Gibson has announced Theodore, the first model in the newly established Gibson Archives collection. This is an electric guitar based on a sketch from 65 years ago, debuting a whole new body shape.
Named after the company’s former president, Theodore “Ted” McCarty, this six-string design was sketched and signed by Gibson in March 1957, when he helped develop the Les Paul, SG, Explorer, and Flying V. It was devised. A new musical instrument of the future.
The sketch was unearthed from Gibson’s vault, and after tweaking the original blueprints, Theodore was officially released today. It was exactly 65 years after McCarty painted the design on March 18, 1957.
Only 318 limited edition models will be manufactured to date when they were first created.
It’s certainly amazing. Theodore is a sporty inverted Florentine cutaway that looks like an upside-down SG horn, with explorer-style scimitar headstock, off-quilter triangular pickguards, and a racing-stripe-style centerstrip.
Theodore is very faithful to McCarty’s original sketch and can be seen below. This includes almost everything that former President Gibson envisioned. For example, the original design was expected to include both a wraparound bridge and a center strip. By the way, the output jack is also in the same place.
The only difference is the shape of the pickguard and the position of the 3-way selector switch. McCarty suggested placing the toggle on one of the cutaways, but the Gibson team decided instead to place the toggle near the rest of the tone control circuitry.
In terms of specs, Theodore is available in natural, cherry and ebony colorways and features a two-piece alder body with a walnut center strip. It is paired with a thick ’57 C-shaped mahogany neck topped with a 22-fret dot inlaid rosewood fingerboard.
Other appointments include a wraparound bridge, a historic black top hat control knob, a Kluson tuner, and a nylon nut.
In the electronics sector, a pair of custom Soapbar P-90s are manually wired to a Gibson standard control layout consisting of two volumes and two tones.
As mentioned earlier, Theodore is the debut model of Gibson’s all-new Gibson Archives collection. The details surrounding the new series are pretty slim now, but in the near future they will bring more historic designs to life.
Theodore currently sells for $ 4,999 and comes with a historic-style brown / pink case, a leather guitar strap, an original signed design print, and a luxurious Certificate of Authenticity.
Visit Gibson for more information.
