describe the components of an electric guitar and how the electric guitar has developed and matured since the 1950s Flashcards
why was the electric guitar invented?
to make guitars audible when playing in big bands
what are some of the first examples of electric guitars?
hollow-bodied
arch top George Beauchamp has been credited with inventing the electric guitar
what were solid-body guitars developed for?
developed to combat feedback problems when hollowed bodies were played at higher volumes
whats an advantage of a solid-body guitar?
cheaper to produce featuring either a glue-in or bolt-on neck
who invented the first commercially successful solid body electric guitar?
Leo Fender
what is the whammy bar?
a lever attached to the bridge which is sprung and used to slacken or tighten the strings to bend notes or add vibrato
what are the frets?
thin metal strips which stop the string at the correct pitch when a string is pressed down against the fretboard
what does an amplifier do?
converts the electrical signal back into sound
what are pickups and how do they work?
The pickups are magnets wrapped in coils of wire. They are transducers which convert the sound energy into electrical energy. When the metal string vibrates, an electrical current is induced in the pickups
how do electro-acoustic guitars work?
they have additional microphones or piezoelectric pickups which pick up vibrations from the body
how do humbucker pickups work?
these are double coil as opposed to the original single coil design, they have two coils of opposite magnetic and electrical polarity so hum or noise hitting both coils should be cancelled out
(bucks the hum!)
when were the first attempts at an amplified instrument?
1920s, development of electrical amplification by the radio industry
what did Lloyd Loar develop in 1924?
an electric pickup for the viola and the string bass
what happened in 1928?
first commercially advertised electric guitar, made by the Stromberg-Voisinet company which utilised a similar pickup to Loar
when was the first electromagnet pickup?
1932
who developed the ‘frying pan’?
George Beachamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, first commercially successful electromagnet pick up
in 1939 what was Charlie Christian the first to do?
first artist to develop a playing style unique to the electric guitar
when was ‘the log’ and who invented it?
1950, Les Paul, it was a guitar on a four-by-four piece of pine
what happened in 1952?
Gibson introduced a model endorsed by Les Paul himself. The solid-body guitars didn’t have the feedback problems that characterized hollow-body electric guitars, and they had greater sustain
name some key artists who used electric guitars
Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Paige, The Edge, Slash, Brian May
when were effects and more powerful amplifications introduced?
1960’s and 1970’s
