Electric Guitars & Accessories

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This week in focus

The guitar in jazz - In the beginning there was the rhythm

The electric guitar is an instrument that has become an integral part of most music genres these days. The electric guitar originated out of necessity. The role of the guitar in the 1920s was that of a pure rhythm instrument in big bands or to accompany piano or wind instruments in jazz. The problem, however, was that the previously purely acoustic guitars were not loud enough to keep up with the other instruments. The initial idea of simply enlarging the body of a guitar was quickly rejected because the effect was not sufficient and the instruments quickly became unwieldy.

A pickup for the guitar

That was the beginning of the idea of amplifying the guitar electrically . The first approach to a solution came in 1923 from Lloyd Loar, who at that time was a senior engineer in the development department at Gibson . He developed a sensor that converted the vibrations of the top into an acoustic signal. However, because this sensor was difficult to handle, Gibson was reluctant to further develop this project and ultimately abandoned the idea.

The next and more successful attempt to develop a pickup for guitars was made by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker in 1931. Their pickup is based on the induction principle and consists of a magnet wrapped with a coil. When the metal string moves over the pickup, the magnetic field changes, tension is generated and a sound signal is produced. After the pickup was first installed on a lap steel guitar, Rickenbacker brought the Electro Spanish onto the market in 1932. Four years later, Gibson followed with their ES-150. However, these guitars were all equipped with a hollow body without a solid tone block. After the ES-150, many other successful ES models followed, such as the Gibson ES-330 or Gibson ES-335.

The birth of the electric guitar

The first electric guitar as we know it today was built in 1948 by Paul Bigsby for country musician Merle Travis. Although the guitar was built until the 1960s, the name Bigsby is now more commonly known from the vibrato system of the same name. However, this Bigsby guitar inspired Leo Fender to build his first guitar, the Fender Esquire . Today the Fender Esquire is known as the Telecaster and is one of the most popular and successful designs ever. A little later, in 1954, Fender brought the first Stratocaster onto the market. This electric guitar also became a global success and was also one of the first guitars to have a vibrato or tremolo system . Another electric guitar that was introduced during this period and is now world famous is the Gibson Les Paul . This legendary design was the result of a collaboration between musician Lester William Polfuss (better known as Les Paul) and then- Gibson President Ted McCarty. In 1952, the first series of Gibson Les Paul came onto the market with two P90 pickups , a trapezoidal bridge developed by Les Paul and gold finish . In 1957, Seth Lover developed the humbucker for Gibson , also called the PAF , which, thanks to its double coil, solved the hum problem of the single-coil pickup that had been common until then.

Electric Guitar Models - The tone takes shape

Based on these classic designs, the electric guitar has continually been further developed. Over the course of the 60s and 70s, not much was changed in the classic designs, but with the emerging rock music, extroverted shapes such as the Flying V or Explorer guitars developed by Gibson became more popular.

The next milestone in guitar history will definitely be set in the 80s. The main reason for this can be found in the metal scene, which developed from rock music. The classic Strat form was equipped with humbucker pickups, a locking tremolo such as Floyd Rose , and in some cases the shapes were made more pointed or reduced in size for better playability. These modified forms, which are also called Superstrat, are offered by companies such as Charvel, Jackson, Kramer, Ibanez, ESP Schecter and many more. But it wasn't just the Stratocaster form that was changed. For the harder offshoots of the metal scene, there were also modified forms of the Flying V and Explorer guitars, which were made even sharper and more extreme to underline the harshness and evil image of the music.

Another important development came from the collaboration between Ibanez and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai . This not only resulted in the JEM and RG series from Ibanez , which are still among the most important Ibanez guitars today, but also the first 7-string guitar that was built in series : the Ibanez Universe UV777. At first it was delivered with a high A String . However, as metal bands preferred increasingly lower tunings as frame of the New Metal movement, bands like Korn took the Universe and strung it with an additional low h string.

The latest evolutionary stage of the electric guitar is reflected in the 8- and 9-string guitars . As with the 7-string guitar, Ibanez is the pioneer here and the modern metal scene, also known as Djent , is the main buyer.

Electric guitars at session

At session you will find a wide range of electric guitars in every price range. No matter whether you like Vintage guitars from companies like Fender, Squier, Gibson or PRS , Suhr , Epiphone and Haar Guitars or prefer eight-string metal guitars from companies like Ibanez, Schechter or ESP , there is something for everyone in session 's guitar range . For Gibson fans who are looking for something “not off the shelf”, we have put together a top selection of fine custom shop masterpieces in ourGibson custom shop section. You can also find many other high-end electric guitars from various brands in our custom shop Electric Guitars catagory .

In addition to our web shop, you can of course also come to our branches in Frankfurt and Walldorf to find the guitar you want. There are over 500 electric guitars on display here at any time, ready to be played. In our beginner's guide "The first electric guitar", our Olli shows you what you should know before buying your first electric guitar.