Gibson is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future with a pair of new ES-345 models.
Marty McFly famously wielded a Cherry Red ES-345 in the film’s iconic school dance scene, when he unleashed Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” as a time traveler in 1955. The new models — one an Epiphone, the other a Gibson — replicate Marty’s legendary ES-345, which stands arguably the most significant guitar in movie history.
Buy the Gibson 1955 ES-345 Collector’s Edition
The Back to the Future 1955 ES-345 Collector’s Edition was crafted by Gibson Custom and is limited to just 88 guitars worldwide — a nod to The Time Machine from the film — and features a Cherry Red finish with exclusive design details. The cheaper Epiphone Back to the Future ES-345 is limited to 1,985 guitars globally. Gibson also rolled out exclusive Back to the Future merch and accessories.
The Gibson model retails for a stout $19,999, whereas the Epiphone sets you back $999. As of this article, both were already sold out on Gibson’s website, though you can look for available models on Reverb.
“Bringing this guitar to life has been a passion project for many years, and it’s incredibly exciting to finally see it become a reality,” said brand director Mark Agnesi of the Gibson 1955 ES-345 Collector’s Edition in a press release. “We couldn’t be prouder of how these guitars turned out—they’re truly special. This is the guitar that inspired me, and countless others from my generation, to pick up playing in the first place.”
The Gibson was built with a thinline, three-ply ES body of maple-poplar-maple and a solid maple centerblock for enhanced sustain and reduced feedback. The mahogany neck, joined with hide glue and featuring a long tenon, sports a 1961 Authentic Thin D-Shape profile and a bound rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets. True to the original guitar’s rare design, it includes a single parallelogram inlay at the 12th fret — a detail unique to the original guitar that was used in Back to the Future.
Electronically, the pair of unpotted Gibson Custombucker pickups feature alnico 3 magnets and each is hand-wired to individual volume and tone controls using CTS potentiometers and paper-in-oil capacitors. A mono Varitone switch adds further tonal flexibility, while aged gold hardware and a Bigsby B7 vibrato tailpiece complete the upscale ES-345 aesthetic. Lastly, the guitar was lightly aged using Murphy Lab’s process, giving the instrument a worn-in look.
As for the original ES-345 played by Michael J. Fox in the film, the legendary guitar and film prop remains missing.
This past summer, Gibson and Fox launched a global “Lost to the Future” search for the original, which disappeared before the filming of the sequel, Back to the Future Part II. Fans worldwide have been submitting tips at this website, and after thousands of submissions, Gibson has narrowed the search and is actively pursuing a handful of promising leads to locate and authenticate the famous guitar.
You can see the new ES-345 models in the promo video and photo gallery below.
