|
While it did not start with the left handed
electric guitar, did you realize that the first electric guitars
date back almost to the turn of the 20th century? Seems nearly
unbelievable but this fact is absolutely true. The debut of the
electric guitar was in the Roaring 20's when Flappers and Raccoon
coats were considered to be the Cat's Meow.
The basic guitar was quite popular and essentially unchanged in
design for a number of years which made the electric guitar a
definite curiosity. When you consider that the advent of modern amps
and speakers was still years away you do have to ask yourself if
this was American ingenuity at its finest, or was this merely a case
of "accidental invention".
According to researchers who specialize in the history of musical
instruments the reason for the first electric guitar was an attempt
to create a more powerful sound from this relatively simple
acoustical device. Now this is something that continues to fuel the
design of many guitars to this very day-Power and Sound.
Music was gaining in popularity during the 1800s and on into the
20th century. As a result musicians were being asked to perform in
front of large crowds and a regular acoustic styled guitar was
extremely limited in the amount of sound that it could produce.
Guitarists and band members often have very strong, artistic egos
and they wanted their music to be heard no matter how large the
crowd or how acoustically challenged the performance venue would be.
Christian Frederick Martin, Sr. was one of the leading guitar
designers and manufacturers in the 19th century and he was the
person who founded the C. F. Martin Company. Today Martin guitars
command top dollar and much of the innovation that would lead to the
modern electric guitar was due directly to changes and features that
were innovations of C.F. Martin himself.
Orville Gibson is famous as the founder of the Gibson
Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company. He was the person who thought
of redesigning the guitar so that it featured a bowed top. This arch
created a louder sound quality but still it seemed that more could
be done to increase the resonance and strength of the guitar music.
During the roaring 20's John Dopyera had a unique thought. His
guitar design featured some metallic cones built onto the top of a
nearly all-metal bodied guitar. The cones acted as resonation
devices and they increased the sound to a certain degree but the
quality of the music was harsh and not acceptable for most songs.
At the C. F. Martin Company steel strings were introduced during the
30's.The guitars had to be redesigned to handle the weight of these
strings and the Martin guitar company created a famous acoustic
guitar named the Dreadnought that could handle these new strings
with aplomb.
By this time musicians and guitar makers began to look into the idea
of using what is known as electrical pickups. These are essentially
bar magnets that are wound with wire and attached next to the
strings. One end of the wire coil is attached to a speaker/amp and
when the musician strums the steel strings the movement creates a
vibration. The electrical pickup is able to create an electric
current that flows through the string that will change according to
the vibration pattern. This current is able to be magnified by the
amp and then listeners are able to hear the sound waves that are
created.
Lloyd Loar was a sound musician and an engineer that worked for the
Gibson Guitar Company during the 20's. He created the first
electrical pickup in 1923 but no one was interested in pursuing this
invention for electric guitars at this stage of the game.
The debut of the electric guitar was originally presented in 1929 by
a Chicago company known as Stromberg-Voisinet. Signal strength was
still a problem however and few instruments attracted any real
attention.
During the early 30's Lloyd Loar tried to sell electric guitars,
mandolins, and keyboards using the Vivi-Tone name, but again these
were not popular. Once again it looked as though electric guitars
would continue to only exist in dreams and imaginations.
Les Paul was experimenting with electronic amplifiers as early as
1929. He would eventually become famous as one of the finest
musicians and crafters of electrical guitars in the world.
Rickenbacker International Corporation would eventually earn the
distinction of being the first company to create a modern electric
guitar. The device they used was an electromagnetic pickup with a
horseshoe design. The first of these guitar models was cheerfully
named the Frying Pan thanks to its playing area which actually
resembled an iconic frying pan. This company would not be granted a
pattern until 1937 although they began to produce the guitars in
1932.
Many of the earliest electric guitar designs were actually Hawaiian
versions that were held in the lap or placed on a stand. The sound
is different from the electric guitars you are now familiar with and
they were played by using a sliding steel bar on the frets.
In 1936 it was the Gibson ES-150 that finally caught the eye of many
musicians. The company created a sleekly designed electric pickup
which they mounted out of view and the only object that could be
seen was a slender metal rod (just under the strings) that was
securely wrapped in coils.
It would not be until 1947 that the electric guitar design would
begin to resemble those that musicians use today. Paul Bigsby and a
guitarist named Merle Travis created the 1st electric guitar with a
solid state body that would garner critical acclaim. This model
guitar featured a device that is now called a tremolo arm or a
whammy bar. When this device is used it changes the string tension
to alter the pitch of different notes.
The next great name in the evolution of electric guitars would be
Leo Fender. He is credited with the development and mass production
of the Fender Broadcaster in 1950. This guitar would precipitate the
electric guitar revolution. Two years later this guitar would have
its name changed to the Telecaster and these guitars can fetch
prices as high as 5-6 figures today. Fender would also create the P
Bass electric guitar in 1951 which changed standing bass guitars to
the portable playing design that is so familiar today.
The Gibson Company was competing with Fender and in 1952 it designed
and sold the Gibson Les Paul as a competitor for the Telecaster.
This was an electric guitar that featured a trapeze styled bridge
and tailpiece. The gold finish was used to add glitz and glam and it
also inspired the name "Goldtop" for this model.
The Gibson Les Paul has a standard design that featured a unique
sunburst appearance on the wood. It also included humbucking
electrical pickups which consisted of double coils that could
eliminate much of the background noise and high frequency distortion
when the instrument was played.
The 1954 Stratocaster design by Fender is often said to be the
electric guitar that has influenced music and instrument design the
most. It featured a trio of electrical pickups and a design that had
a double cutaway appearance. Fender also used his unique tremolo
design which combined the bridge, tailpiece and vibrato device in
one unit.
The solid body electric guitars that were created by these
imaginative men yielded a musical instrument that could take on
endless new designs without losing any character and tone. Today you
will see designs that are based on the Stratocaster and the Gibson
Flying V but many of these electric guitars have futuristic or
geometrically inspired lines. Even so, you can still recognize the
heritage and tradition of the legendary guitar masters in each of
these instruments.
If you are looking for a left handed electric guitar, click
the link below and head over to our store. |
