The first mass-produced electric guitar, released in 1932, was nicknamed the "Frying Pan" for its distinctive round body and long neck.

The Rickenbacker A-22 was developed by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker in the early 1930s. Beauchamp, a vaudeville musician, sought a way to make the acoustic guitar louder so it could compete with big band orchestras. He collaborated with Rickenbacker to form the Ro-Pat-In Corporation, which was later renamed Rickenbacker.The instrument's breakthrough was the "horseshoe" pickup, which used two large magnets that arched over the strings. This design created a magnetic field that captured the vibrations of the steel strings and converted them into an electrical current. The signal was then sent to an amplifier, a technology adapted from radio and telephone equipment.The body of the A-22 was cast from solid aluminum rather than wood. This choice was intentional to prevent feedback issues that plagued hollow-bodied acoustic guitars when amplified. Because of its small, round body and long neck, musicians quickly nicknamed it the "Frying Pan."In 1937, the United States Patent Office granted Beauchamp patent number 2,089,171 for the electric guitar. This invention fundamentally changed the landscape of music, leading directly to the development of the solid-body electric guitars that became essential to rock and roll. It remains one of the most significant technological advances in 20th-century music history.