History of the Electric Guitar

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First Pickup

Nov 19 1924

LlyodLloyd Loar, an engineer from the factory Gibson used a magnet to change the vibrations of guitar strings into electrical signals, which could be amplified by a loudspeaker. This breakthrough was the first step toward an electric guitar.

First Amplifier

Aug 22 1927

American Musical Insturments develops the first amplifier to play records from a phonograph. The amps they create can later be modified so that electric guitars can run through them.

First Electric Guitar

Jan 1 1931

The Frying PanAdolph Rickenbacker attached a electromagnetic pickup to their aluminum lap-steel guitar, dubbed it "The Frying Pan". This is considered the first electric guitar.

First Fully Electric Guitar

Aug 16 1940

Sidney WilsonPhyscics professor Sidney Wilson wins North Carolina engineering fair with his invention of the first fully electric guitar.

Les Paul

Jun 17 1941

Les PaulUnhappy with earlier designs Les Paul unveils his solid body guitar, the first non-hollow guitar. This new guitar, called the Log, increased the sound quality of electric guitars.

BB KING

1949 - 2012

King introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed.

Precision Bass

Jun 14 1951

BassLeo Fender later introduces the first electric bass, called the Precision bass. It was the first bass to use frets, making it much more accurate than stand up basses.

Fender

Sep 16 1951

Broadcaster Leo Fender, founder of Fender Guitars unveils his first guitar the Broadcaster. This guitar is the first electric guitar to abandon the acoustic guitar style.

ELVIS

1953 - 1977

ElvisRCA releases Elvis' song "Heartbreak Hotel", his first #1 hit.

Stratocaster

Jul 15 1954

StratocasterLeo Fender relesases the Stratocaster, a revolutionary guitar because it utilized 3-pickups instead of the original 2.

CHUCK BERRY

1955 - 2012

Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.

Humbucker Pickups

May 21 1955

Humbucker The Gibson guitar company develops the first humbucker pickups. These pickups are double wound so they cancelled noise giving the guitar a cleaner sound.

JIMMY PAGE

1957 - 2012

Jimmy Page is one of the greatest guitar players of all time his fast licks and speedy riffs have put him in the top 5 for the greatest electric guitar players of all time.

Flying V and Explorer

Aug 14 1958

look goodGibson release the Flying V and explorer guitars. These are the first guitars that were designed to look good rather than sound good.

JOHN FOGERTY

1959 - 2012

In 1959 John Fogerty mixed up the music industry with his band CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival) when he combined old style folk and country music with (at the time) modern rock and roll.

THE BEATLES

1960 - 1970

When the Beatles came and dominted the music world they took the old stylings of guitar playing and threw in a new twist a mix of pop, love songs. hard rock, classic rock, and alternative.

FM Broadcasts

Nov 13 1961

FM The Federal Communications Commission approves FM stereo broadcasts. This is the first platform for rock n' roll music, the main kind of music that electric guitar is used for.

JIMI HENDRIX

1963 - 1970

The man, The myth, The Legend JIMI HENDRIX changed guitar history forever with his new style of psychedelic solo's, the use of the Wah Wah Peddle, and Funky Riffs.

Woodstock

Sep 12 1969

The Woodstock music festival is hosted in Bethel, New York. Bands like the Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan performed. The guitar style and sounds of Jimi Hendrix are still iconic today.

DAN AUERBACH

1999 - 2045

DAN AUERBACH of the Black Keys is one of the only remaining current hard rockers in the world, and probably one of the greatest hard rockers of our decade creating modern music with a classic rock sound.

Robot Guitar

Jun 14 2007

Gibson relesase the Robot Guitar, designed by Chris Adams. The guitars are built with microchips in them that automatically tune the guitar as the guitarist is playing.