Electric guitars weren’t invented to make overdriven sounds, though they do excel at that.

Made for electricity — and for the music of the day in the 1950s — the guitars created by Leo Fender’s company are capable of surprisingly sweet sounds that are as much at home in jazz as in country.

I am particular struck by these Songbirds Foundation videos of guitarists playing stellar examples of 1950s Fender Stratocasters and Telecasters through amps that range from vintage Fender to a Dumble.

I’d never heard of Joe Robinson, but he makes these Strats sound so good:

I have heard of Tommy Emmanuel:

It really says something about the possibilities when you bring a great player, instrument and amplifier together.