The Origin of the Electric Guitar

The Acoustic guitar produces sound naturally by resonating and amplifying the sound of the plucked strings.

The Acoustic guitar

The first design the modern guitar was originated in Spain in the early 16th century during the Renaissance.

It was originally called The Vihuela.

Original design

It originally had just 4 strings tuned to C-F-A-D'.

Tuning

By the 18th century, the 6th string, as we know it to be, was added.

E-A-D-G-B-E'.

By experimenting with pickups and amplifications, he built the first protoype for an electrified harp guitar in 1933.

By 1924, he had built an electric bass.

Loar left the Gibson company and started his own company of his own called the Vivi-tone company. They focused on merging electricity with acoustics. But, they moved to producing keyboards.

Their first invention was the adding of resonators to Hawaiian guitars to create the Tricone National Resonator guitars which was developed in 1926 and introduced to the public in 1927.

In 1928, John Dopyera left the NSIC to form his own company called the Dobro Manufacturing Company.

After Dopyera's exit, Beauchamp came up with a pickup design that will revolutionize the electric guitar. He developed electromagnetic pickups--wire coiled around magnets mounted on the face of the guitar under the steel strings. When the strings are struck, the disrupted magnetic fields produce electric currents which can be converted to sound via an amplifier.

He took his pickup design, and with help of Paul Barth, Henry Watson, Adolph Rickenbacker, and his former partner John Dopyera, the design for the first electric guitar was created.

In 1931, the designed pickup was used to produce the first Hawaiian electric guitar.

In collaboration with Paul Barth and Harry Watson, the first prototype for the electric steel guitar. This was later nicknamed "the frying pan."

They produced two models, the A22 and A23 under the brand name electro.

The company name was changed to Electro String Instrument Corporation in 1935.

In the same year, the model B was produced with a round neck spanish version.

The invented the arch top guitars. They company was also producing flat top acoustic guitars by the 1930s, as well as, the hollow-body electric guitars.

The first hollow-body electric guitar was the EH-150. which was produced commercially in 1936.

The Gibson also competed with the frying pan with the production of the E-150 in 1935.

The idea for the solid body electric guitar with all six tuning pegs on one side of the head stock was conceptualized by Merle in late 1946.

The following year, Bigsby made the guitar according to the sketches made by Merle.

On February 8, 1948, Bigsby produced a custom-made triple neck guitar with 4 pedals for a local up-coming artist Speedy West.

He sold his company to his old associate Ted McCarthy, retired president of Gibson guitars in January 1 1966.

He came up with the idea of a solid body model.

Around 1939, he began working on a prototype guitar nick named "the log."