Jeff Maguire's History of the Electric Guitar)

Probably the first man to build and market an electric "Spanish" style guitar was Lloyd Loar. Loar was an accoustical engineer for Gibson, and legendary for his contributions to the design and development of the mandolin. Loar had also been experimenting with the electrical amplification of the guitar since the early 1920's, and in 1933 created a new company Vivi-Tone as an independent subdivision of Gibson. Vivi-Tone was dedicated to the production of one thing, Spanish style electric guitars.

Vivi-Tone aggressively marketed the electric Spanish guitar but with little succes. The design was poor, and there was not yet a sufficient market to sustain a small company whose only product was a Spanish style electric guitar. Within a year Vivi-Tone failed, but the internal seeds had been planted at Gibson, the electric Spanish was the future of the guitar and the failed Vivi-Tone would go on to inspire Gibson to create the electric guitar that would revolutionize the instrument, the ES-150.

In 1935 Gibson commissioned Alvino Rey, a prominant slide guitarist of the era to assist in the development of a new guitar pickup. The prototype was developed by Rey, in conjunction with enginners at the Lyon & Healy company of Chicago and the final version was built by Gibson employee Walter Fuller. The pickup was initially incorporated on a lap steel model in late 1935, but shortly thereafter was introduced onto a standard f-hole archtop guitar and designated the ES-150, ( ES for Electro Spanish, 150 the price in dollars ). The first one was shipped from Kalamazoo Michigan on May 20,1936. The first modern electric guitar had been born, guitar history was being made.

The ES-150 became an instant success, guitar players from all over the country and from every style flocked to purchase one, most noteable among them was Charlie Christian who took advantage of the increased volume of the instrument and began to use the guitar as a Jazz soloist in the same way that only a horn player previously could have. His performances with the Benny Goodman Orchestra ultimately revolutionized the way all musicians thought about the guitar. To this day the ES-150 is known as the "Charlie Christian" model.

A Brief History of the Electric Guitar