The Firsts of the Vintage Gibson Guitars

gibson electric guitars

Gibson guitars have been around for more than fifty years and it is hailed by many as one of the legendary lines of guitar. From pop to Death metal, the Gibson have painted modern music with its trademark sound. Here are some of the Gibson guitar models that made mark on guitars hall of fame:

The ES-150 (Produced from 1936 to 1941)

Considered the first commercially successful Spanish electric guitar. The ES-150 were hollow-body archtop guitars with a single coil pickup in the neck position, an adjustable bridge, and only available in Sunburst.

The Les Paul (Produced from 1952 until 1960)

Gibson’s first solid-body electric guitar, they were reintroduced in 1968 and are still produced today and become the most popular Gibson guitar model.

The Goldtop (produced from 1952 until 1957)

Had a one-piece, trapeze-style bridge and tailpiece, 2 P-90 single-coil pickups, and had the strings fitted under the steel stop-bar. The top was made of maple.

The Custom (produced from 1954 until 1960)

Nicknamed “Black Beauty” because the entire guitar was black. It had a mahogany top and one of the pickups was in the neck potion and Tune-o-Matic bridge design. Later a third pickup was added.

The Junior (produced from 1954 until 1960)

It was meant as a beginner’s guitar. They were shaped like the other Les Paul guitars with only one P-90 pickup and simple tone and volume controls. In 1958 both models were changed to a double-cutaway body-style.

The Special (produced from 1955 until 1960)

Had the same natural/yellow finish as the TV and was also given the double-cutaway design in 1959. The Special had two soapbar P-90 single-coil pickups.

The ES-335 (Released in 1958)

World’s first semi-hollowbody electric guitar. these vintage Gibson guitars were electric Spanish guitars with a solid center and hollow sides. The ES-335 has a maple body, 2 pickups, and side holes. It is still in production today.

The SG (Released in 1961)

Gibson radically altered the body shape so it was now thinner, more lightweight and now featured a double cutaway neck (devil horn) area that permitted deeper access to the higher frets. The SG was used in Guitar Hero videogame as a model for their controller

The Gibson Firebird

Made from 1963-65 in the initial reverse body shape, and from 1965-69 in the non-reverse shape. The two models were later reissued and are still on sale.

The Innovative Design of Vintage Gibson Guitars

Through the years of vintage Gibson guitars one can find some rather innovative, or maybe just plain unique, designs. Three of these designs belonged to the modernist line designed by Ted McCarty.

The Explorer (originally produced in 1958 and 1959)
Shaped like an X with one of its lines or a Z with its center line grossly exaggerated. Explorers are still in production today.It had  Tune-o-matic bridge and 2 humbucker pickups. Originally were made from korina, while the later 1975 models could also be made from mahogany or maple. Explorers are highly valued by collectors.

The Flying V (originally produced in 1958 and 1959)
Shaped like upside down Vs, or Ys if you include the neck.The Flying V had 2 humbucker pickups, a 496R in the neck position and a 500T in the bridge position, tune-o-matic bridge korina and mahogany body. There was also a four-string bass version, the V Bass, released in 1981.

The Moderne (designed in 1957)
The Moderne resembled the letter A with one side having a shorter leg and an extra stubby point towards the top.

Ted McCarty filed for a design patent on all three of these vintage Gibson guitars in 1957.

History Of The Gibson Guitar

gibson guitars

One of the most popular and loved guitars ever made is the Gibson guitar. Gibson guitar history spans over a century, from the dawn of the 1900s. A few years later in 1902, Orville started up the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company.

Gibson sold mostly mandolins until the early 20’s when guitars started to gain in popularity. During these early stages of guitar production, Gibson came out with arch-top 6 strings guitar designs and truss rod neck construction.

In 1936, Gibson introduced the ES-150, an F-hole arch top model and ended up creating a sound that was never heard before.

The 50’s were a great time for Gibson. The company decided to start producing solid-body guitars and Les Paul had been working on the solid-body concept since the 1930’s. So Les Paul was brought in to give his input and endorse these new types of guitars. In 1952 the first Les Paul was introduced and the most famous Gibson guitar was born.

Different models of the Les Paul include the Custom, Standard, Special and Junior. The famous humbucker pickup was finally introduced to the Gibson lineup in 1957.

One of Gibson’s main competitors around this time was Epiphone Guitars. After Gibson acquired Epiphone, Most of the Epiphone guitars of today are the more economical versions of the Gibson guitar models.

In 1961, Gibson changed the design of the Les Paul model to a double cutaway design. Gibson then changed the name to the new double-cutaway model to the Gibson SG.

Gibson decided to open up a factory specifically for the production of the Les Paul guitars in 1974. This new home for Gibson was named “Gibson USA” and is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

How Gibson Guitar History Shaped Popular Music

This guitar would go on to become one of, if not the, most iconic guitars the planet had ever seen. From Led Zeppelin to Guns n’ Roses and countless other bands, the Les Paul guitar was played on more hits than you can count. Despite being over 50 years old, this guitar design remains relatively unchanged even to this day.