Revolution of Electric Guitars: Evolution from Past to Present

The guitar has a long and storied history dating back hundreds of years. Many early instruments like the lute, vihuela and five-course baroque guitar were precursors to what we now know as the modern six-string guitar. It was not until the early 20th century that guitar makers started experimenting with electric amplification, setting the stage for a revolution in guitar technology.

The need for amplification stemmed from guitarists struggling to be heard over the other louder instruments. As jazz bands in the 1920s grew bigger, the acoustic guitar had trouble competing sonically with horns and drums. Guitar players started looking for ways to increase the volume of their instrument.

This led to the invention of electro-magnetic "pickup devices" that could capture the vibrations of the guitar strings and convert them into an electrical signal. The first commercially available electric guitar, the Stromberg Electro, hit the market in 1928. But it was the introduction of Gibson's ES-150 guitar in 1936 that really marked the birth of the electric guitar.

The ES-150 had a single coil pickup designed by Walter Fuller, which allowed the guitar to plug into an external amplifier. Jazz guitarist Charlie Christian became one of the first high-profile artists to popularize this model of electric guitar, using it in his recordings with the Benny Goodman Quartet. His fast single-note soloing showed the possibilities of the electric guitar as a lead instrument.

This set the stage for a great evolution in guitar technology over the coming decades. The electrification of guitars allowed for more sonic possibilities, paving the way for new genres and playing styles. Over time, the electric guitar became a pillar of popular music across many genres like blues, rock, country and more.

Invention of the Electric Guitar

The electric guitar as we know it today traces its origins back to the early 1930s. While experiments with electrified instruments date back further, it was in the 1930s that the technology started coming together in a meaningful way.

Several key innovations and inventors paved the way for the electric guitar. In 1931, George Beauchamp, who co-founded Rickenbacker, created one of the first electric guitars. His design used electromagnetic pickups to amplify the guitar's sound.

That same year, Adolph Rickenbacker, George's cousin and business partner, helped design and build the first commercial electric guitar dubbed the "Frying Pan" for its long neck and circular body. It had a single electromagnetic pickup made of a pair of horseshoe magnets.

Another pioneer was Paul Barth, who in 1934 developed one of the first commercially successful single pickup electric guitars called the "Frying Pan" as well. Up to this point, most electrified instruments were Hawaiian lap steel guitars.

Les Paul, an acclaimed musician himself, also made key contributions to the electric guitar. In 1941, he built a prototype dubbed "The Log" which had a solid body rather than resonant chamber. This helped minimize feedback enabling higher gain and distortion.

These early electric guitars paved the way for the iconic solid body models that would power rock and roll a decade later. The technology was still crude, but constant tinkering and innovation in pickups, body shapes, and materials led to rapid evolution. The electric guitar revolution had only just begun.

Early Electric Guitar Models

The early history of the electric guitar featured several notable instruments that helped shape and popularize the instrument. Many early electric guitars were essentially acoustic guitars with pickups added, such as the Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" produced in 1931. This guitar had a metal body and short neck that resembled a frying pan.

Other early production electric guitars included Gibson's ES-150 in 1936, which was endorsed by jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. This archtop hollow body guitar had a single pickup and volume knob and helped make the electric guitar popular in jazz music.

In 1950, Fender introduced the revolutionary Telecaster, originally called the Broadcaster. This was among the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitars. Its simple yet elegant design featured a single cutaway for easy upper fret access and an iconic body shape that still endures.

Another important early electric guitar was the 1952 Gibson Les Paul, named after the jazz guitarist who collaborated on its design. It featured a solid mahogany body with a carved maple cap and is known for its thick, warm tone. The Les Paul would become one of the most iconic and coveted electric guitars in rock music.

These early electric guitar models from the 1930s through the 1950s laid the groundwork for mass production and evolution of the electric guitar's sound and playability. They ushered in a new era of the instrument and paved the way for the rock revolution.

Rise of the Solid Body

The 1950s saw the rise of the solid body electric guitar, led by Leo Fender's Broadcaster and Telecaster models. The solid body construction allowed for increased sustain and volume through the use of magnetic pickups. This was a major breakthrough, as previous electric guitars has issues with feedback and lacked the punch and tone of their acoustic counterparts.

Leo Fender's Telecaster, released in 1950, became one of the most iconic electric guitars. Its versatile sound with crisp highs and tight lows appealed to country, blues, and rock musicians alike. The Telecaster's bolt-on maple neck and simple controls set the standard for many future electric guitars.

The Gibson Les Paul, released in 1952, also became an instantly recognizable solid body model. Les Paul's innovative design included a mahogany body and neck for increased sustain and warmth, along with a pair of humbucking pickups for less noise. The lush tones of the Les Paul won over many jazz, blues, and rock guitarists. Models like the Stratocaster and SG built upon the Les Paul template and further expanded the sonic possibilities of the solid body electric guitar.

The rise of the Telecaster, Les Paul, and other solid bodies provided the right tools for guitarists to usher in the rock and roll era. Their biting tones and smooth playability allowed the electric guitar to take center stage.

Guitar Effects

As rock music evolved in the 1960s, guitarists began experimenting with effects to create unique new sounds. Distortion became a hugely popular effect, adding grittiness and sustain to the guitar's tone. Early fuzz pedals like the Maestro Fuzz-Tone and Arbiter Fuzz Face helped launch the fuzz craze. Jimi Hendrix creatively used fuzz, feedback and other effects to pioneer psychedelic guitar tones.

In the late 60s, engineers developed analog delay effects like tape echoes, oil can delays, and slapback echoes. Echo units allowed guitarists to duplicate and layer their sound. By the 70s, stompbox delays like the Echoplex and Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man offered portable delay effects.

Reverb also became an essential guitar effect during the surf rock era, adding space and ambience to the bright guitar tone. Spring reverb tanks were widely used, though digital rack units later offered more control. Wah-wah pedals also emerged, modulated by a foot pedal to create a sweeping frequency boost. The unmistakable wah effect featured heavily in psychedelic and funk rock.

During the 70s and 80s, chorus, phaser and flanger effects became popular for thickening and modulating the guitar's tone. Rack-mounted digital effects processors allowed for pre-programmed effect presets. By the 90s, multi-effects pedals crammed various effects into one unit. The modern guitarist has a huge array of tone-shaping effects, analog and digital, stompbox and rackmount. Guitar effects continue to evolve, blending vintage sounds with modern innovations.

Rock and Roll

The electrification of the guitar in the 1940s and 50s helped usher in the era of rock and roll music. Uptempo songs from artists like Chuck Berry featured heavily distorted guitar tones and blues-influenced solos played on solid-body electric guitars like the Gibson Les Paul. These early rock and roll records emphasized the guitar as a lead instrument over the saxophone and piano, which had dominated rhythm and blues.

Electric guitars allowed guitarists to play with more volume and sustain. This facilitated new techniques like string bending and feedback, which contributed to the gritty, raw sound of early rock. The solid-body electric guitar's portability also enabled rock guitarists to more easily tour and perform live compared to the big band jazz groups of the 1930s and 40s.

In the 1960s, the Fender Stratocaster became synonymous with rock music after being used by guitar heroes like Buddy Holly, Hank Marvin, and Jimi Hendrix. The Strat delivered thick, rich tones and its double cutaway design allowed players to access the higher frets to play screaming rock solos. The emergence of guitar effects like fuzz, distortion, and wah-wah pedals also shaped the sound of 60s rock, expanding the tonal palette of the electric guitar. From surf rock to psychedelic to hard rock, the electric guitar took center stage as the quintessential rock and roll instrument.

Psychedelic and Progressive Rock

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the rise of psychedelic rock and progressive rock. These genres made extensive use of the electric guitar with effects like fuzz, phasers, and wah-wah pedals to create trippy, spacey sounds.

Jimi Hendrix pioneered the use of guitar feedback and distortion. His guitar work on albums like Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold as Love demonstrated the sonic possibilities of the electric guitar. Hendrix inspired guitarists to experiment with new tones and textures.

Pink Floyd emerged from the London psychedelic scene and helped expand the boundaries of rock. Guitarist David Gilmour used delay, modulation, and pedal effects on songs like "Comfortably Numb" to create atmospheric, multidimensional soundscapes.

Progressive rock groups like Yes, King Crimson, and Rush featured virtuoso guitarists who blended hard rock, jazz, and classical influences. The intricate, multisection compositions of progressive rock allowed guitarists to showcase their technical skills in extended solos and complex chord progressions.

Psychedelic and progressive rock showed that in the hands of innovative players, the electric guitar could produce sounds never before imagined, shaping the evolution of the instrument.

Heavy Metal

The 1960s and 70s saw the emergence of heavy metal music, characterized by aggressive playing styles, extended guitar solos, and heavy distortion. Bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin pioneered the heavy metal sound built around the electric guitar.

Heavy metal guitarists pushed amplifiers to new extremes, cranking up the gain to create a dense, saturated distortion. High gain amps from Marshall, Mesa Boogie, and other brands became closely associated with metal guitar tones. The key was to generate singing sustain and feedback.

Guitar virtuosos like Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, and Eddie Van Halen shaped the heavy metal lead guitar style with their blindingly fast solos and riffs. They exploited techniques like two-handed tapping, sweep picking, and dive bombs with the whammy bar.

The New Wave of British Heavy Metal exploded in the late 70s and early 80s. Bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Motörhead further cemented the metal guitar style built on blisteringly loud Marshall stacks. Thrash metal also emerged at this time with lightning fast, shred-heavy playing.

As metal branched into more extreme subgenres in the 80s and 90s, seven and eight string guitars enabled extended range chugging. Metal guitarists continued to innovate with extreme techniques and impossible speeds. But at its core, metal guitar remains focused on the pure sonic power and crunch coming from the amp stack.

Guitar Virtuosos

The electric guitar enabled a new breed of virtuoso guitarists to emerge and pushed the boundaries of guitar playing. In the 1960s, Jimi Hendrix dazzled audiences with his jaw-dropping skills and flamboyant stage presence. His advanced techniques like feedback manipulation and using the whammy bar as an expressive tool became an integral part of rock guitar vocabulary. Hendrix inspired a generation of guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck.

In the 1970s, players like Eddie Van Halen brought tapping and whammy bar tricks to the mainstream with his wildly inventive soloing. His lightning-fast runs and finger-tapping skills raised the bar for rock guitar playing. Guitarists in heavy metal bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden also demonstrated awe-inspiring technical proficiency.

The 80s hair metal scene was filled with shredders who focused on speed and facility. Guitarists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani took rock virtuosity to new heights with their melodic, highly technical soloing that blended rock, jazz, and exotic scales. The neoclassical metal movement also emerged in the 80s with musicians like Yngwie Malmsteen melding classical music influences with metal guitar histrionics.

Modern players like John Petrucci, Steve Vai and Joe Bonamassa have carried the torch of guitar virtuosity into the 2000s and beyond. With each generation, the boundaries of electric guitar playing continue to expand.

The Modern Electric Guitar

Today's electric guitars represent the culmination of decades of innovation and experimentation. While retaining the familiar shape and construction, modern instruments incorporate advanced electronics and digital technology.

Multi-effects units and amp modeling have revolutionized guitar tones. With a single compact pedalboard, guitarists can recreate vintage tube amp tones and apply effects like chorus, delay, and distortion. This allows for greater versatility without lugging around amplifiers and pedals.

Extended-range electric guitars have become popular for modern rock and metal. Seven and eight-string models extend the pitch range for incredibly low tunings. Some contemporary metal guitarists use nine and ten string guitars with extremely low tunings and unconventional scales.

The latest computerized modeling technology analyzes the components and circuitry of vintage guitars. This allows luthiers to recreate the sound and response of rare, expensive vintage models. As a result, boutique guitar companies can produce more consistent and affordable versions of classic electric guitar designs.

Synthesizer and MIDI technology has also been incorporated into electric guitars. With MIDI pickups, guitarists can mimic strings, pianos, horns and other sounds not typically associated with the guitar. The synergy of guitar and synthesizer opens new creative possibilities.

After a century of evolution, the modern electric guitar offers unmatched versatility. Players today have access to a broader palette of sounds and styles than ever before. The electric guitar continues to be at the forefront of musical innovation. Even now, luthiers and musicians are developing new technologies to revolutionize the electric guitar for future generations.