The MCM Line of Gibson Guitars

Both the Gibson Explorer and Flying V are usually associated with the hard rock/metal/punk genres, but did you know that they were actually first introduced in the late 50's? I didn't until recently. They were part of a new "Modernistic Series" that Gibson originally released in 1958, the series also included a super-rare model called the Moderne. The Moderne, in fact,  is so rare that there is some disagreement about whether or not any of them were actually produced in the 50's at all (they were reissued in the early 80's). However, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top seems to have one, but  sadly, it can't be truly authenticated because there is such a dearth of information about them. All three guitars were inspired by the futuristic atomic culture that was taking the country by storm in the post-war 50's.You can clearly see the influence of the extreme Googie-esque angles, the tail-fins of the cars and the Mid-century design in general mirrored in their radical body styles. Unfortunately they were way ahead of their time, and none of these models really caught on until much later, and they were pulled from the catalog by 1960. I had always assumed—yes, I do know what happens when you do that—that they didn't come out until sometime in the 60's, but those models were actually reissues made from spare parts and such. So there you have it, you learn something every day.

The Explorer and The Flying V were first released in the late 50's.