In 1958, Gibson needed to regain control of Fender and show that the brand wasn’t just an old lady dedicated to mandolins and other hollow-bodies. Ted McCarty decided to make a big splash and wanted guitars with a radical design.

In the Explorer family created in ’58, here’s a newcomer made for hardcore guitars: the Explorer B2 Satin, which features a mahogany body and neck with high-gloss black (ebony) finishes. The neck is set at the 19th fret (out of 22), allowing the hand to comfortably reach the highest frets. The rosewood fingerboard is set with jumbo frets and adorned with dot inlays. Note that the angle of the banana headstock is not very pronounced. As a result, the strings remain fairly straight behind the nut, which helps maintain tuning even when worn.

That’s the history of the model, let’s talk about the guitar in question: an Explorer B2 Satin, fitted with Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups for more growl and gain. This guitar is clean, with no breaks, no repairs, and the matte black paint and matte black pickguard give this beauty a formidable look. And this guitar sounds deep, it’s simply enormous. We cleaned and polished the neck and frets, so the fretting and playing comfort are excellent.

Comes with an Explorer SKB ABS case.