(Book). In the mid '50s, Ted McCarty, Gibson's new president, set out to further set Gibson apart from Fender. He wanted to create new designs that did not conform to the basic guitar shape. He wanted something new, something different. Together with a local artist, McCarty worked on guitars that were made up of straight lines, and three new guitars were born the Moderne, the Flying V and the Explorer. This book delves deep into the history of the Explorer through a myriad of color photos of its versions over time.