Debuting officially with a limited production run in 1976, the 1979 Gibson Explorer E2 is from the first standard production year of the instrument. This guitar was the next step in the lineage of the Explorer. The Norlin era was the birth of re-invention in the Gibson catalogue. The natural finish allows for the beautiful multilaminated maple/walnut body construction to shine through. The comfort carves are sculpted to show off the layered body. The set necks were also built with five strips of and walnut and maple topped with an un-bound 22‑fret ebony board. This guitar has possibly the coolest truss rod cover of all time... She's adorned with gold hardware throughout. Don't mistake it for the wood-paneled station wagon folks, this is the Cadillac. 

This guitar is old and it has some stories to tell! There are various signs of wear and use throughout the instrument, nothing taking away from it's killer playability. Scratches, dings, buckle rash, light checking, and a moved strap button are all photo'd and can be viewed on the listing. Tuners were replaced with era-appropriate Ping machines. Comes with the original big 'ol hardcase, too. Original frets are in great shape. Norlin-era frets came low from the factory, but this is a great example of how they were intended to feel in the late 70's!

This guitar weighs 9LBS 10oz. Heavy but not un-managable!

Double screw-pole T-Top Dirty Fingers pickups. They have T-top coils and two rows of gold adjustable pole pieces. These pickups are rare, valuable, and HOT! The bridge pickup's volume pot has been replaced with a new CTS 500k pot. They sound punishing. Plug me in to your Soldano and say sayonara.