Brief History of the Electric Guitar
The acoustic and steel guitars have been around for years but the sound of a regular guitar is not extremely loud, unless you amplify it in some way. This is fine in small groups, or if the guitar is the only instrument being played. If it is part of a band or if it being played in a large crowd, other sounds can easily drown it out.
As music began to increase in popularity and bands and groups began to form the guitar was a central ingredient. The drawback of muted sound was quickly noted and it became a concern for both musicians and audience members. Many times a guitar player was not able to achieve adequate recognition for his skills because few could actually hear his music.
It was during the Depression years that the first electric guitar was invented. While this was not done to make millions of dollars, and it was not done to change the history of music, but this is what happened. Surprisingly, it is not even known who actually invented the first guitar.
1924-Lloyd Loar designed the first magnetic pickup. He developed a way to pick up the sounds of the string vibrations of a guitar and amplify them electronically through speakers.
1931-Paul Barth, George Beauchamp, and Adolph Rickenbacker developed the first marketed electronic guitars. They began the Electro String Company. They were made from material known as cast aluminum, and they were cleverly nicknamed, “frying pans”.
1936- Gibson introduces their ES-150.
1950-Leo Fender began to mass-produce the Fender Broadcaster, which had to be, renamed Telecaster because the original name was owned by another company.
1954-The Fender company introduces their most famous guitar….the Stratocaster
During the 60s and70s, these brand name guitars were very expensive and most working class people could not afford them. Imitations, knock offs and cheaply made electric guitars were made and sold but were patently inferior in sound.
During the 80s, Japanese manufacturers began to produce some very well made electric guitars with good sound quality. When these began to challenge the American guitars, Fender and others made revised versions of their own line and sold them at cheaper prices.
Today, Gibson and Fender are still the top 2 names but there are some challengers to the titles. Electric guitars today are also being changed in look and shape. Colours today can be pink, neon blue, rainbow hued, clear, or have stripes and polka dots. The shapes of the guitars can be letters of the alphabet, flying wedges or even be formed like a wishbone.
A children's guitar is a popular first musical toy for toddlers and young children, but as the child grows the one instrument that almost every kids wants to learn to play is a child's electric guitar. The ease of playing and the portability of a guitar have always been two of its best features.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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