Historians think the guitar may date back to as early as 1900-1800 B.C.
or even earlier. Plaques were found from excavations in Babylonia that
showed figures playing instruments that resemble guitars. Where the guitar
was actually invented may never be known, but some think it originated
somewhere in Egypt or Spain. Although, an ancient Greek myth states that
Hermes, a Greek god, was the inventor of the earliest form of guitar.
The tale claims he made this instrument with the bones or shell of a
"mountain toad", stick, and cowhide to create the sounding board and
strings. It also claims he invented the first plectrum or pick as it is
referred to today.
Musicians first began to think of the concept of using electricity to
generate louder sounds in the late eighteen-hundreds. Lloyd Loar, a member
of Gibson Company, was one of the first to attempt to create an electric
guitar. He was successful in creating the guitar, but unfortunately he was
not successful in selling his idea. Later, a better designed electromagnetic
pickup was developed by George Beauchamp with the help of Adolph Rickenbacker.
They called their early electric guitar the "Frying Pan", because it was a
steel laptop guitar.
Even after these significant achievements were
accomplished there were still substantial errors that required adjustment.
One of these was the feedback from the amplification of the sounds in the
hollow bodies as well as in the strings. Les Paul, artist and inventor,
was one of the first to experiment with ways to correct this problem. He,
instead of using a hollow body in the construction of his guitar, used a
solid body design made with pine. Les Paul named his invention "The Log",
because it was made of a solid pine tree.
Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Company first came into being
on October 10, 1902. Les Paul came to Gibson in the mid-1940's with an
idea he had been developing since the early 1930's. At the time, Gibson
rejected his ideas, but later in 1952, they introduced their first version
of the now popular solid body electric guitar. By 1958 the design of this
guitar had been refined to near perfection. To this day the design is still
similar to, and the basis for, some of the guitars in production today.
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of the Gibson Company was to
develop and market the adjustable truss rod and height adjustable bridge.
An adjustable truss rod is a rod that runs down the inside of the neck.
Its purpose is to reduce the amount of pressure on the neck when played
and keep the neck aligned. The adjustable height bridge allowed you to
change the height of the strings from the neck.
Leo Fender, a radio shop owner, also began to experiment
with solid body guitar design. He developed the first Telecaster in 1948.
The Telecaster was the first solid body guitar to be produced and sold
commercially. In 1954, Leo Fender developed the Stratocaster, which had a
strange new design with cutaway access to the upper frets on the upper
section of the body. This later became the most imitated guitar in the
world. But, perhaps Leo Fender's most excellent contribution was the
addition of tone controls on his amplifiers. This gave more control over
the guitars sound to musicians.
Guitars have been around for many centuries.
As a matter of fact, they have been around so long we don't even know when
they originated. Guitars have evolved over the years, and more than likely
guitars will change in the future. One thing is for sure, however, guitars,
the music played on them, and the music influenced by them will be around
for ages to come.
Guitar Basics -
"Your best source for learning how to play the guitar!" - fake guy
