Bob's Vintage Guitars » electric guitar

GIBSON CUSTOM LES PAUL AXCESS STANDARD REVIEW

vintage — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:58:01 +0000

This is one of those guitars that gets under your skin very quickly and is prone to making you forget your previous favorites! Gibson Custom did an extremely good job with Les Paul Axcess Standard. A phrase “words are not enough to describe it” suits this instrument well.

Les Paul Axcess Standard features:
Les paul style body with Weight relieved mahogany back with belly scarf
Carved mapleneck top with 1-piece set mahogany neck and Rounded with contoured heel cut neck profile
Rosewood fretboard
22 no. of frets
Pearloid trapezoid neck inlays hardware
Klusonelectronics tuners
pickups: Burstbucker 1 neck with Burstbucker 2 bridge

Guitar features are a very important aspect to evaluate when buying a new instrument, and that is just what Gibson Custom's Les Paul Axcess Standard has to offer: excellent features with a price that matches perfectly. Top grades for Les Paul Axcess Standard depicts what most musicians feel about this instrument's features, so you should be confident in it's value. A job well done by Gibson Custom!

You can plug this baby into a toaster and, God knows, maybe it would sound as great as it does with any other amp. Seriously, Gibson Custom made a Les Paul Axcess Standard, a terrific sounding instrument that deserves all the praise it can get. There is simply no need to change anything stock-provided parts built into this axe, as it sounds professional all the way. Gibson Custom's Les Paul Axcess Standard is a over the top sounding instrument.

This beauty has virtually no flaws. Gibson Custom surpassed their traditional quality and produced an instrument that is built great, and built to last. Finish is amazing and the hardware easily adjustable to fit any kind of action. The neck is superb and smooth while playing. Les Paul Axcess Standard stays in tune 99% percent of the time and responds well to various playing styles.
Les Paul Axcess Standard is reliable and durable guitar, that measures up to top built guitars. It will perform well in any imaginable situation, and will stand the test of time, if you take the usual care of your instrument. It is no secret that Gibson Custom makes good, quality instruments, and that is surely the case with Les Paul Axcess Standard guitar.

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Gibson Custom Shop Announces the Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul

vintage — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:03:55 +0000

Every musician knows that late ’50s Sunburst Les Paul Standards are hard enough to come by as it is. Obtaining a pristine and exemplary ’59 ’Burst and modifying it for heightened performance and vastly expanded tonal options? Unheard of… unless, of course, you’re Jimmy Page. That’s exactly what the legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist, perhaps the world’s most iconic Les Paul player, did with his own ’59 Les Paul Standard, and now—thanks to the extreme efforts of Gibson’s Custom Shop and the intimate cooperation of Jimmy Page himself—the artist’s hallowed “Number Two” Les Paul is available to mere mortals, in the form of the Custom Shop Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul. Produced in strictly limited numbers, with two levels of aging, this guitar captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time, and it is likely to disappear from authorized Gibson dealers in record time.

The 1959 Les Paul that has come to be known as “Number Two” was purchased by Page in 1973 after trying for some time to acquire an exceptional second Les Paul. This was several years after having acquired his other legendary Les Paul—“Number One”, a ’59 ’Burst with shaved-down neck profile and no serial number—from Joe Walsh. “Number Two” was essentailly all original when he aquired it. Jimmy did have some modifications done to the neck shape so that it would more nearly match the feel of his "Number One". The neck is certainly slim but not to such extremes as the now-ultra-slim neck on “Number One”. It had a strong, beautiful sunburst finish with a red element that had faded to a dusky amber-brown, along with a clear serial number dating it to 1959. Page played this Les Paul frequently through his days with Led Zeppelin, and in the early ’80s decided to make it an even more versatile instrument. Page also added that he wanted to "explore the full range of what the two humbuckers have to offer". He designed a switching system for coil splitting, series/parallel, and phase-reverse options for both pickups, and employed a skilled electronics technician to devise a working schematic and make his sonic vision a reality. The result comprised a push/pull pot on each of the guitar’s four standard controls, plus two push-button switches hidden beneath the pickguard, all mounted on a ’59 Les Paul Standard that is otherwise a superb example of the breed, both in tone and playability.

The Custom Shop Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul was recreated with intense, inch-by-inch examination of Page’s original guitar, inside and out. The process of getting it right involved the production of a number of hand-built prototypes, each of which was checked and critiqued in detail by Page himself. Approval of the final iteration was only offered after the legendary artist had intricately examined and extensively played this last prototype in his London home—after which it was given the thumbs-up, worthy of being the template for the Custom Shop Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul. Only 325 examples will be produced in total: The first 25 instruments are to be aged by vintage-reproduction master Tom Murphy then inspected, played and hand signed and numbered by Jimmy Page personally. An additional 100 guitars will be given the extensive aging treatment and 200 will be finished to Gibson’s VOS specs.

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Gold, silver and vintage guitars are best sellers at Treasurer Hunters Roadshow

vintage — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:22:42 +0000

By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer, Middletown Journal

For some people, selling goods at the Treasure Hunters Roadshow in Middletown has been music to their ears — particularly if the good was a guitar.
The Roadshow, which evaluates valuables and antiques, has been at the Manchester Inn since Tuesday; today, Oct. 24, is its last day.
Many items, even if they’re antiques, haven’t been fetching high prices in the weak economy, said Greg Taylor, a manager at the Middletown show. However, gold, silver and guitars are the exceptions.
“Gold and silver prices are so high, and with vintage guitars, the wood they used can’t be reproduced today,” Taylor said.
For example, earlier this week in Middletown, someone brought in a Gibson ES 330 from the early 1960s. It sold for $300 when it was new, but a collector bought it for $4,500, said Taylor.
Someone else brought in a gold coin from 1871 that had a face value of $20, but sold for $3,500.
The Treasure Hunters Roadshow looks somewhat similar to “Antiques Roadshow” on PBS, but experts there appraise items for insurance purposes, Taylor said. The Treasure Hunters Roadshow buys items for collectors and gives the sellers a check.
As of Friday afternoon, 312 people had visited the show since it started Tuesday. Taylor didn’t have local sales figures but said a typical week brings in $100,000 or more.
Kim Holt of Middletown came to sell off some coins and “did pretty well.”
A man from Springboro, who asked not to be identified, was trying to sell a Disney toy train set that he guessed dated from the 1940s or ’50s. He was offered $300 for it, but decided to try his luck on eBay, where the same set sold for $600.

Gibson Thunderbird Bass

vintage — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:23:55 +0000

Gibson Thunderbird Bass Guitar ( 1963 - present )

After the first EB basses Gibson manufactured another more important bass which were cousins with the Firebird I - III - V and VII guitars and were introduced at the same time in 1963 .

The firebird and the thunderbird always shared the same body shape. In 1963 Gibson introduced 2 thunderbird models , these Gibson bass guitars were called the :

Gibson Thunderbird II Bass
( 1963 to 1969 )

These basses in 1963 had reverse solid body shapes ( long horn at the bottom of the body ) , they had 1 metal pickup with no visible poles , and were mostly made in sunburst finishes , some other custom colors were also available .

In 1965 Gibson redesigned the thunderbird II with a non reverse solid body , custom colors available , and were discontinued in 1969, reintroduced in 1983 with a reverse body until 1984 . ( less than 100 were made in 83 )

Vintage Price Value For 2007 :
1963 - 1965 > $7500 to $9000 ( reverse body )
1964 - 1965 > $5000 to $6000 ( non reverse body )
1966 - 1969 > $2800 to $3800 ( non reverse )

1963 - 1965 > Avg Upward Trend Of 14% A Year Since 2000

Gibson Thunderbird IV ( 1963 - 1969 )

Same basic specs like the thunderbird II but with 2 pickups , most in sunburst finishes , some custom colors were available . In 1965 body changed to a non reverse body until they were discontinued in 1969, reintroduced in 1986 to present as a reissue .

The reissue was introduced with a reverse body , 2 humbucking pickups , tune o matic bridges and were made in tabacco sunburst ( various colors followed through the 90s till present )

Vintage Price Value For 2007 :
1963 - 1965 > $7 500 to $11 500 ( reverse body )
1964 - 1965 > $5 000 to $6 500 ( non reverse body )
1966 - 1969 > $3 000 to $4 500 ( non reverse )
1986 - 1999 > $1 200 to $1 500 ( Reissue )

1932 - 1955 > Avg Upward Trend Of 12% A Year Since 2000
1986 - 1999 > 6% ( Reissue )

Important : Custom colors such as metallic blue, cardinal red or green are worth significantly more on both Thunderbird II and Thunderbird IV basses ..

Solid-Bodied Gretsch Corvette Guitar

vintage — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:53:52 +0000

by Allen Chiles

The Solid-bodied Corvette (not to be confused with the Corvette hollow-body arch-top electric, produced from 1955-1959) was Gretsch’s answer to the Les Paul Jr. by Gibson. Introduced in 1961, the Corvette Solid-body was a small, light-weight, comfortable electric guitar that was just right for the budding musician.
This killer guitar, with a solid mahogany body, solid mahogany set neck, and a rosewood fret board with pearl dots, originally came with a single HI-Lo ‘Tron pickup. The earliest examples had a trapeze tailpiece. By 1963, the Corvette was sporting a Burns’ flat-arm vibrato tailpiece. (Yes! That Burns! Good old Jim Burns from England), and came with a choice of either one or two of those Hi-Lo ‘Tron pickups. By mid-1963 to 1964, Gretsch changed the standard 3/3 headstock (3 tuners on each side) to a scooby-rific 4/2 headstock design (4 tuning keys on one side, two on the other). Most Corvettes were finished in “cherry” red mahogany and had black pick guards. Some came with red and white striped pick guards and a more opaque red finish to the body. This version is known as the “Twist” model. Early Corvettes were also available in platinum gray finish with black pick guards, but this color was officially discontinued in 1963. Also in 1963, Gretsch started beveling the edges of the guitar’s body and sharpened the cutaway points.
Variations of the Gretsch Corvette were the Silver Duke (1964-66) which was sparkle silver, the Gold Duke (1964-66) - you got it - in sparkle gold, and lest we forget, the Princess (1963-64 - made for the ladies) which was available in many color combinations such as white with purple sparkles, blue with white sparkles, pink with white sparkles, and white with gold sparkles - phew! The Princess also differed from the others in that it had a Palm vibrato tailpiece rather than the Burns’, gold-plated hardware in lieu of the standard nickel/chrome hardware, and a shiny belly-pad on the back.
By 1968, you could no longer get single pickups on the Corvettes, the Burn’s vibrato was replaced with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, and the HI-Lo ‘Tron pickups were replaced with Super ‘Tron pickups. Production of the Gretsch Corvette wound down in the early 70’s. (The Corvette did make a brief reappearance from 1976 to 1978 with different specs - humbuckers, etc. It was not the same.)
The Gretsch Corvette (1961-early 70’s) can still give you some bang for your buck in today’s vintage market. You get the vintage sound and vibe, with great playability for less than you’d pay for a Paul, Jr.

Gretsch Electromatic Corvette G5135 electric guitar
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1967 or 1966 Gretsch Corvette not reissue
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Gretsch 6134 White Penguin Solid Body Guitar

vintage — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:26:26 +0000

Gretsch 6134 White Penguin Solid Body Guitar
Collectibility Rating: Single cutaway models: A, Double cutaway models: A-.
Essentially a white, fancy DuoJet. Solid body 13 1/4 inches wide, maple top, two pickups.

1954 White Penguin Introduction specs:
• Single Cutaway, body finished in white.
• Two DeArmond single coil pickups.
• "Cadillac G" tailpiece.
• Three knobs on lower bout, one on cutaway, 1 switch on upper bout.
• Melita bridge (gold).
• Clear acyrlic pickguard with engraved penguin, back painted in gold.
• Pearl block inlays with engraved birds.
• 24 3/4" scale, vertical Gretsch peghead.
• Gold sparkle binding.
• Gold plated parts.

1957 White Penguin specs:
• "Humptop" inlays replace blocks.
1958 White Penguin specs:
• Filter'tron humbucking pickups replace DeArmonds.
• Thumbprint (neoclassic) inlays replace humptop inlays.
• Bar style bridge.
• Two switches on upper bass bout (tone and pickup selection).
• Two knobs instead of three on lower treble bout (three total).
1959 White Penguin specs:
• Standard horizontal Gretsch logo.
• Zero fret.
1961 White Penguin specs:
• Double cutaway symmetrical body.
• Standby switch added.
Discontinued in 1964.

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New Gretsch G6134 White Penguin Guitar w Case
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Gretsch G6134 Penguin Electric Guitar White Gold Sparkle Binding Case Included
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2004 Gretsch White Penguin
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Guitar Center announces ‘King of The Blues’ Contest

vintage — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:40:56 +0000

Guitar Center has announced the return of King of the Blues, the nationwide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. With sign-ups launching July 1, Guitar Center's King of the Blues will feature competitions in over 200 Guitar Center locations across the country, culminating with the Grand Finals in Los Angeles this November. In addition to showcasing the top-five finalists, the King of the Blues Grand Finals will also feature performances by renowned blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, who has been awarded "Best Blues Guitarist" by Guitar Player Magazine for the past three years, and Grammy Award-winner Pete Anderson.

Introduced in 2006, Guitar Center's King of the Blues is designed to offer similar life-changing opportunities for unsigned guitarists. More than just a competition to find the most technically skilled players, King of the Blues is designed to seek out the most passionate, innovative and authentic undiscovered guitar players and give them a shot at stardom. Some of today's most iconic and groundbreaking artists, including BB King, John Mayer, The Black Crowes, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd have participated at past King of the Blues events, and the winner of Guitar Center's 2007 King of the Blues, Aaron Loesch, was invited to perform at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in front of over 25,000 attendees.

Guitar Center's King of the Blues champion will win an impressive package of prizes, including $25,000 cash, a featured spot in a Guitar Center ad campaign, along with a Gibson '59 Les Paul reissue guitar, a $2,500 Levi's shopping spree, a Marshall Vintage Modern 50W half stack, a Boss GT-10 Guitar Multi Effects Pedal, a feature in Guitar World magazine, worldwide distribution of their music in iTunes and more, plus endorsement deals from Ernie Ball, Marshall Amplification, VOX Amplification, and Gibson. Additional regional, district, and local prize packages will also be awarded, thanks to the generous support of Gibson, Levi's, Ernie Ball, Marshall, Boss, VOX, Guitar World, and TuneCore, all of whom are proud supporters of Guitar Center's King of the Blues.

How It Works:
Sign-ups for the preliminary rounds of the King of the Blues competition begin July 1, and run on a "first-come, first-serve" basis, with a maximum of 30 registrants per store. Contestants must sign up with a Guitar Center associate at their local store—no phone or online sign-ups are available.

Each contestant will perform live to 1 of 25 original backing tracks, developed by Grammy Award-winning producer Pete Anderson. All backing tracks are available for free download at www.guitarcenter.com www.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues Contestants may bring and use any 6-, 7-, or 12-string acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel or pedal steel guitar, plus any audio pedal effects that can be set up in a 5-minute time limit, all of which will be plugged into a selection of amplifiers provided by Guitar Center.

Local competitions start August 20 in all 214 Guitar Center locations nationwide. One winner from each store will be chosen to move up to district competitions (24 locations), followed by regionally hosted semi-finals (6 locations). It culminates in the final King of the Blues Grand Finals competition in Los Angeles in November, where the grand finalists will perform in front of a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges. They'll share the stage with Joe Bonamassa, who was named Best Blues Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine's readership in their annual Reader's Choice Awards for 2008, and whose incendiary playing has resulted in numerous albums in Billboard's Top 10 blues chart.

Competition Dates:
Store Prelims: August 20th, August 27th and September 3rd
Store Finals: September 10th
District Finals: September 30th
Regional Finals: October 21st
Grand Finals: November 2009
For more information, please visit www.guitarcenter.com

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard VOS on iconic guitars list

vintage — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:50:20 +0000

The 1959 Les Paul Standard Vintage Original Spec (VOS) has been listed as one of the top five guitars currently available from Gibson Custom.
Ted Drozdowski of the Gibson website placed the instrument in the iconic guitars list claiming that the large number of legendary musicians to have played the original model helped make it "the epitome of the solid body guitar for fans and players alike".
Among the famous guitarists to have played the instrument over the years are Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and Duane Allman.
Joining the 1959 Les Paul on the list were the BB King Lucille, the SG Standard Reissue VOS, the Mick Jones Les Paul Custom and the Johnny A with Bigsby Tremolo.
Mr Drozdowski claimed that the instruments are "five of the sweetest rides in the Custom Shop's current stable".
Over the past few weeks, Gibson has run a series on some of its most legendary guitars, focusing on the likes of Jeff Beck's 1954 Yardbirds Esquire and Elvis Presley's Gibson J-200.

Original Vintage Pickguard for a 1959 61 Gibson Melody Maker

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Time Remaining: 2d 5h 21m

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1959 GUILD A 500 JSAward Special Order
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Lovely axes to grind at Montreal Guitar Show

vintage — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:41:24 +0000

By Bernard Perusse, The Gazette June 29, 2009

Rediscovering his inner Hendrix inspired Jazz Festival marketing vice-president Jacques-Andre Dupont to launch musical instrument shows and a blues camp.

If Jacques-André Dupont hadn’t had one of those benign midlife crises, it’s entirely possible that a depressed 15-year-old kid wouldn’t be healed by playing the blues this summer. If Dupont hadn’t rediscovered his inner Hendrix, guitar fanatics from all over the world might not have a place in Montreal to gather every year and talk guitar geek. Most important, if a meeting with Montreal International Jazz Fest sponsors hadn’t been cancelled at the last minute, he might never have walked into Steve’s Music Store in Toronto.
That unexpected visit to the music store in 2003 was the turning point. Dupont, the marketing and business development vice-president of the jazz festival’s company, Equipe Spectra, had just turned 40. He hadn’t picked up a guitar in a couple of decades, but with his meeting called off and time on his hands, he walked into Steve’s.
And he emerged with a Gibson ES-335.
“I took the train home and there was space to play,” Dupont said during a recent interview at an Eggspectations restaurant in the Plateau Mont-Royal. On the train ride, he hammered out some remembered blues licks. “I was like a kid,” he said. “From there, I got crazy.”
It wasn’t long before Dupont started collecting vintage guitars, creating, in the process, a Web site to connect with other collectors. Before long, the business and marketing man was right-braining his energy into promoting music-making as part of the festival. When his bosses, jazz fest honchos Alain Simard and André Ménard, gave him the green light, the Montreal Musical Instrument Show was born.
The first show in 2005 offered not only a showcase for all kinds of musical instruments, but hands-on attractions like lessons on how to play guitar in an hour (the main secret: knowing the chords A, E and D), djembe jams and successful workshops by the likes of Pat Metheny and John McLaughlin.
This year, the instrument show is back, featuring the usual displays, activities and the 100% Guitar series, which offers free nightly shows at the new MMIS-GM Pavilion.
An offshoot of the instrument show, focusing on Dupont’s first musical love, was inevitable. The Montreal Guitar Show made its solo debut in 2007. Classes, concerts and interactive activities for would-be fretburners became as successful as the guitar exhibitions showcasing the world’s best luthiers.
During the guitar show’s second year, singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel bought $70,000 worth of instruments, Dupont said.
“There are more guitars sold every year than all other instruments put together,” Dupont said. “Have you ever heard of a clarinet hero?”
This year, nine ticketed Guitarissimo concerts at Cinquième Salle of Place des Arts, by Stanley Jordan and Russell Malone, among others, are also part of the event. Free shows at the Hyatt Regency Hotel between July 3 and 5 make up the Guitar Guitar series. The guitar show itself moves to the Palais des Congrès, near the jazz festival site.
As always, Dupont said, state-of-the-art instruments by the world’s best luthiers will make it the place for guitar fanatics from all over the globe to admire, discuss, buy, sell, try out and generally drool over some wondrous high-end axes. And this year, acoustic and electric models will each get their own room for exhibitors, mini-concerts, lectures and workshops, Dupont said.
If one of Dupont’s jazz festival projects seems close to his heart, it’s the Blues Camp, which, he said, was born of his desire to bring teenagers into the jazz festival. The day camp, offered in French, gives young musicians between 13 and 17 a chance to immerse themselves in the magic 12 bars in all their manifestations over a seven-day period.
While drums, piano, bass, horns and harmonica figure into the camp’s daily schedule, guitar – a staple of modern blues – is a heavy presence.
The rules are intricate, with an audition process that whittles about 400 applicants from all over Quebec down to 100 finalists. More rigourous interviews leave 55 standing. That group will spend an intensive week soaking up instruction from teachers and mentors, writing songs and forming bands – six groups, divided according to age. On the last day of the festival, the bands play an outdoor show on the Club Jazz TD Canada Trust stage.
Dupont said he has observed the life-changing effect of the event during the interview process. “I hear so many things like ‘I tried to kill myself and the guitar was the way I found to survive,’ or ‘I lost my mother and my dad this year and music is the way I get through.’ I even saw a 13-year-old boy who said to me: ‘I want to be the next Nina Simone,’ ’’ Dupont said.
“I see the impact,” he said. “I see that we do a job not enough people are doing. There’s less and less music in schools. Somebody has to step up to the plate.”
The Montreal International Jazz Festival’s third Montreal Guitar Show will be at the Palais des Congrès July 3 to 5. The fourth annual Blues Camp runs from July 6 to 12. The fifth annual Montreal Musical Instrument Show will be at the Village de la musique from July 10 to 12, although some activities are offered throughout the festival.

The Montreal International Jazz Festival runs from Tuesday to July 12. For further details, go to montrealjazzfest.com or montrealgazette.com/festivalcentral

The History of The Electric Guitar: How Music Was Changed Forever

vintage — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:22:29 +0000

by bobmartin

In The Beginning
The guitar’s soft melodic tone made it difficult for people to hear it when being played alongside other instruments. So during the 1930’s an inventive individual decided to change that and invented the first electric guitar. Little did he know, or have imagined way back then how the invention of the electric guitar would significantly affect the course of 20th century music.

Like most new things, the electric guitar had its critics but it quickly won people over because of its ability to allow musicians to play much more creatively and express their own individual styles.

The First Pickup
In 1924 an inventive engineer working for the Gibson guitar company named Lloyd Loar, designed the first magnetic pickup. Using a magnet, he converted guitar string vibrations into electrical signals, which then were amplified through a speaker system. This first pickup was crude, but it was a great beginning.

The First Electric Guitar
In 1931 the Electro String Company was founded by Paul Barth, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, and developed the first electric guitars marketed to the general public. They made their guitars from cast aluminum and were played on a person’s lap using a steel slide much like today's steel guitar. Because of their unusual material, they were affectionately called “Frying Pans.”

The early success of the frying pans prompted the Gibson guitar company to build their first electric guitar, the ES-150 which is a legend today.

The First Solid-Body Electric Guitar
Electric guitars were quickly becoming popular, even though there was a major problem with their construction. Their bodies would vibrate due to the amplified sounds coming through the speakers they were played into, causing what we know as feed-back. The obvious remedy was to build a guitar made with a solid body which wouldn’t vibrate so easily.

As with most innovations, there is controversy over who invented the first solid –body electric guitar. Guitar legend Les Paul in the 1940’s developed his affectionately called “The Log” solid-body guitar by attaching a Gibson neck to a solid piece of wood…a railroad tie, hence the name “Log.”

Around this same time, guitarist Merle Travis and engineer Paul Bigsby developed a solid-body electric guitar that resembled the solid-body guitars that we’re so familiar with today.

The First Mass Produced Electric Guitar
Leo Fender in 1950 was the first to mass produce an electric guitar which was originally called the Fender Broadcaster. This guitar was quickly re-named to the infamous Telecaster because the name “Broadcaster” was already being used by another company. Leo followed this up in 1954 with the most renowned guitar of all time…the Stratocaster.

Leo’s success led other guitar manufacturers into developing their own mass-produced electric guitars. Most notable was the teaming-up of the Gibson guitar company with Les Paul to create the famous Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.

More Affordable Electric Guitars
During the 1960’s and 1970’s famous brand name electric guitars were too expensive for the average person to buy. Less pricey imitations quickly came to market but they were sub-standard in sound and playability. The Japanese, in the 1980’s started manufacturing electric guitars of similar quality to the more expensive American made models, but with much more affordable pricing. This prompted Fender and other leading guitar manufacturers into producing less expensive versions of their classic models. This resulted in electric guitars now being more affordable and accessible to more people.

Today, the Gibson and Fender guitar companies are still producing some of the most well-known and best made electric guitars on the market. But it’s getting crowded with other high quality brands such as BC Rich, ESP and Peavey. Innovative designs, shapes and materials are being incorporated with new technologies to produce better sounding electric guitars.

Modern guitars have built-in software allowing them to sound like other types of guitars. Some are even fitted with pickups that synthesize the sound of different instruments or record the notes in musical notation.

The electric guitar has come a long way with an interesting and inventive past and many in the industry say it has an even brighter future.