Prized by the masters of metal and rock

When the Explorer was first introduced in 1958, it wasn’t an immediate hit with musicians—who may have considered its now-iconic body shape a bit too modern at the time. Over the years, however, guitarists discovered the Explorer’s many charms, and the model grew in popularity. In the 1970s, rock musicians appreciated its futuristic shape and powerful sound, but it wasn’t until the rock-driven ’80s that the model reached its full potential and was played by some of the best musicians of that era. Musicians such as Gary Moore, The Edge, Billy Gibbons, and James Hetfield have all played the Explorer, helping to cement its legendary status. Now Gibson proudly presents the Explorer 80s, based on the popular Explorer models of that era. It has already graced stages worldwide, but now this icon of the ’80s is making a comeback so that a new generation of musicians can discover it. This Explorer practically begs to be played loud. With its futuristic body shape, iconic headstock, black speed knobs, and chrome-plated hardware, it looks just as iconic as the musical generation it helped shape.

The Explorer 80s features a lightning-fast mahogany neck with a SlimTaper profile. The neck is equipped with a rosewood fingerboard featuring 22 medium-jumbo frets and subtle acrylic dot inlays. The Explorer headstock is equipped with Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners and a Graph Tech nut to ensure stable tuning. The other ends of the strings run over an aluminum Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge and are secured with an aluminum stop-bar tailpiece. The iconically shaped mahogany body is equipped with 80s Tribute humbucker pickups that faithfully reproduce the fat tone and rich sustain of the 1980s Explorer models. The pickups are hand-wired to individual volume controls, while a master tone control featuring an Orange Drop capacitor offers even more tonal customization; the controls are fitted with black Speed knobs, which provide excellent functionality and a classic aesthetic. There is no pickguard, giving the Explorer 80s a sleek and slightly menacing look. If you’re into retro-futuristic guitars, the Explorer 80s brings back some of the edge and attitude of that era. It comes in a Gibson hard-shell case and is ready to accompany you wherever your music takes you.

Incl. case