Definitely one of the most popular musical instruments today, the electric guitar is widely used by bands and musicians worldwide. It produces an easily distinguishable sound that greatly adds to the overall appeal of any given song. Artists like Santana, Avril Lavigne and Lenny Kravitz are just few of the many music personalities out there that make use of this important musical instrument. For those who are interested to know other things about this type of instrument, it is good to learn who invented the electric guitar.

The Invention of the Electric Guitar
Who invented the electric guitar? Les Paul, whose real name was Lester Williams Polsfuss, is credited for the invention of the first electric guitar with a solid body. In 1950, the stringed instrument manufacturer Fender released the solid-body electric guitar called the Fender Esquire, which became a commercial success. After that, it went on to become an integral part of numerous music styles like rockabilly, early rock and roll as well as Chicago blues. Likewise, it played a huge role in the development of blues-rock in the 1960s. Additionally, it also contributed to the flourishing of other musical genres including contemporary classic, new age and country music.

Additional Facts and Other Interesting Details
Some time in the 1930s and the 1940s, the demand for amplified guitars flourished as the jazz orchestras during that period expanded even more. Because of that huge demand for such musical instruments during that time, electronic enthusiasts, guitar makers and manufacturers tried to create various designs. One of them was Les Paul, who came up with the idea of attaching microphones right onto guitars. Earlier models came with a hollow-bodied acoustic design.

The electric guitar is comprised of many different parts and components. The headstock is made up of the truss rod, machine heads and nut. Meanwhile, the neck is comprised of the frets, inlay fret markers and fret board. The body is usually made up of the pickup selector switch, tremolo arm and fine tuners. Likewise, this part also includes the strap buttons, output connector and tone control knobs.

Today, there are many kinds of guitars available. These include double-neck guitars, 3rd bridge guitar as well as twelve string electric guitars. Other interesting variants include the seven-string guitar, acoustic-electric as well as the rare eight-string electric guitars. In popular music, performers use the electric guitar as lead guitar and as rhythm guitar. Lead guitars are used for performing guitar solos, melodic instrumental fill passages and melody lines. Furthermore, electric guitars are widely used when performing hard rock and heavy metal music.