Interesting Facts on Electric Guitars
The electric guitar is one of the most important inventions to modern music. Whether it is rock and roll, country, heavy metal or even jazz the electric guitar is a versatile instrument that has a personality. Although only less than hundred years old, the electric guitar has gone through several changes, some of those changes have remained the same for decades while others are still being developed today. The electric guitar is always evolving, yet it always stays true to its roots.
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History
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Lloyd Loar, a sound engineer at Gibson Guitar Corporation created the first magnetic pickup in 1924. He was able to convert the vibrations of the strings into electrical signals. However, it wasn't until 1931 when the first electric guitar was produced. Known as the "Frying Pan," this steel instrument was created by George Beauchamp and produced by Rickenbacker Electro.
The Frying Pan was a guitar developed for the popularity of Hawaiian music. Because the guitar is the main melodic component for Hawaiian music, Beauchamp needed an instrument that was amplified so that an audience could hear it. During the same period as Big Band was gaining popularity, acoustic arch top guitars were fitted with a single electric pickup so the instrument could be heard over loud brass instruments. The electric guitar didn't catch on until the end of the decade when Charlie Christian and Benny Goodman's band starting using the Gibson ES-150, an electric Spanish-style guitar.
Fender Stratocaster Facts
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The Fender Stratocaster was developed by George Fullerton, Freddie Tavares and Leo Fender in 1954. Fender actually never played the guitar, he was a saxophonist. The Stratocaster or Strat has been in constant production since its initial release and is the most copied guitar in the world. The Strat was designed for country guitarist Bill Carson who said that a guitar should fit like a well-tailored shirt.
Although Bill Carson was the first to heavily promote the Stratocaster, it was Buddy Holly who was the first rock and roll musician to use the Strat exclusively on all his recordings until his untimely death in 1959. Later, the Strat would fall into the hands of left-handed guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix used a right-handed Strat, however he reversed the strings. Hendrix was the first performer to burn his guitar on stage. One of his burnt guitars was found by Frank Zappa's son, Dweezil in 1991.
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Les Paul Facts
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The prototype for the Gibson Les Paul was called the Log and initially was rejected in the late 1940s. However, when Fender released the Broadcaster (later known as the Telecaster) in 1950 Gibson wanted in on the new solid body electric guitar craze. The president of Gibson, Ted McCarty worked with guitarist Les Paul to develop what would be known as the Les Paul. Ironically, McCarty never played the guitar which is similar to guitar manufacturer rival, Leo Fender.
The Les Paul gained notoriety in the early 1960s during the British Invasion when Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards purchased a 1959 Les Paul and used it as his main instrument during the Stones' heyday. Eric Clapton also used Les Paul guitars during his early career, however he switched the the Fender Stratocaster after seeing Jimi Hendrix. Until his death in 2009, Les Paul played his signature electric guitar weekly performing gigs in New York City.
The Big, The Small and The Expensive
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The world's largest electric guitar was created by students and their physics teacher at the Academy of Science and Technology in Woodlands, TX. This massive ax weighs 2244 pounds and is over 43 feet long. The world's smallest guitar is 10 micrometers long with six strings being only 100 atoms wide. The Nano Guitar was developed by Cornell University researchers and was made from crystalline silicon. The world's smallest functional electric guitar was available to purchase from Hammacher Schlemmer.
The instrument is only 26.5 inches long and weighs 3.5 pounds. Although very small, this guitar sports 20 standard size frets. The most money paid for an electric guitar was $2.7 million. Sold at an auction in Qatar to raise money for Reach Out To Asia, this Fender Stratocaster is signed by Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Sting, Paul McCartney and other rock and roll icons.
Other Facts
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Typically, electric guitars have six strings, however seven and twelve string electric guitars are common as well. Guitarists such Steve Vai popularized the seven-string electric guitar in the 1980s when he played an Ibanez Universe. Traditionally, an electric guitar with six strings is tuned E-A-D-G-B-E, however tunings such as drop D where the low E string is tuned down a step are popular with rock guitar players as well.
As of June 2010, Ultimate Guitar's highest rated guitar tab is Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. In 2007, Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist of all time. In 2009, Elle magazine named Joan Jett the greatest female guitarist of all time.
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References
- Photo Credit neon electric guitar image by Peter Helin from Fotolia.com
