| As with many inventions, the electric guitar initially met | | | | Gibson was Fender's first major competitor in 1952. |
| with skepticism from original performers as well as | | | | Expert guitarist Les Paul helped publicize and design |
| from guitar makers and traditional audiences. Country | | | | the Gibson guitars, which included his legendary Les |
| and blues players and jazz instrumentalists initially took | | | | Paul models. It was the mass production of Fender |
| to the variety of new tones and sounds offered by | | | | and Gibson guitars that lowered the price and made |
| the electric guitar, as they explored new sounds and | | | | them reachable by teenagers across the country. |
| found ways to change, bend, and have longer | | | | Now any teenager could envision themselves as being |
| sustained notes. | | | | in a musical rebellion. |
| In the 1950s, rock and roll found a new home in the | | | | In the 1960s, many people thought that rock and roll |
| electric guitar's greater volume and the driving tones | | | | would be a quick fad, but with the Beatles and Beach |
| that appealed to teen audiences (who had newfound | | | | Boys and other groups of the 1960s, rock and roll |
| spending dollars). While the electric guitar impacted | | | | dominated the music and became powerfully rooted in |
| other music, the electric guitar was at the center of | | | | the American culture. |
| the cultural rebellion that symbolized rock and roll. The | | | | It was also in the 1960s that guitarists found new |
| new guitar "legend" was created: with slicked-back | | | | sounds and most guitarists were using distortion and |
| hair, a leather jacket, a motorcycle, and "sizzling" | | | | other special effects such as tremolo and reverb. |
| electric guitar. | | | | Distortion and feedback became commonplace with |
| The Spanish-styled solid-body guitar design became | | | | guitarists like Hendrix, Van Halen and Tom Scholz. |
| associated with rock and roll. The earliest known | | | | In the early 1970s, you also saw new guitar effects |
| commercially produced Spanish solid-body electric | | | | such as phaser, flanger, compressor, tube screamer, |
| guitar is the 1939 Slingerland. Les Paul experimented | | | | octaver, and many others offering a wide range of |
| with a similar design in 1940. In 1947 Paul Bigsby | | | | sounds that continue to be used to this day. And now |
| teamed up with famed country singer Merle Travis to | | | | you can get these effects built in to a modeling amp |
| produce a solid-body guitar that is very similar to the | | | | and combine effects in a way that they complement |
| guitars used still to this day. | | | | each other rather than competing with each other. |
| But it was Leo Fender that especially revolutionized | | | | The last few decades have also seen the rise of the |
| the electric guitar along with his awesome line of amps. | | | | professional female guitarist. Pioneers like Heart and |
| As a radio repairman, he designed great amps with a | | | | Bonnie Raitt have given women respect in an industry |
| highly desired tone. He was also the first to | | | | that was traditionally male-dominated. |
| successfully mass-produce and market a | | | | The electric guitar has been around for sixty years. |
| Spanish-style solid-body electric guitar. The success of | | | | Even though the 1980s were heavily dominated with |
| his Telecaster line and later Stratocaster line, inspired | | | | synthesizers, the electric guitar is still in all types of |
| additional manufacturers to start making their own | | | | music and is played and listened to by men and |
| models. | | | | women of every age. |