In 1940 Les Paul built a guitar from a 4x4 wood post with a neck attached to it and homemade pickups and hardware. He attached two Epiphone hollow body halves to the sides for appearance only.
George Fullerton and Leo Fender invented the Telecaster in 1949, which became the first successfully mass produced guitar in the US. Here's a pic of Mr Fender...
When you think about it, the Guitar's that dominate the musical landscape were created by guys tinkering around with bits of this and that.
The technology of the Electric Guitar hasn't changed much since that time. Some folks have found ways to add a few new wrinkles, but the principles behind the whole deal are pretty basic.
The magic secret of the electric guitar is there is no real secret. There is no rocket science here folks...
