NAMM 2026: NAMM often plays host to prototypes for new designs, but it's rare for a company of Gibson's heritage and stature to use it as a testing ground for an all-new body shape.
Yet hidden away in the company's private room, buried amongst some frankly stunning custom shop creations, was the Atomic Age – a concept offset guitar from Gibson Custom.
It’s quite unlike any other Gibson we've seen. There's a kind of plain-top Les Paul Junior vibe, but the elongated body and extravagant contours around the bridge and control knobs are something else.
The guitar is the brainchild of Custom Shop Product Engineer Darron Dubose, who sought to create a retro-futuristic design, which at its core, comprises a solid korina body and mahogany neck with an angled string-through construction.
There are nods to pawn shop designs with the big Gibson logo on the split pickguard, paired with a single ‘G’ on the headstock. Mid Century Modern-style bowtie and amoeba shapes are dotted elsewhere.
The pickups are intriguing: a humbucker and a split-coil neck humbucker, while there's a Jaguar-style slider switch on the other side of the ‘guard.
The rear of the guitar is nearly as wild as the front with big comfort contours and some stunning figuring.
Offset nerd that I am, I had a chance to get hands-on with the guitar for a lil’ bit (although, sadly, I didn’t get the chance to plug it in). It sits real nice on the body: good balance, and close to your own body thanks to the generous contours. Upper-fret access is great. And zany as the control recess is, it keeps the knobs out of the way until you need them.
I'd be keen to see what the design looks like with some pastel finishes, but the korina sets it apart from the current wave of offset designs. I like how the bowtie echoes St. Vincent's Ernie Ball signature, too, while being very much its own thing.
In the booth blurb, Gibson asks, “Is this the next ‘Moderne’? Time will tell.” The Atomic Age won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd argue it makes as much if not more aesthetic sense as the Theodore. And it still has that “blueprint lost in a locker for 50 years” look.
Whatever happens, a new body shape is always bound to be a hot topic, so kudos to Gibson for being bold enough to put it out there. Now let's see what the rest of the world makes of it…
Head over to the NAMM live blog for more up-to-the-minute coverage of the best new gear at this year’s show.
