Electric Guitars Have Come a Long Way!

If you think you know the electric guitar, think again!'Broadkaster' copyright.
Today's guitars are varied in style, size, and capabilityIn the mid-1950s, Fender introduced its 'Stratocaster', a
and are used by all kinds of musiciansdeluxe model of the original electric guitar it had
The electric guitar uses 'pick-ups' to convert vibrationproduced earlier. The 'Stratocaster' is still one of the
from its strings into electrical current that is amplified tomost respected and copied electric guitars. In the early
produce sound. Today's electric guitars can produce1950s Fender also produced the Fender Precision
an electronic sound or a sound that is more acoustic inBass, which was to become the first commercially
tone and timber.successfully electric bass guitar.
The hollow body electric guitar can be an archtop withIn addition to Les Paul's time working at Gibson, he
a full sound box or it can have a thin body.went on to influence the Gibson brand and its success
While steel guitars are electric, they are not reallyby helping to design the Gibson Les Paul Guitar in the
considered 'electric guitars' by most musicians.early 1950s.
Musicians use electric guitars to play everything fromWith its burgeoning success in the electric guitar
rock and roll to country, pop, blues, jazz, and rap.market, Gibson developed the 'Tune-o-Matic' bridge
Today's classical composers and orchestrators evenand by the late 1950s it put the finishing touches on the
include electric guitars among their instruments ofLes Paul Guitar it still produces today.
choice.Today's electric guitars are still designed much like the
The electric guitar was originally designed in the 1930sGibson and Fender guitars of the 1950s.
by the Electro String Instrument Corporation. ThatIn the 1960s, effects boxes or stomp boxes became
electric guitar was made out of solid wood. One of thepopular, adding effects like reverberation, delay, fuzz
most famous and well-renowned guitarists of theand the famous 'wah wah' sound to the repetoire of
forties and today, built a solid body electric guitar for histhe rock and roll musician. Using a foot pedal to turn
own use, after working at the Gibson Guitar Factory.the box off and on, the electric guitarist could create
Les Paul's famous invention was built with handmadeand use sounds audiences had never heard before!
pick-ups and hardware, and a four by four woodenIn the late 1980s and 1990s, the computerized age of
post to which the neck was attached. He finished theelectric guitars arrived, and musicians began to use
body with hollow Swedish body halves and the rest issoftware and digital sound to create effects. Gibson
history!introduced the first digital guitar in 2002. This guitar can
It is interesting to note that there was a lot of researchdeliver digital signals using an Ethernet cable and is
and experimentation going on during this time period bycapable of processing independent signals from each
guitar manufacturers and musicians alike.string. The guitar is equpped with its own integrated
It wasn't until the 1950s that the electric guitar reallycomputer and it can modify sound to mimic many old
came into its own! The first Fender electric guitar wasand new electric and acoustic guitar models.
called the 'Broadcaster'. But that name was changedThis new capability has opened up a new world of
to the 'Telecaster' when the Gretsch drumcreativity and innovation for musicians and
manufacturer challenged Fender's use of theirorchestrators to explore!