The space race was on and the zeitgeist was aimed squarely at the future, and post-war America wanted modern designs. These models are now often referred to as floor sweep models.By the ‘50s, the company’s designs were starting to look very dated and quite fuddy-duddy. The war years had placed constraints on what the company could use and, during the ‘40s, Gibson had become known for making banjos using a variety of leftover metal parts. The company was known for making, amongst other things, mandolins, banjos and traditional f-hole acoustic guitars, all of which had been popular back in the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s. Orville Gibson’s very traditional company, on the other hand, was looking very old hat, with its conventional instrument designs. Fender had even capitalised on the space-age trend with the guitar’s name. It perfectly captured the mood of ’50s America. The design reflected the auto industry of the time, with its tail-fin flash. The classic is back for 2021 To the Moonīy 1954, Leo Fenderhad introduced the futuristic-looking Stratocaster, which drastically moved awayfrom the traditional guitar shape with its more asymmetrical body and deep cutaways.
Gibson Collectors Edition 1958 Korina Flying V. This resulted in the company releasing the Les Paul model in 1952, its answer to Leo’s design. Gibson needed to do something radical to reassert itself as the industry leader. In 1950, Leo’s solid-bodied electric guitar, which Gibson had initially dismissed, was becoming serious competition. So Ted was already president of the largest instrument manufacturing company in the United States when Leo Fender debuted his first odd-looking solid-body “Spanish-style” Broadcaster (then Nocaster) as well as the Telecaster and Esquire guitar models. Theodore ‘Ted’ McCarty joined Gibson in 1948, and was initially hired as general manager, though he was soon promoted to company president in 1950. While the manufacturing remained in Kalamazoo, the new sales and administrationheadquarters had now moved to Chicago. Ted McCartyīack in 1944, the Chicago Musical Instrument company bought a controlling interest inGibson. The company was facing stiff competition from California-based Fender, and it needed something special to take on Leo’s new-fangled guitar designs.
It was the first year of the fabled Sunburst Les Paul model, the new semi-hollow/semi-solid ES-335 guitar model, and the Les Paul Jr and Specialmodels had new double-cutaway versions. You could say 1958 was a huge year of innovation for Gibson. The result was the very first Flying V! Innovation in ‘58 Gibson president Ted McCarty decided to hit back. With his modern-looking Stratocaster solid-body electric guitar, Leo was making Gibson’s designs look old and boring. 1958 was the year that Gibson wanted to take on Fender at his own game.