Gibson Honors Its Former Kalamazoo President Ted McCarty With a Guitar

Gibson Brands has released a new guitar honoring the company's longtime president and leader from its days in Kalamazoo. The "Theodore" is named for Theodore "Ted" McCarty, who led Gibson from 1948 to 1965, and is one of the fathers of the electric guitar. It was McCarty who brought in Les Paul as a "consultant". And it was John Huis and his team who worked Paul. But McCarty who was the boss.

(Gibson TV via You Tube)

As the video says, McCarty never played a lick, but he was "the man", and "The Theodore" honors not just the man, but the ideas and concepts that he came up with. It was under McCarty leadership that Gibson developed some of the most iconic electric guitars ever created: the Les Paul, the ES-335, the Flying V, the Explorer, the SG, and the Firebird.

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Gibson says it was on March 18, 1957, "at the height of his creative output, Ted detailed and signed a drawing for a new solid body instrument concept which was never produced". Last month, on March 18, 2022, 65 years from the date McCarty sketched the guitar", Gibson Custom Shop came out with the “Theodore” as the first-ever from a new Gibson Archive Collection. And appropriately, the company is releasing only 318 guitars (for March 18th.) The guitar has been made in natural, cherry and ebony colors and if you buy one, they're a throwing in a signed print of the original drawing and, of course, a case.