Gibson Moderne - History

History

By the mid-1950s Gibson Guitar Company had lost considerable market share to rival Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster models and created three modernistic solid-body guitar concepts in an attempt to strike back. On June 27, 1957 Gibson President Theodore "Ted" McCarty filed three designs with the United States Patent Office which would come to be called "Flying V," "Explorer", and (unofficially, by later historians) "Moderne." The design patents were issued on January 7, 1958, however, the Moderne was not put into production and it is still not clear whether any were actually created at that time (there is only a vague mention of "Mod. Guitars" on a shipping list, which some argue applies to Explorers). Sources claim that Ted McCarty said that a handful of prototypes were built, but there is no conclusive proof either way.

They were "re"-issued by Gibson in 1980 at the NAMM show in Atlanta as part of the "Heritage Series" and later produced in Korea by Epiphone.

Stylistically, Modernes are characterized by an elongated lower bass bout (similar to the Flying V), a scooped-out treble bout (similar to a shark fin), an oblong headstock (similar to Gumby's head) with inverted tuners, and gold hardware: the usual Gibson combination of two humbuckers, adjustable Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece.

The Gibson Moderne is featured in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 video games Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero 2 in 2006 as unlockables. It was also featured in the Nintendo DS video game Guitar Hero: On Tour. Because of their very limited production and forward design, Modernes are highly sought by collectors. But in 2012, Gibson re-released the Moderne as a part of their production line.