Charlie Christian
Help discover the music gear and equipment Charlie Christian uses. Help find out the guitar rig, amplifier setup, effects pedalboard, and other instruments used by Charlie Christian in the studio and in the live setup.
Roles:
Guitarist
Guitars 1
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Charlie Christian Guitar Gear HomeGuitar SetupCharlie Christian's Guitar Gea... more
Gibson ES-150
Amplifiers 1
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On that times, the Gibson ES-150 use to be selled as a combo with the EH-150.... more
Gibson EH-150 Amp
Charlie Christian Guitar Gear HomeGuitar SetupCharlie Christian's Guitar Gear Charlie ChristianCharlie 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.
The electric guitar and guitar amps played an important roll in this evolution. Before the era of the amplified guitar, the guitar could simply not be used as a solo instrument in the jazz bands of that time because its volume was too low. The only way a guitar could be heard was by playing chords and playing them hard.
Electric guitars and amps changed all this and Charlie Christian was the first great solo guitar player with an amplified guitar...
Guitar
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
http://www.jazzguitar.be/charlie_christian_guitar_gear.html