The Edge’s 1972 Explorer. A failed guitar that made U2 huge.

The Edge’s stage-played 1972 Explorer brought in $90,625 at Julien’s Auction.

If you’ve seen U2, you’ve seen the Edge’s Explorer. To be specific his 1976 Limited Edition Gibson Explorer.

The year is important, because this is when Gibson re-introduced the model to the public after a flop of a launch. In 1958, Gibson released two futuristic models: the Flying V and the Explorer. Both guitars from the launch are now some of the most expensive vintage guitars in the world.

The Gibson Explorer and Flying V where ahead of their time.

Gibson produced very few of each model. It is believed that only 50 Explorers were produced during the model’s first incarnation. It wasn’t until the 70s, when guitarists like Lynard Skynard’s Allen Collins started to plug them in, that Gibson decided to give the design a second go.

The story behind how the Edge bought his first Explorer is remarkably similar to how the Kink’s Dave Davis picked up his Flying V. Davis walked into a Manhattan music store with the intention of leaving with a Les Paul.

In 1978, Dave Evans was visiting New York City with his parents when the Irish teenager walk into Stuyvesant Music. The Edge recalls that he probably had a Les Paul in mind, but he left with the little known Explorer.

With punk morphing into the new angular sounding New Wave, it’s hard to imagine a better guitar for a guitarist in ’78. And, hello, body called himself the Edge, so of course he’d forgo the curves of a Les Paul.

Today it’s hard to image U2 without the Edge’s Explorer. He has used it on many of their first recordings and the guitar’s unique sound has as much to do with U2’s chime as Bono’s vox.

The original Explorer he bought that day in NYC sold for $240,000.

In 2008, the guitarist donated the hefty proceeds from an auction to Music Rising, a foundation he co-founded to help musicians in the New Orleans area affected by Hurricane Katrina. When you think about the sentimental value this axe must have had for the musician, it’s enough to forgive him for spamming our iTunes accounts.

10 years later, another of the Edge’s Explorers was auctioned off. I know, you’re saying how many of these things does Mr. Rock Star have? Are they any rarer to him than red Smarties?  I may not forgive spamming my iTunes after all.

But this is a 1976 Gibson Explorer. They are rarer than a street with no name. Love it or hate it, these models were put together like no other. An important distinction is the wider necks.

The guitar was expected to get between $60,000 and $80,000. On 11/09/2018 the Edge’s stage-played 1976 Gibson Explorer was bought for $90,625.