Choosing the right electric guitar is never easy. If you’re a complete beginner, you are probably drawn to the brands and body styles that your guitar heroes play. Whereas, if you’ve been playing for a while, you’re more than likely looking for a tonal alternative to what you currently own, such as a guitar with humbuckers if your current ax has single coils.
So, what should you choose? And what makes them different?
Let’s take a quick journey through the history of electric guitar design to find out, starting with...
Hollow-Body Guitars
Electric Guitars first appeared in the 1930s, initially as variations on the lap steel, Rickenbacker's Frying Pan (shown below) being the most famous example. It was designed to play Hawaiian music using a slide, and although it’s not strictly a ‘guitar’, it is considered to be the first commercially produced electric guitar.
This led to the development of ‘proper’ electric guitars, with a hollow body design.
Back then, big bands were very popular, but the guitarists couldn’t be heard due to the instrument being much quieter acoustically than the rest of the band. Plus, because the style of music was becoming ever more in demand, audience numbers increased. This led to the bands playing ever bigger venues, and the sound of an ‘acoustic’ guitar basically disappeared.
The solution… the guitar pickup was invented, so guitarists could now amplify their sound to be heard alongside the other instruments.
These days, fully hollow-bodied guitars are still manufactured, but they are much less popular than more modern designs, such as semi-hollow. The main reason is feedback, which, depending on the amount of gain added, can become completely uncontrollable.
However, if you enjoy playing a little cleaner than most, and don’t go crazy with your amp's volume knob, a hollow body will give you a gorgeous, deep, warm sound that only they can produce.
Notable Models
Epiphone Casino, Gretsch White Falcon.
Notable Users
John Lennon, George Harrison, Johnny Marr, Keith Richards, Noel Gallagher, Dave Davies, Josh Homme, Gary Clark, Jr.
Solid-bodied Electric Guitars
Fender Telecaster
The 1950s heralded the arrival of the solid-bodied guitar. First to hit the market was Leo Fender with the Telecaster (although it had a few other names before that) and its single pickup sister, and Fender Esquire. Both designed for the swing and dance guitarists of the time.
Unlike the more traditional design of hollow-bodied guitars, the Telecaster featured a one-piece solid wood body with a bolt-on neck, two single coil pickups, a pickup switch, as well as separate tone and volume controls.
The pickups had their own unique Tele character, providing tones that ranged from bright and twangy, great for country and bluegrass, to warm and jazzy for more refined players.
Due to their solid body, they weren’t prone to feedback, making them durable workhorses that would take a beating night after night with next to no issues. Plus, parts were cheap and readily available, and the design was so simple that most players could easily do the work themselves.
Fender Telecasters were instantly popular, and nothing has changed since. The design has had very few changes, and they are still one of the best-selling guitars on the market.
Notable Models
Fender Telecaster Standard, Fender Telecaster Deluxe, Fender Telecaster Custom, Fender Telecaster Thinline, Fender Telecaster Plus, etc., etc.
Notable Players
Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, Prince, Keith Richards, James Burton, John 5, Jim Root, Jimmy Page, Robert Smith, Brad Paisley, and countless others.
Gibson Les Paul
A few years later came the Gibson Les Paul, another solid body that would go on to radically change the guitar world.
It originally featured two P-90 pickups, which offered a distinct tonal difference to the Tele sound, as well as a glued-on neck, a shorter scale length, and separate tone and volume controls for each pickup.
As with the Telecaster, the basic design still remains the same - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! However, there have been developments, from the introduction of the Gibson PAF humbucking pickup in the late 1950s to reduce hum, to adding cavities in some modern models to cut down on the weight.
Following the same design principles, but not the same body shape, Gibson introduced other guitars, such as the Flying V, the Explorer, and the SG, to hit different market sectors and provide a variety of instruments for its customers
Notable Models
Gibson Les Paul Standard, Gibson Les Paul Junior, Gibson Les Paul Traditional, Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson Les Paul Special, Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, Gibson Les Paul Studio, etc., etc.
Notable Players
Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Billy Gibbons, Randy Rhoads, Slash, Marc Bolan, Zakk Wylde, Paul Kossoff, Ace Frehley, Mick Ronson, Peter Green, Robert Fripp, Joe Perry, Peter Frampton, Gary Moore, Adam Jones, Neil Young, and countless others.
Fender Stratocaster
We now move on to 1954, and it's time for the release of yet another all-time legendary guitar, the Fender Stratocaster.
Again breaking with the trends set by the Telecaster and the Les Paul, the Strat featured three single-coil pickups, a five-way selector switch, two tone knobs, a single volume knob, a double cutaway, a fully contoured body, and a revolutionary vibrato system.
It was an instant classic! And as with both guitars that preceded it, the design has changed little over the years, and it’s still a top-seller to this day.
Notable Models
Fender Stratocaster, Fender Stratocaster Plus, Fender Stratocaster Plus Deluxe, Fender Stratocaster Ultra, etc., etc.
Notable Players
Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Ritchie Blackmore, Rory Gallagher, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nile Rodgers, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Eric Johnson, Buddy Holly, Hank Marvin, and countless others.
Semi-Hollow Body
Moving on to the late 50s, hollow-body guitars had become incredibly unfashionable, and everyone wanted the new solid-bodied guitars with zero feedback issues.
But Gibson decided to remove the problem of uncontrollable feedback with a slight change to the hollow-body design, and the result was the iconic Gibson 335.
Similar in layout to a Les Paul, it's the semi-hollow body design that sets it apart. Instead of being completely hollow, the 335 featured a solid block of wood that runs through the middle of the body, with both wings on either side of it being hollow. This created an increase in the unamplified volume and a more hollow body-esque tone with a lot less feedback.
Notable Models
Gibson ES-335, Gibson ES-345, Gibson ES-355, Gibson Trini Lopez, etc.
Notable Players
Chuck Berry, BB King, Larry Carlton, Alvin Lee, Johnny Marr, Alex Lifeson, Eric Clapton, Bernard Butler, Dave Grohl, Freddie King, etc.
Jaguars, Jazzmasters, and Other Offsets
The final development from this legendary decade for guitar design came in 1958 when the Fender Jazzmaster was introduced.
Originally intended to appeal to jazz guitarists, this more expensive sister of the Strat didn’t go down that well with lovers of jazz. But surfrockers just couldn’t get enough of it!
While they weren’t a massive success back in the '50s and '60s, Jazzmasters and their shorter scale-length sisters, Jaguars, earned their place in the guitar world a few decades later.
By the 80s, offsets were still unfashionable; therefore, they were cheap. Considering they were once the most expensive guitar Fender produced, you could buy them at the time for next to nothing. This led to alternative artists such as Sonic Youth buying and modifying them, turning the guitars into the musical icon of alternative music.
These days, a variety of offsets are still extremely popular, especially in alternative, indie, grunge, post rock, and similar genres.
Notable Models
Fender Jazzmaster, Fender Jaguar, Fender Mustang, Fender Musicmaster, Fender Jagstang, Gibson Non-Reverse Firebird.
Notable Players
Thurston Moore, Lee Ronaldo, J Mascis, Kurt Cobain, Kevin Shields, Tom Verlaine, Stuart Braithwaite, Thom Yorke, Troy Van Leeuwen, Ric Ocasek, Elvis Costello, Bilinda Butcher, etc.
Super Strats
It took another 30 years before the next major development would occur in guitar design, the Super Strat.
Hard rock and heavy metal were massive in the 80s, and guitarists needed instruments that were better suited to their needs. Lots of them were already using Strats, but the guitars just couldn’t keep up with the advancements in guitar techniques, which were crucial to the various genres of rock and metal.
No one really ‘invented’ the super strat, but Eddie Van Halen is most responsible for popularising it. As well as being one of the greatest guitarists of all time, he also liked to modify his guitars.
He loved the shape and feel of a Strat body, but he wanted a beefier tone, so he installed a humbucker instead of the bridge single coil. The tremolo on a regular Strat is fine for normal use, but Eddie wanted more, so in went a Floyd Rose to take him to dive bomb heaven.
EVH never used the middle pickup, so he removed it, and to make the guitar even more unique, he refinished it using a sprayed tape technique to produce the guitar that became known as Frankenstrat.
His innovations inspired countless other guitarists to modify their Strats, and the Super Strat was born.
Nowadays, Super Strats vary slightly from one design to the next, but the majority share common features such as a HSH or HSS pickup configuration, a major league tremolo (usually a Floyd Rose), a 24-fret fretboard, thinner, faster necks, and locking tuners.
Jackson was first to commercially manufacture a Super Strat, the Soloist, in 1981. But most guitar companies, especially those based in Japan, quickly followed suit, with the majority still making super strats to this day.
Notable Models
EVH Frankie, Jackson Soloist, Ibanez Jem, Kramer Baretta, Fender HM Strat, Washburn N2 and N4, Dean Bel Aire, Gibson U-2.
Notable Players
Eddie Van Halen, Jake E. Lee, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt, Kirk Hammet, Joe Satriani, Steve Stevens, Guthrie Govan, Vernon Reed, George Lynch, etc.
Wrapping it Up!
So, there you have it, my quick look at the development of the different styles of electric guitars across the decades.
When you’re choosing your first or next guitar, don’t get overwhelmed by the number of different types of instruments available. Decide on what you need and what you don’t, then whittle down the brands that offer likely contenders. Then get yourself to a brick-and-mortar guitar store. Buying online is fine, but when purchasing a guitar, you really need to get it in your hands to make a definitive decision.
So, get yourself down to your local guitar shop and have a blast on a bunch of guitars. That’s by far the best way to find the guitar that’s a perfect match for you and your playing style.
Happy guitar shopping!
