The Illustrated History of the Electric Guitar charts the rapid development of this most significant of modern musical instruments, from the very first attempts to amplify accoustic guitars, through the invention of various types of pick-up which lead, in turn, to the first solid-body guitars, right up to the modern and often sophisticated 'axes' of today. The book also discusses the often fierce competition between the various manufacturers both in the USA and Europe. Plotting their highs and lows, their successes and failures and the way their fortunes were inextricably linked to the latest model and, importantly, who played it. The lively and informative text is richly illustrated with hundreds of photographs of electric guitars old and new, from significant landmark instruments through famous 'endorsed' models considered classics today, right upto modern attempts at further revolutionalising the instrument with the use of Midi. There is no doubt that the relevatively rapid development of this one instrument fuelled the rock explosion of the 50's and 60's and has had more of an impact on modern popular music than any other single instrument. The Illustrated History of the Electric Guitar is the perfect guide to that history.