Electric Guitar

Electric Guitar

You may think that the electric guitar is a recent innovation, but it has actually been around since 1931. Jazz musicians were seeking a way to amplify their sound and the electric guitar was born. Today the electric guitar is capable of a multitude of sounds of styles and was a major component in the development of rock and roll as well as other genres of music. So many people experimented with amplification that it is impossible to say definitively who invented the electric guitar.

Les Paul experimented with microphones attached to guitars. Some of the earliest electric guitars were adapted hollow bodied acoustic guitars and used tungsten pick-ups. Commercial production began in 1932. In order to compete with the large orchestras in the big band era, the amplified guitar was necessary. Early manufacturers include Rickenbacker, national, Audio Vox and Volu-tone in 1934. Vega, Epiphone, and Gibson followed in 1935 and by 1936 many other companies were producing electric guitars.

Solid body electric guitars have no hollow internal cavity and no sound holes. They are usually made with hardwood with a lacquer coating. This wood is dried for three to six months before being cut into shape. The sound is produced by pick-ups that convert the vibration of the strings into an electrical signal. This signal is fed into an amplifier and speaker. Some solid body guitars are made with what is known as string-through construction. The strings are threaded through holes drilled into the bottom of the guitar body and held in place with metal ferrules screwed or glued into the holes. The advantage is an improvement in timbre.

Semi-acoustic guitars have a hollow body with electric pick-ups mounted on its body. The pick-ups convert the combination of string and body vibrations into an electrical signal. Advocates argue that they have greater resonance than solid body guitars. Electric acoustic guitars have steel strings and are sometimes fitted with pick-ups to avoid using a separate microphone. They may have a low mass microphone inside the body of the guitar or an electronic pick-up mounted under the bridge. These are not strictly considered electric guitars because the sound is produced from the vibrations of the body rather than the strings.

There are many string, neck, and bridge variations in electric guitars. The four strings or so called tenor guitar is often used by blues musicians. There are seven, eight, nine, ten and twelve string guitars. The twelve string guitar has six pairs of strings each tuned to the same note. The extra E, A, D, and G strings add a note one octave above, and the extra B and E strings are in unison. Notable guitarists who loved the twelve string were George Harrison, Roger McGuinn ad Jimmy Page. Jimmy Page also popularized the use of the double neck guitar. It can allow the guitarist to play guitar and bass at the same time, but more commonly combines the six string and the twelve string guitar.

To say that the electric guitar has probably revolutionized popular music is an understatement. Playing techniques like string bending, tapping, use of slides, and many others are unique to electric guitars.

 

 

 

 

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