Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years : an Illustrated History from the Mid-'30s to the Mid-'60s

Front Cover
Hal Leonard Corporation, 1998 - Music - 256 pages
(Book). Since the inception of the first "electrical" guitars in the 1920s, no other manufacturer has produced a greater variety of professional quality models than Gibson. This book presents a documented account of the instruments released during a highly creative period from the 1930s up to the mid-60s, which saw the coming of age of the electric guitar. It describes all the models that have made history and contributed to establishing the reputation of Gibson. This edition features over 500 illustrations, including 100 in color, and previously unpublished material.
 

Contents

Who inverted the electric guitar?
9
The first production electrics 19351939
13
The second wave of prewar electrics 19401942
21
The early postwar era 19461948
27
The apogee of the amplified guitar 19481951
33
The first solid body electric 19511952
40
The expansion of the electric line 19531955
47
The first thinline electrics 19551957
55
CHAPTER NOTES
110
30 YEARS OF GIBSON ELECTRICS
111
THE PRODUCTION ELECTRICS UP TO THE MID60s
143
INTRODUCTION
145
The prewar electrics 19361942
151
The postwar full body electrics 19461965
159
The solid body electrics 19521965
189
The thinline electrics 19551965
217

The advent of the humbucking pickup 19551957
63
The Modernistic Guitars 19571959
69
The double cutaway thinkline electrics 19581960
77
The inception of restyled solid bodies 19581963
85
The hollow body artist models 19601965
91
The original Firebird series 19631965
101
The end of an era
107
THE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS UP TO THE MID60s
239
INTRODUCTION
241
Serial numbers 19361961
245
Serial numbers 19611965
250
INDEX
253
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information