A solid body electric instrument is a string instrument such as a guitar, bass or violin built without its normal sound box and relying on its electric pickup system to directly receive the vibrations of the strings. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member A sound box or sounding box, (sometimes written soundbox) is an open chamber in the body of a Musical instrument which alters the instrument's tone quality A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar

Solid body instruments are preferred in situations where acoustic feedback may otherwise be a problem, and are inherently both cheaper to build and more rugged than acoustic electric instruments. Audio Feedback (also known as the Larsen effect after the Danish scientist Søren Larsen who first discovered its principles is a special kind of Feedback A semi-acoustic guitar or hollow-body electric is a type of Electric guitar with both a Sound box and one or more electric pickups.

Instruments

Solid body instruments

• Some electric guitars. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder
• Most bass guitars. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the
• Electric upright bass. The electric upright bass (abbreviated EUB and sometimes also called stick bass) is an electronically amplified version of the Double bass that has
• A few electric mandolins. The electric mandolin is an instrument tuned and played as the Mandolin and amplified in similar fashion to an Electric guitar.
• Most electric violins. An electric violin is a Violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound
• Most electric sitars
• Electric cello. An electric sitar is in fact a kind of Electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the traditional South Asian instrument the Sitar. The electric cello is a type of Cello that relies on electronic amplification (rather than Acoustic resonance) to produce sound

Solid body instruments do not include:

• Semi-acoustic instruments. A semi-acoustic guitar or hollow-body electric is a type of Electric guitar with both a Sound box and one or more electric pickups.
• Electric pianos, even those with strings such as the electric grand piano. An electric piano is an electric Musical instrument. The popularity of the electric piano began to grow in the late 1960s, reaching its greatest height during the An electric grand piano is a particular type of Piano manufactured and marketed by Yamaha, Kawai and Helpinstill during the 1970s and 1980s
• Pedal steel guitar. The pedal steel guitar is a type of Electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar

Electric lap steel guitars without sounding boards are considered to be solid body instruments by some authorities, and not by others. The lap steel guitar is a type of Steel guitar, from which other types developed This has a major effect on some claims of historical priority, as they predate the first models of solid body electric guitar, which may otherwise be claimed to be the first commercially successful solid body instruments. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder While noting this, it will be assumed that electric lap steels without sounding boards are solid body instruments for the purposes of this article.

History

Early prototypes

A solid body electric violin was proposed by Thomas Edison. An electric violin is a Violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound

Sketch of Rickenbacker "frying pan" lap steel guitar from 1934 patent application

Commercial models

The first commercially successful solid body instrument was the Rickenbacker frying pan lap steel guitar, produced from from 1931 to 1939. For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. The lap steel guitar is a type of Steel guitar, from which other types developed

The first commercially successful solid body electric guitar was the Fender Telecaster (The early Telecaster models had no model name on the head stock and are now referred to as 'No Casters") in 1950. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. It was followed by the Gibson Les Paul in 1952. The Gibson Les Paul is a solidbody Electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s

Impact on musical styles

Solid body instruments have particularly influenced heavy rock and surf music. Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Surf music is a Genre of Popular music associated with Surf culture, particularly Orange County and other areas of Southern California Without solid body guitars, neither of these genres could have developed as they did.

See also

• Semi-acoustic guitar. A semi-acoustic guitar or hollow-body electric is a type of Electric guitar with both a Sound box and one or more electric pickups.
• 3rd bridge guitar

External links

• The History of the Electric Solid Body Guitar. The 3rd bridge is an extended playing technique used on mainly electric guitars such as the Fender Jazzmaster that has the strings continue through to the
• From Frying Pan to Flying V: The Rise of the Electric Guitar at the Smithsonian Institution's Lemelson Center site.
• The Les Paul Story at the Gibson Guitar Corporation site. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar