An electric guitar is a guitar that uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into

electrical signals. The vibration occurs when a guitar

player strums, plucks, fingerpicks, slaps or taps the strings. The pickup generally
uses electromagnetic induction to create this signal, which being relatively weak is fed into a guitar
amplifier before being sent to the speaker(s), which converts it into audible sound.
The electric signal can be electronically altered to change the timbre of the sound. Often, the signal
is modified using effects such as reverb, distortion and "overdrive"; the latter is considered to be a
key element of electric blues guitar music and rock guitar playing.
Invented in 1932, the electric guitar was adopted by jazz guitar players, who wanted to play single-
note guitar solos in large big band ensembles. Early proponents of the electric guitar on record
include Les Paul, Lonnie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, T-Bone Walker, and Charlie Christian.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar became the most important instrument in popular
music.[1] It has evolved into an instrument that is capable of a multitude of sounds and styles in
genres ranging from pop and rock to country music, blues and jazz. It served as a major component
in the development of electric blues, rock and roll, rock music, heavy metal music and many other
genres of music.
Electric guitar design and construction varies greatly in the shape of the body and the configuration
of the neck, bridge, and pickups. Guitars may have a fixed bridge or a spring-loaded hinged bridge,
which lets players "bend" the pitch of notes or chords up or down, or perform vibrato effects. The
sound of an electric guitar can be modified by new playing techniques such as string
bending, tapping, and hammering-on, using audio feedback, or slide guitar playing.
There are several types of electric guitar, including: the solid-body guitar; various types of hollow-
body guitars; the six-string guitar (the most common type), which is usually tuned E, B, G, D, A, E,
from highest to lowest strings; the seven-string guitar, which typically adds a low B string below the
low E; the eight-string guitar, which typically adds a low E or F# string below the low B; and
the twelve-string guitar, which has six pairs of strings.
In pop and rock music, the electric guitar is often used in two roles: as a rhythm guitar, which plays
the chord sequences or progressions, and riffs, and sets the beat (as part of a rhythm section); and
as a lead guitar, which provides instrumental melody lines, melodic instrumental fill passages,
and solos. In a small group, such as a power trio, one guitarist switches between both roles. In large
rock and metal bands, there is often a rhythm guitarist and a lead guitarist.

Contents

 1History
 2Types
o 2.1Solid-body
o 2.2Chambered-body
o 2.3Semi-acoustic
o 2.4Full hollow-body
o 2.5Electric acoustic
 3Construction
o 3.1Bridge and tailpiece systems
o 3.2Pickups
o 3.3Guitar necks
 4Sound and effects
o 4.1Built-in sound shaping
 o 4.2Guitar amplifier
o 4.3Effects units
o 4.4Synthesizer and digital guitars
 5Playing techniques
 6See also
 7References
 8Sources
 9External links

History[edit]

The "Frying Pan", 1932

Many experiments at electrically amplifying the vibrations of a string instrument were made dating
back to the early part of the 20th century. Patents from the 1910s show telephone transmitters were
adapted and placed inside violins and banjos to amplify the sound. Hobbyists in the 1920s
used carbon button microphones attached to the bridge; however, these detected vibration from the
bridge on top of the instrument, resulting in a weak signal.[2] With numerous people experimenting
with electrical instruments in the 1920s and early 1930s, there are many claimants to have been the
first to invent an electric guitar.
Electric guitars were originally designed by acoustic guitar makers and instrument manufacturers.
The demand for amplified guitars began during the big band era; as orchestras increased in size,
guitar players soon realized the necessity in guitar amplification and electrification.[3] The first electric
guitars used in jazz were hollow archtop acoustic guitar bodies with electromagnetic transducers.
Early electric guitar manufacturers include Rickenbacker in 1932; Dobro in 1933;
National, AudioVox and Volu-tone in 1934; Vega, Epiphone (Electrophone and Electar),
and Gibson in 1935 and many others by 1936.
Electro-Spanish by Ken Roberts, 1935

The first electrically amplified stringed instrument to be marketed commercially was designed in
1931 by George Beauchamp, the general manager of the National Guitar Corporation, with Paul
Barth, who was vice president.[4] The maple body prototype for the one-piece cast aluminium "frying
pan" was built by Harry Watson, factory superintendent of the National Guitar Corporation.[4] George
Beauchamp, along with Adolph Rickenbacker, invented the electromagnetic pickups.[5] Coils that
were wrapped around a magnet would create an electromagnetic field that amplified the vibrations of
the guitar strings. Commercial production began in late summer of 1932 by the Ro-Pat-In
Corporation (Electro-Patent-Instrument Company), in Los Angeles,[6][7] a partnership of
Beauchamp, Adolph Rickenbacker (originally Rickenbacher), and Paul Barth.[8] In 1934, the company
was renamed the Rickenbacker Electro Stringed Instrument Company. In that year Beauchamp
applied for a United States patent for an Electrical Stringed Musical Instrument and the patent was
later issued in 1937.[9][10][11][12] By the time it was patented, other manufacturers were already making
their own electric guitar designs.[13]
By early-mid 1935, Electro String Instrument Corporation had achieved mainstream success with
the A-22 "Frying Pan" steel guitar, and set out to capture a new audience through its release of
the Electro-Spanish Model B and the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts, which was the first full 25" scale
electric guitar ever produced.[14][9][10][11][12]
The Fender Stratocaster has one of the most often emulated electric guitar shapes[15][16]

The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was revolutionary for its time, providing players a full 25" scale,
with easy access to 17 frets free of the body.[17] Unlike other lap-steel electrified instruments
produced during the time, the Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was designed to play standing vertical,
upright with a strap.[17] The Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts was also the first instrument to feature
a hand-operated vibrato as a standard appointment,[17] a device called the "Vibrola," invented by Doc
Kauffman.[17] [18] It is estimated that fewer than 50 Electro-Spanish Ken Roberts were constructed
between 1933 and 1937; fewer than 10 are known to survive today.[9][10][11][12]
The solid-body electric guitar is made of solid wood, without functionally resonating air spaces. The
first solid-body Spanish standard guitar was offered by Vivi-Tone no later than 1934. This model
featured a guitar-shaped body of a single sheet of plywood affixed to a wood frame. Another early,
substantially solid Spanish electric guitar, called the Electro Spanish, was marketed by the
Rickenbacker guitar company in 1935 and made of Bakelite. By 1936, the Slingerland company
introduced a wooden solid-body electric model, the Slingerland Songster 401 (and a lap steel
counterpart, the Songster 400).
Gibson's first production electric guitar, marketed in 1936, was the ES-150 model ("ES" for "Electric
Spanish", and "150" reflecting the $150 price of the instrument, along with matching amplifier). The
ES-150 guitar featured a single-coil, hexagonally shaped "bar" pickup, which was designed by Walt
Fuller. It became known as the "Charlie Christian" pickup (named for the great jazz guitarist who was
among the first to perform with the ES-150 guitar). The ES-150 achieved some popularity but
suffered from unequal loudness across the six strings.
A functioning solid-body electric guitar was designed and built in 1940 by Les Paul from an Epiphone
acoustic archtop, as an experiment. His "log guitar" — a wood post with a neck attached and two
hollow-body halves attached to the sides for appearance only — shares nothing in common for
design or hardware with the solid-body Gibson Les Paul, designed by Ted McCarty and introduced
in 1952.
The feedback associated with amplified hollow-bodied electric guitars was understood long before
Paul's "log" was created in 1940; Gage Brewer's Ro-Pat-In of 1932 had a top so heavily reinforced
that it essentially functioned as a solid-body instrument.[2]
Early proponents of the electric guitar on record include Alvino Rey (Phil Spitalney Orchestra), Les
Paul (Fred Waring Orchestra), George Barnes (under many aliases), Eddie Durham, Lonnie
Johnson, Floyd Smith, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Bill Broonzy, T-Bone Walker, George Van Eps,
Charlie Christian (Benny Goodman Orchestra), Tampa Red, Memphis Minnie, and Arthur Crudup.
[citation needed]
 According to jazz historian James Lincoln Collier, Floyd Smith can be credited as the first
person to rig up an amplified guitar. According to Collier, "Floyd's Guitar Blues" may be the first
important use of the electric guitar on record.[19]

Types[edit]

Paul Reed Smith Standard 22

Gittler electric guitar, a bodyless guitar without fingerboard or neck

Solid-body[edit]
Fender Esquire

Unlike acoustic guitars, solid-body electric guitars have no vibrating soundboard to amplify string

vibration. Instead, solid-body instruments depend on electric pickups and an amplifier (or amp)
and speaker. The solid body ensures that the amplified sound reproduces the string vibration alone,
thus avoiding the wolf tones and unwanted feedback[20] associated with amplified acoustic guitars.
These guitars are generally made of hardwood covered with a hard polymer finish, often polyester or
lacquer. In large production facilities, the wood is stored for three to six months in a wood-
drying kiln before being cut to shape. Premium custom-built guitars are frequently made with much
older, hand-selected wood.
One of the first solid-body guitars was invented by Les Paul. Gibson did not present their Gibson Les
Paul guitar prototypes to the public, as they did not believe the solid-body style would catch on.
Another early solid-body Spanish style guitar, resembling what would become Gibson's Les Paul
guitar a decade later, was developed in 1941 by O.W. Appleton, of Nogales, Arizona.[21] Appleton
made contact with both Gibson and Fender but was unable to sell the idea behind his "App" guitar to
either company.[22] In 1946, Merle Travis commissioned steel guitar builder Paul Bigsby to build him a
solid-body Spanish-style electric.[23] Bigsby delivered the guitar in 1948. The first mass-produced
solid-body guitar was Fender Esquire and Fender Broadcaster (later to become the Fender
Telecaster), first made in 1948, five years after Les Paul made his prototype. The Gibson Les Paul
appeared soon after to compete with the Broadcaster.[24] Another notable solid-body design is
the Fender Stratocaster, which was introduced in 1954 and became extremely popular among
musicians in the 1960s and 1970s for its wide tonal capabilities and more comfortable ergonomics
than other models.