From Past to Present: 11 ‘Cool’ Facts Highlighting Guitar’s Evolution 
                     From Past to 
Present: 11 ‘Cool’ 
Facts Highlighting 
Guitar’s Evolution 
Have you just enrolled into the guitar for 
beginners course? Then it is the exact hour that 
you delve into this presentation. And why? So 
that –
 When batchmates remain ‘busy’ grasping over 
the strumming techniques and notation sheets, 
without retaining not-much-of-a-knowledge about 
the very instrument’s history or present 
happenings
 You stay ‘a step’ ahead of them knowing how 
the jamming gear came ‘to be’ and ‘what’s the 
present buzz’
Let the Ride Start
# 1 Back Then
4000 years earlier in Persia, there        
                   prevailed the practice:
 To attach a tortoise shell to a 
hunting bow’s pick and form a 
stringed instrument that can produce 
some resonance. 
This is the recorded and foremost evidence of 
manufacturing a guitar, back then known as 
“Tar” or strings. 
#2 Right Now
One public-backed (sponsored by 545 enthusiasts) 
project in 2017 at the crowd-funding portal IndieGogo 
has led to the development of ‘Jammy’-
 One detachable (into two halves) and digital practice 
guitar with a 15-fretted neck and 17 inches of 
dimension.
The in-built fingerboard sensors, any-frequency string 
tension adjustability and 4 hours of sound battery back-
up garnered this MIDI, ‘fit-for-travel’ gear Best in 
Show prize at Summer NAMM, 2018.
Pro musicians view it as the ‘next level’ in the genre of 
electric guitars offering enhanced playability with 
accurate digitalized tuning. 
# 3 Back Then
The very ‘guitarry’ shape was first devised 
in 16th century Spain basing upon the high-
waisted Hispano instrument ‘Guitarra 
Latina’. 
Inspired by this ‘Guitarra’, guitar at that time 
possessed:
 4 rows of strings – three double and one at 
the top course
 Showcased a comparatively slimmer but 
more profound body structure than the 
instrument’s present prevalent dimension
&
 Was available in only one shade, the 
natural wooden texture
# 4 Right Now
Celebrated manufacturing houses like Ibanez, Kiesel, Taylor 
and Strandberg are focusing more over –
 Player’s convenience
&
 Playability enrichment
Than
 Adhering to a basic structural pattern, while crafting the 
stringed instrument
Such an endeavor, in effect has brought forward:
 Ergonomic-friendly guitars showcasing zero/fanned frets, 
6-12 string units, multi-scale fingerboards, comfy arm curve 
(check out the Taylor Academy Series) etc, which, on a 
whole champion optimum functionality.
 
Moreover, these companies 
venture to prioritize the 
aesthetic aspect and opt to 
offer models in-
 Varied vibrant shades and 
‘edgy’ finishes -Gibson’s 
“Boogie Van” texture has 
already turned into a style 
statement amongst 
professional Gen X guitarists.
#5 Back Then
Premium quality wood such as Ebony and Alaskan timber 
has remained the foremost choice of Luthiers to devise the 
complete guitar body since the earliest times and thereby 
ensure best depth of resonance.
# 6 Right Now
Given to deforestation issue at the upper parts of Alaska 
and unsustainable harvesting problem associated with 
Ebony, famed makers like Martin, Gibson and Fender are 
opting for alternatives like- 
 Baked Maple
 Domestic hardwood 
 Richlite (phenolic resin & cellulose composite) 
 to manufacture the gear and yet maintain own signature 
standard.
Taking a step further, researcher Max 
Roest, professor FarbodAlijani and his 
designing student Luka Marinangeli 
(at Netherland’s Faculty of Aerospace 
Engineering) have utilized:
 Fiber-reinforced foam to craft a 
guitar and thereby prevent temperature 
fluctuations and humidity pressure 
affect the sound quality – an issue so 
inherent to the wooden instrument. 
Lightweight and ‘of tested fine 
acoustic property’, this is championed 
as the Future of Guitar.
# 7 Back Then
The first day it was conceptualized till the whole of 
17thcentury, Luthiers resorted to pure hand-crafting 
procedure via traditional tools (Band Saw, Sanding 
Board, Hand Files, Sand Paper, Clamps etc) to shape the 
gear.
Industrial Revolution of 18th century paved way for the 
mass-produced factory-made models produced on a 
large-scale and reducing labor-intensiveness while 
making the gear more –
 ‘Market-available’ 
and
 Budgetary
 As for nurturing the strings, animal intestine was the 
only option the craftsmen could think about as for 
guaranteeing holistic vibration property. 
# 8 Right Now
Apparently, all of the reputed brands today bank upon the 
computer-aided manufacturing methods – especially boosted 
by the ‘hacks’ of CAD and CAM and thus accomplish:
 Consistency in design
 Perfection over fret-board alignment
 Accurate neck cut
 Precision of each body edge
CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) machining software 
is another tool largely opted by manufacturing houses to reduce 
wasteful and defective production and pace up productivity.
The string material too has ‘walked’ a long path from ‘gut’ to 
most popular steel, nickel alloy, polymer and plant-based 
elements. 
Pricier models often exhibit wound brass-made strings that 
‘boast’ of flawless pitching property.
# 9 Back Then
From the ages unknown up till 1984, 
& at every musical genre– the 
guitarist fraternity has remained an 
essentially male-dominated spectrum 
– with women ‘recognized’ as only 
concert cheer-leaders.
Even famous music magazines like Guitar 
World and Revolver utilized feminine graphics 
and womanly silhouettes as cover photos and 
for inner pages to attract reader’s mind or 
represent a model’s features. 
As cites the famed blue-rock guitarist Chantel 
McGregor, during the initial days, salespeople 
at stores even doubted her basic wisdom with 
questions like “Do you know what’s a 
plectrum?”
# 10 Right Now
Welcome 2016! And Fender recorded half of annual sales to 
teenage girls and middle-aged women, who wanted to learn guitar 
simply for the ‘love of learning’ and experiencing the excitement 
of performing live.
The world media inherently accredits this development to:
 Taylor Swift and her global fame
 Launch of a signature guitar model by brand Ernie Ball (in its 
Music Man series) as a tribute to St Vincent-the American diva
 Growing popularity of Daisy Rock – an e-commerce portal 
offering models and merchandises suitable for women players
 Emergence of She Shreds in 2013 – world’s sole magazine 
championing female strummers
&
 Various global gender parity programs in music like Oregon’s 
Girl Rock Camp Alliance
#11 Progress of Passion to Profession
What once was a street musician’s instrument to improvise 
songs and medium to sing along Latin American folklores, 
right now offers the widest spectrum of career prospects.
Varying from teachers to sound engineers, Luthiers to store 
managers and You-tube celebrities to professional stage 
performers – it lets you dream any.
The standard income range begins from $15000/ per annum 
and can go up to $90,000, depending on individual skill & 
devotion.
Prudent plucking to you!
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  Stradivari Strings