This type of guitar is normally played with a plectrum, and represents a transition from acoustic to electric guitar, because the guitar itself has some acoustic property although nowadays it is normally amplified. Although a component of the rhythm section of early jazz groups where its distinctive “chunk” sound would cut through and be heard without amplification, this guitar was also used extensively for melody and solo work, an example being the work of great players such as Django Reinhardt.

Distinguishing features include the violin-like f-holes which replace the circular sound hole of the traditional guitar. Often jazz guitars are larger in size than classical or acoustic guitars,and they usually have arched tops and backs, like a violin. This is said to improve their sound projection. Pickups are now built into the guitar, as are volume and tone controls.

The pioneering guitarist Les Paul was a technical as well as musical wizard. He is famous for multitrack recorded performances, and his developments on the instrument itself led to the extensive use of solidbody guitars with no innate acoustic resonance. Used for chords and lead in contemporary rock groups, the solid-body guitar has no sound until it is plugged into an amplifier. The electronic sound from pickups is processed in inventive ways for special effects, including deliberate distortion. The result is a new creation that has a fingerboard and strings but acoustically shares little with the traditional guitar.

In the sixties, there was a veritable guitar renaissance, sparked by two different movements.One was the so-called “folk revival,” in which young people with guitars performed topical songs of the day. Bob Dylan was the best known and probably the greatest of these singer or guitarists, and his songs influenced hundreds of others.

The second big influence was the arrival of the Beatles in America, and the British Invasion.When the Beatles first appeared, everyone copied their hair styles, clothing (down to their boots), and—naturally—musical instruments. The Rickenbacker guitar, favored by John Lennon, and the Hofner bass, played by Paul McCartney, were soon the most in-demand instruments in music stores across America. Instrument makers rushed to give the Beatles free instruments so that they could benefit from the publicity.

The British Invasion also spawned guitar gods like Eric Clapton,influenced by American blues players. A veritable war broke out among partisans of the Fender Stratocaster versus the equally popular Gibson Les Paul—some defended one as the “holy grail” of guitar sound, while others went for the other. Added “effects” from wah-wah to fuzztone ere an additional arsenal in the guitar’s acoustic army. One of the first guitarists to use these effects in a truly musical way was Jimi Hendrix,whose flamboyant stage presence only added to his popularity.