to a big band in person I can tell you from experience that big band is loud, very loud. Punching through the sound of a big band as a rhythm guitarist was not a task for the faint-hearted. In order to accomplish the task larger and larger archtops were built until they strained the limits of comfort for the unfortunate person playing it.
The L-5 grew from 16" to 17" and then the Super 400 went to 18" but the decibel battle of acoustic guitars was not fought solely with Gibson-made weaponry. A fellow by the name of Elmer Stromberg made some truly amazing rhythm guitars from the 1930s into the mid 1950s. The Master 400 reached an astonishing 19" across the lower bout.
Freddie Green, rhythm guitarist for Count Basie, played Epiphone
Emperors but then switch to Strombergs, sometimes playing the Master 400
and sometimes playing the smaller Master 300. After Elmer
Stromberg passed away Freddie Green switched to a Gretsch Eldorado, not
wanting to expose an irreplaceable Stromberg to the rigors of touring.
As a weapon in the battle of being heard while playing rhythm the Master 400 was heavy artillery. It had a strong, clear sound with so much punch that even a dozen horn players could not completely drown it out. Back in the day these were called "orchestra guitars" but I prefer to think of guitars such as this as "rhythm cannons".
Even as acoustic guitars broke new ground for volume another option was opening up for volume hungry guitarists and this option allowed guitarists to compete with horn players on their own turf, playing melodies.
