Mass Production
The Log was a step in the right direction with the solid body proven to be the solution to the electric guitar's problem.
In the meantime, Leo Fender, another inventor and manufacturer, founded the Fender Electric Instrument Company in 1946 to create the next big breakthrough. That breakthough was the Fender Broadcaster, the first mass-produced electric guitar.
Fender Broadcaster with amplifier, credit to the Smithsonian.
The Broadcaster revolutionized mass production for the electric guitar, being the first commercially available guitar featuring a completely wooden body and a bolt-on neck. The sound of the Broadcaster was bright, clean, and new.
"It wasn't until the late 1940s, into the 1950s, and suddenly, [an electric guitar] could be made cheaply, accessibly, and then rock and roll," - Gary Sturm, curator at the National Museum of American History
No more than a year after its creation, however, Gretsch, another music producer, claimed that they owned the rights to the name Broadcaster. The company sued Fender, and Fender was forced to change the name of the hit guitar to Telecaster, inspired by the recent invention of the television.
In the midst of mass production, Les Paul was working on a project of his own. Les Paul was in development of his own solid body, trying to sell it to Gibson. It took ten years for Gibson to accept the idea of a solid body, laughing at Les Paul until they finally understood. When the Les Paul Standard was ready for production, the Fender Broadcaster had already taken the title of first mass-produced electric guitar.
Les Paul Standard Gold Top, credit to the Smithsonian.
Leo Fender and Les Paul remained adversaries from that moment onward. They were both leaders in guitar development and pushed the industry forward, and America along with it.