Gibson ES-150

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The Gibson Guitar Corporation's ES-150 guitar is generally recognized as the world's first commercially feasible electric guitar. The ES stands for Electric Spanish, and it was designated 150 because it cost $150 along with an EH-150 amplifier and a cord.

After its introduction in 1936, it immediately became popular in jazz orchestras of the period. Unlike the usual unamplified guitars utilized in jazz, it was loud enough to take a more prominent position in ensembles.

Jazz guitarist Eddie Durham is usually credited with making the first electric guitar solo in 1938 with the ES-150. The most important player of the ES-150, however, is Charlie Christian. Because of his popularization of the guitar, the instrument's distinctive single-coil pickup, was renamed after him. His warm, flowing solos, and warm sound revolutionized the jazz guitar and, to this day, influence countless players.

In the late 1960s, Gibson introduced the ES-150DC, which was a significantly different instrument, despite its similar model number. The ES-150DC was a full hollow-body electric guitar with a double-cutaway body similar in appearance to the semi-hollow 335 guitars (except for a greater body thickness). It featured two humbuckers, a rosewood fingerboard with small block inlays, and a master volume knob on the lower cutaway. This model, however, was not particularly popular, and it was discontinued by Gibson in the mid-70s.

The ES-150 (in its original design), along with the ES-175 and the L5, make up the heart of Gibson's jazz guitar lineup.