Ted McCarthy Interview

[merciful-evans]

Found this on another erm... place.

 

 

http://reverb.com/news/former-gibson-chief-ted-mccarty-on-tonewoods-and-the-problems-of-top-heavy-management

 

None of the other major guitar companies had anything to do with a solidbody. Their attitude was forget it, because anyone with a bandsaw can make a solidbody guitar. Bandsaw and a router, that’s all you needed.

*

This was our first solidbody, so surely some of the craftsmanship of the hollowbody guitar would be found in this first solid. One of them was the arched top, but I did that mostly because I wanted to have something that Leo couldn’t do.

*

Now, Les Paul was known to me. Les Paul was a bit of an innovator, but he played Epiphone. And I had been trying to get him to play Gibson, oh, for a couple of years.

He was not going to get shaken away from Epiphone. He was loyal to them.

*

[pippy]

I'll have to download that and read it when I have more time to fully digest the info contained therein.

 

All of it seems interesting.

Some of it is slightly at odds with what (I've previously read) Ted McCarty said in interviews with Gil Hembree - such as it being Maurice Berlin's idea for the carved-top for the Les Paul. From memory;

On being asked what Mr. Berlin (Snr.) thought about the prospective solid-body he, and Ted McC., wanted to do something Leo Fender couldn't do and, as Mr Berlin loved the way violins were carved he asked T McC if the new guitar could have a top-carve and Ted said words to the effect of "Why, Sure!".

 

I'll have a much clearer understanding once I've read and digested everything and re-read back through my old reference stuff. Wouldn't like to get this wrong.....

 

Thanks very much for posting this new to me stuff, M-E.!

 

 

Pip.

[Beerad12]

I read this a few days ago. It is a very interesting read. Lots of interesting insight into Gibson from ack in those days. It's funny to read how Ted spoke of Leo Fender. I didn't realize he was thought of like that throughout the industry, or at least by Ted.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Black Dog]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[badbluesplayer]

Sounds kind of like a dee bag.

[SteveFord]

I didn't realize that he left due to a looming personality conflict.

The previous interviews I read said he left due to the looming avalanche of cheap imports.

I don't buy the part about never seeing a Fender brochure or having no idea what they were up to, I think he's full of covfefe on that one.

[pippy]

I didn't realize that he left due to a looming personality conflict...

Yes. Norton Stevens and Arnold Berlin - who became the Nor and Lin of Norlin.

 

Arnold Berlin became head of Gibson when his father, Maurice Berlin (who had appointed McCarty in '48) was getting too old to run the company. Ted absolutely loved Maurice Berlin but Arnold was the polar opposite of his father and McCarty and Arnold Berlin's ideas on how Gibson should be run were completely at cross purposes so McCarty quit.

 

Pip.

[merciful-evans]

Yes. Norton Stevens and Arnold Berlin - who became the Nor and Lin of Norlin.

 

Arnold Berlin became head of Gibson when his father, Maurice Berlin (who had appointed McCarty in '48) was getting too old to run the company. Ted absolutely loved Maurice Berlin but Arnold was the polar opposite of his father and McCarty and Arnold Berlin's ideas on how Gibson should be run were completely at cross purposes so McCarty quit.

 

Pip.

 

Another piece of the puzzle!

I wondered who it was.