The Colorful, Revolutionary History of the Electric Guitar
Few instruments have done more for the development of modern Western music than the guitar. From country, blues, jazz, and folk to rock, metal, punk, indie, and even pop, virtually every popular genre of music now features the guitar, typically in a prominent position. It is the instrument of choice for band frontmen, establishes the rhythm of most songs, and provides the mid-song solo on the vast majority of rock ‘n’ roll songs.
The electric guitar, in particular, has almost single-handedly fueled the evolution of popular music over the past 75 years. The string-bending solos of BB King, virtuosity of Eric Clapton, raw ingenuity of Brian May and his band Queen, and wailing licks of Jimi Hendrix are just a few examples of how the electric guitar has revolutionized music over and over again across the decades. Meanwhile, better amps, wah wah pedals, slide guitars, intentional distortion, and other advances have continuously redefined what good guitar playing sounds like.
The Early History of the Electric Guitar
The electric guitar’s history is a colorful and storied one that dates back as far as the early 1930s. In 1931, a man named Paul Tutmarc began experimenting with magnets and coils as a way to pick up the vibrations of guitar strings and amplify them. This early “pickup” was based on the same concept that telephones used to send sound between locations by creating vibrations with magnets.
A short time later, Hawaiian guitar player George Beauchamp and his friend John Dopyera began experimenting with a similar concept, eventually building the “frying pan” guitar, which was essentially an amplified Hawaiian-style guitar and would go on to directly influence Hawaiian music for the next century. Beauchamp soon teamed up with Adolph Rickenbacker, whom he met at the Dopyera Brothers guitar manufacturing facility, and together they teamed up to build the Rickenbacker Electric Guitar, which was the first commercially available electric guitar model. Like Tutmarc’s design, this guitar ran electricity through magnets and coils to pick up the vibrations of the instrument’s strings, then used resistors to cut out higher frequencies and control the volume. The sound was transmitted through cables to a PA system.
Around the same time, a number of other people began experimenting with electric pickups for guitars, including for hollow, wooden acoustic guitars, which were lighter and cheaper to make. Unfortunately, the echo of the hollow body created feedback from the sound emanating out of the speakers. While this problem was ultimately addressed in several creative ways—for example, through the use of a sound hole dampener, changing the distance and angle of the speakers, and controlling the EQ—it also inspired more inventors to look for ways to create lighter, more affordable solid-body electric guitars. One of those people was Les Paul, who became a leading innovator in the world of electric guitars.
In the early 1950s, Fender released its Broadcaster, which was later renamed the Telecaster. One of the most iconic guitars in rock ‘n’ roll history, the Telecaster featured a dual-pickup and multiple volume control knobs, making it versatile and accessible to the masses.
Two years later, Gibson released its own model, appropriately named the Les Paul. The battle of the guitar builders was in full force, and Fender soon released the Stratocaster as a response to the Les Paul—combining the capabilities of the Telecaster with the aesthetics of Hawaiian guitars.
The Next Generation of Innovators
By this time, artists such as Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash were busy revolutionizing rock music—and the future megastars of the genre were quickly taking notice. By the time The Beatles turned rock into the ultimate pop culture fad, the electric guitar was a mainstream commodity.
The next evolution of the electric guitar had more to do with artists’ performances than it did the actual instruments they were using. The electric guitar lent itself to soloing, and soon every band had a lead guitarist who could slash their way through a savage solo. Jimi Hendrix was widely considered the most influential guitarist of his time, and he inspired generations of virtuosos who took rock—and lead guitar licks—in a variety of new directions. Artists such as Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Keith Richards paved the way for later talents such as Prince and Eddie Van Halen.
Van Halen’s impact on the electric guitar extended far beyond his once-per-generation talent. In the process of establishing Van Halen as one of the hardest-hitting rock bands of the 1980s, he arguably did more to evolve the electric guitar than anyone else in his time. Eddie combined parts from different guitars to get the sounds he wanted (and eliminate those he didn’t), came up with new ideas for better amps, chopped his guitars into different shapes to fit his fancy, helped develop the whammy bar, patented a device to keep a guitar in place while finger tapping it, and created the D Tuna to drop the lowest string an extra step.
Most importantly, Van Halen showed future innovators—including those who are still driving the evolution of the electric guitar today—that it was okay to be frustrated with what you had available, as long as you were willing to innovate, create, and build something different. After all, that’s what the electric guitar has always been about.