The Gibson Explorer can confidently be called a classic of the “heavy rock” genre. The designers of this style-defining guitar, however, had absolutely nothing to do with heavy metal...

In the mid-1950s, Gibson had an image problem: Compared to its young competitor Fender, the brand was considered outdated. Ted McCarty, Gibson’s president at the time, wanted to prove that his company, too, could be futuristic and innovative.

In 1957, he assembled a team to design a series of extremely unconventional guitar shapes. The result was the three-part “Modernistic” series: the Explorer, the Flying V, and the Moderne (which remained a prototype).

The Explorer’s design was heavily influenced by the “Space Age” zeitgeist of the late 1950s. The sweeping tail fins of American muscle cars served as the direct visual inspiration. But the guitar world simply wasn’t ready for the Explorer’s radical look. Gibson discontinued production after building fewer than 100 units.

A huge flop at the time—but later, years ahead of its time. When hard rock and heavy metal boomed in the ’70s, and guitarists were looking for more aggressive shapes, the Explorer was permanently revived and rose to become an absolute icon. Here's an Explorer Traditional in the classic 1950s design...

· MANUFACTURER: Gibson

· MODEL: Explorer Traditional

· COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

· YEAR OF MANUFACTURE: 2016

· BODY SHAPE: Asymmetrical Explorer design

· STRING CONFIGURATION: 6-string

· FINISH: Heritage Cherry

· BODY: Mahogany

· NECK: Mahogany with “Slim Taper” profile

· FINGERBOARD: Rosewood with dot inlays and a 12" radius

· FRETS: 22 medium-jumbo frets

· TUNERS: Enclosed Grover Mini Tuners

· SCALE LENGTH: 4.75" (628.65 mm)

· NUT WIDTH: 43 mm

· BRIDGE: Tune-O-Matic bridge with stop tailpiece

· PICKUPS: Gibson 496R Hot Ceramic humbucker (neck), Gibson 500T Super Ceramic humbucker (Bridge)

· CONTROLS: 2x volume controls, 1x master tone control, 3-way toggle switch

· HARDWARE: Chrome

· WEIGHT: 3.68 kg

· ACCESSORIES: Non-original, older Warwick Rockcase, manual, spec sheet, tools...

· CONDITION: Clean and well-maintained, in top condition with, at most, tiny signs of wear or use—see photos. The case has a minimal dent at the bottom (see close-up photo). It closes normally, of course, and reliably protects the instrument.