2019 Gibson Explorer Aged "1958 Big Ed" Replica

"Big Ed" is the nickname of the original and famous 1958 Gibson Korina Explorer with serial 8 3843 purchased in 1958 by Edison R. "Big Ed" Thompson. What makes it even more legendary is that at the same time Ed got the Explorer, his brother Ople Thompson treated himself with a lefthanded 58 Flying V, which is absolutely unique and a one of a kind guitar!!! Ople played the V left-handed, until he quit music and gave the guitar to Ed and Ed kept both guitars together until it was time to let them go.

Edison R. "Big Ed" Thompson was a well known American blues guitarist from Cincinnati and a session guitarist for ABC Paramount, King and Victor recording studios and he regularly featured in H-Bomb Ferguson & the Mad Lads at Cincinnati Cotton Club. After many years of recording and performing with Albert Washington at venues like Vet's Inn and Cory's he started Big Ed Thompson & his All Stars, performing regionally and at blues festivals in Europe during the summer of 1988.

In 1990, just a few years before Big Ed died in 1993, Rick Vito from Fleetwood Mac was in Cincinatti and had a day off. The hotel bellman referred him to a good blues band and it so happened that Big Ed and the All-Stars were playing that night. It was there that Rick got goosebumps and during the break started talking to Thompson about the Explorer. They came to an agreement and the next day Rick bought both guitars and kept them together as a pair.

After Rick sold both guitars to an avid Gibson collector, they ended up in the hands of David Davidson from Well Strung Guitars. The pair always stayed together but when David could make a deal by selling only the lefthanded V, Mark Agnesi director at Gibson, decided to jump in and purchased the Explorer. Since that day, "Big Ed" is stored safely at the Gibson Vault Collection in Nashville to pop up once in a while at the Gibson Garage.

- The Explorer for sale -
The base of this amazing looking copy of "Big Ed" is a 2019 Gibson Explorer Antique Natural USA, hand selected for the very beautiful figured mahogany, the nice dark RW fretboard and set neck construction. It weighs 3.9Kg and was completely stripped, refinished, aged to perfection to match the original '58 "Big Ed" and rebuilt with specific vintage and replica parts like 2 x original 1980 Tim Shaw Humbuckers with the original gold covers, Aged Tone Pro gold hardware, Kluson Aged single line single ring tuners, Crazyparts aged knobs, Gibson pots and wiring, aged high end replica plastics and hardware etc. This amazing job was performed by Hof's Guitares Custom in France and a Certificate of his work is included in the sale. The neck is nice and chunky but not too big and very easy to play with a perfect low action and amazing powerfull yet clear and open sounding punch!

The guitar comes in the coolest of coolest '58 replica rectangular Explorer cases (Epi/Gibson) and it includes the original Gibson COA with original serial number, case candy, hang tags as well as a Certificate Of Authenticity from Hof's Guitares Custom, the luthier who performed the Bid Ed Replica transformation and a COA Certificate of Authenticity from Bees In A Jar.
 
And all that for about half of the price of a Gibson Murphy Lab Aged guitar that doesn't even look near as realistic as this beast!