Gibson ES150
Charlie Christian played a Gibson ES150 guitar. The ES150 was the first electric guitar that had commercial success.
- ES: stands for Electric Spanish
- 150: the guitar cost $150, EH-150 amp and a 15-foot cable included.
The Gibson ES150 was introduced in 1936 and was an enormous success in the jazz bands of that time because it produced enough volume to be heard.
Kinds of wood used in the production of the Gibson ES150:
- Archtop: solid spruce
- Back and sides: solid maple
- Neck: mahogany
- Fretboard: rosewood
The ES150 has a single-coil pickup in neck position that is known as the "Charlie Christian Pickup". Can Charlie Christian pickups still be found? The original Charlie Christian pickup is almost unobtainable, but there's a company in the UK that makes exact replicas of these pickups:
www.ccpickups.co.uk
The Charlie Christian pickup was also used by T-bone Walker, Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery.
The ES150 didn't have a lot of sustain, had a bit of a muddy midrange tone and was prone to feedback when the amp was turned too loud, but this guitar was a revolution in its time.
Other guitarists that played a Gibson ES150: Eddie Durham, Floyd Smith
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Charlie Christian was a key figure in the evolution of the jazz guitar. He brought the guitar out of its limited role as a time keeper doing "chop chop chop" in the rhythm section, and put it into the foreground as a solo instrument.
