If you love rock and roll music then you most likely have some favorite guitarists from over time. And whether or not you you're not a massive rock and roll fan, you could be familier with the names I'm going to mention.
But I bet you did not notice that you may not have heard of any of them without the invention of the electric guitar. In reality rock and roll might not even exist if guitars were not invented that might play at the volume and with the sound that we've all come to know and love. The invention of the electrical guitar was truly a discovery that modified music for evermore. Here's how...
The Start of Electric Guitar
The electric guitar as we know it today has not really been around all that long. There were early designs in the 1920's and 30's, and Gibson offered a generally available electrical guitar in 1936. But none truly caught on in any large way.
Even though you could find electrified guitars back then, they were never that effective in a band setting because they were based mostly on hollow-body arch top guitars. If you tried to turn them up they inclined to feed back and make a hollering noise. That's why they were for the most part utilized for rhythm and barely could be loud enough to take leads in a full band band setting.
And early guitars had an uneven sound with some strings being louder than others. In general, the electric guitar was not prepared for prime time. And it actually wasn't prepared for Rock and Roll.
Leo Fender changed all that.
Leo Fender was the inventor of the first generally available solid body electric guitar. With the solid body electric, players could actually turn the instrument up loud enough to cut through an entire band. Leo radically changed music, and the rock and roll of the 50's and 60's may not have happened without him. It actually would have sounded very different.
And the first solid body electrical guitars were very different than what had come before. They seemed like creatures from another planet compared against run-of-the-mill guitars of the time. Most guitars of the 30's and 40's looked like a normal acoustic guitar with a huge, hollow body and had a characteristic acoustic sound you'd expect. It is a wonderful sound but only applicable for certain types of music.
When Leo Fender invented the Broadcaster guitar in 1951, which would shortly be called a Telecaster due to patent issues, it was completely different than anything around. It was angular with a completely new shape and only about 2 inches deep with 2 specially designed mics, called pickups, that caught the sound of the strings. It was light but very compact yet still had a solid piece of wood that resonated with a really, well, solid sound. It had been a complete sea change from other guitars.
Inside one or two years, Gibson Guitars came up with their own solid-body guitar, the Les Paul. It was based primarily on an invention by jazz guitar player Les Paul who also had been working on a solid body electrical guitar individually. Some even say he was the first inventor of a solid body electric, and that may be true, but it was not largely popular until a bit later .
Guitar Amps Were A Serious Element Too
Although the guitar could now be played loudly it still wanted to be amplified. Many of these early guitar amplifiers came from Fender as well , but Gibson and others offered them also. Many of those early amps are prized by collectors and guitar players for their unique and pleasing sounds.
And the amplifier itself had a major affect on the sound as well. You can actually say that the sound of the electrical guitar was a marriage between the guitar and the amp used. The amp modified the sound that was produced and when turned up loudly created a distortion that was quite pleasing to guitar players. Early blues guitarists and later rock and roll guitar player sought that overdriven sound. This sound was something that was totally new to music and spawned that early blues and rock and roll sound we came to enjoy in the 1950's.
Finally, players like Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend of The Who used this distortion to extraordinary levels to create the sound of the 60's and hallucinatory music. Amps had gotten louder and the sound was more creative than ever. The 1960's actually was the decade when the electric guitar and amplification evolved to the point at which it is today.
And it commenced with Leo Fender and his invention, the solid-body electric guitar. Blues guitarists and rock and roll guitar players alike, owe it all to Leo.
But I bet you did not notice that you may not have heard of any of them without the invention of the electric guitar. In reality rock and roll might not even exist if guitars were not invented that might play at the volume and with the sound that we've all come to know and love. The invention of the electrical guitar was truly a discovery that modified music for evermore. Here's how...
The Start of Electric Guitar
The electric guitar as we know it today has not really been around all that long. There were early designs in the 1920's and 30's, and Gibson offered a generally available electrical guitar in 1936. But none truly caught on in any large way.
Even though you could find electrified guitars back then, they were never that effective in a band setting because they were based mostly on hollow-body arch top guitars. If you tried to turn them up they inclined to feed back and make a hollering noise. That's why they were for the most part utilized for rhythm and barely could be loud enough to take leads in a full band band setting.
And early guitars had an uneven sound with some strings being louder than others. In general, the electric guitar was not prepared for prime time. And it actually wasn't prepared for Rock and Roll.
Leo Fender changed all that.
Leo Fender was the inventor of the first generally available solid body electric guitar. With the solid body electric, players could actually turn the instrument up loud enough to cut through an entire band. Leo radically changed music, and the rock and roll of the 50's and 60's may not have happened without him. It actually would have sounded very different.
And the first solid body electrical guitars were very different than what had come before. They seemed like creatures from another planet compared against run-of-the-mill guitars of the time. Most guitars of the 30's and 40's looked like a normal acoustic guitar with a huge, hollow body and had a characteristic acoustic sound you'd expect. It is a wonderful sound but only applicable for certain types of music.
When Leo Fender invented the Broadcaster guitar in 1951, which would shortly be called a Telecaster due to patent issues, it was completely different than anything around. It was angular with a completely new shape and only about 2 inches deep with 2 specially designed mics, called pickups, that caught the sound of the strings. It was light but very compact yet still had a solid piece of wood that resonated with a really, well, solid sound. It had been a complete sea change from other guitars.
Inside one or two years, Gibson Guitars came up with their own solid-body guitar, the Les Paul. It was based primarily on an invention by jazz guitar player Les Paul who also had been working on a solid body electrical guitar individually. Some even say he was the first inventor of a solid body electric, and that may be true, but it was not largely popular until a bit later .
Guitar Amps Were A Serious Element Too
Although the guitar could now be played loudly it still wanted to be amplified. Many of these early guitar amplifiers came from Fender as well , but Gibson and others offered them also. Many of those early amps are prized by collectors and guitar players for their unique and pleasing sounds.
And the amplifier itself had a major affect on the sound as well. You can actually say that the sound of the electrical guitar was a marriage between the guitar and the amp used. The amp modified the sound that was produced and when turned up loudly created a distortion that was quite pleasing to guitar players. Early blues guitarists and later rock and roll guitar player sought that overdriven sound. This sound was something that was totally new to music and spawned that early blues and rock and roll sound we came to enjoy in the 1950's.
Finally, players like Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend of The Who used this distortion to extraordinary levels to create the sound of the 60's and hallucinatory music. Amps had gotten louder and the sound was more creative than ever. The 1960's actually was the decade when the electric guitar and amplification evolved to the point at which it is today.
And it commenced with Leo Fender and his invention, the solid-body electric guitar. Blues guitarists and rock and roll guitar players alike, owe it all to Leo.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a long time blues guitarist. He's played in many bands over the years and now helps others learn how to play the blues guitar on his website www.BluesGuitarInsider.com