When did electric guitars first come out?
Though it gained immense popularity during the rock ‘n’ roll days of the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar was invented in 1931. The need for the amplified guitar became apparent during the Big Band Era as orchestras increased in size, particularly when guitars had to compete with large brass sections. The first electric guitars used in jazz were hollow archtop acoustic guitar bodies with electromagnetic transducers. By 1932, an electrically amplified guitar was commercially available. Early electric guitar manufacturers include Rickenbacker in 1932, Dobro in 1933, National, Epiphone and Gibson in 1935 and many others by 1936.
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). The ES-150 guitar featured a single-coil, hexagonally shaped 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.
The electric guitar has since evolved into a stringed musical instrument that is capable of a multitude of sounds and styles, and served as a major component in the development of rock ‘n’ roll and many other genres of music.
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