Who Invented the Electric Guitar?

The electric guitar took shape over the course of decades. Beginning as just an acoustic guitar with pickups, the changes made over the course of time created the familiar sound that resonates in modern blues, jazz, and rock and roll. Electric guitars have become the most popular instrument in the world and the nature of the instrument allowed companies to introduce new accessories to harness and transform the sound.

Function

As the big band era led to larger and louder bands, the need for the guitar to become louder was apparent. Musicians began to experiment with microphones attached to their guitars to amplify the sound. This caused problems with feedback and issues with the sound being cut off at times. Guitarists began to use archtop acoustic guitars, attach metal strings, and electromagnetic transducers to amplify the sound. These were usually handmade, specific to the individual guitarist, and often inconvenient.

History

In 1931, the Electro String Instrument Corporation began manufacturing hollow bodied acoustic guitars with tungsten pickups. The idea was pioneered by Adolph Rickenbacher and built by Harry Watson. George Beauchamp of the Electro String Company supplied a sample guitar to Gage Brewer, a band leader in Witchita, Kansas, to garner press coverage for the new brand.

The electrically amplified guitar soon became popular with blues, jazz, and western musicians, making its recording debut in 1935. Influenced by the sound, Charlie Christian acquired a Rickenbacker and became what historians say is the first fully electric guitarist.

Considerations

Some of the main complaints about the electric guitar was the feedback that developed as the hollow body amplified the sound. The sustain was also impacted by the sound resonating through the body. Les Paul attempted to address this problem. Working after hours at the Epiphone factory, he created what became the first solid body electric guitar. He took a 4"x4" fence post and attached a bridge, a pickup and a guitar neck. He sawed a hollow body in half and attached them to outside for appearance sake. Naming his creation "the Log," he solved the main feedback and sustain problems.

Significance

In 1946, radio repairman Leo Fender took the idea of a solid body electric guitar, added two magnetic pickups and created the Telecaster. It had a twenty-two fret neck bolted to an ash body reinforced by a steel plate. He added tone and volume knobs for greater control of the sound, a switch to select between the two pickups, and an output jack mounted on the side. The guitar was solid and well-crafted, becoming the standard bearer for guitars in the future.

Due to the popularity of the Telecaster, Fender introduced the Stratocaster in 1954, advancing the technology further. He added three single-coil pickups and an integrated spring vibrato mechanism. The sound of the Strat, as it came to be known, made it the most successful selling and most popular electric guitar of all time.

Features

The final step in the invention of the electric guitar was tackled by the Vox company. Vox had made successes in the music industry by selling high quality amplifiers. Vox introduced the idea of new shapes for guitars. Instead of an electric that resembled their acoustic cousins, Vox took advantage of the fact that a guitar could be shaped like anything as long as the ergonomics were correct. The Phantom was shaped like a pentagon in 1962, while the Mark VI's teardrop design was popular with the Rolling Stones. Throughout the decade, Vox introduced a twelve string electric and various pedals to accent the electric sound of regular guitars like the wah-wah and the fuzzbox.

Resources

• History of Electric Solid Body Guitar
• How an Electric Guitar Works
• Brief History of the Electric Guitar