The Invention of the Electric Guitar (1931)
This is the story of the invention of the electric guitar, a revolutionary instrument that changed the course of music history. In 1931, the first electric guitar was created by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, two engineers who were looking for a way to amplify the sound of a
An electric guitar is a guitar that, unlike a standard acoustic guitar, requires external electric sound amplification to be heard at typical performance volumes. It uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals, which ultimately are reproduced as sound by loudspeakers. The sound is sometimes shaped or electronically altered to achieve different timbres or tonal qualities via amplifier settings or knobs on the guitar. Often, this is done through the use of effects such as reverb, distortion and overdrive; the latter is considered to be a key element of electric blues guitar music, rock and heavy metal guitar playing. Designs also exist combining attributes of electric and acoustic guitars: the semi-acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars.