Metallica fans have been asking for it for quite some time, but if a recent post from Cesar Gueikian is anything to go by, it looks as though there’s a fairly strong chance we might see some James Hetfield Gibson signature guitars very soon.
The firm’s CEO has a solid track record of teasing upcoming releases – from Murphy Lab acoustics to the Gibson Victory model – and it looks as though he’s back to his old tricks once again, having posted a new photo that sees him putting the finishing touches to a Custom Shop Explorer.
It doesn’t seem to be just any Explorer, though. Instead, the all-white, pickguard-less 1980s-flavored model looks to be something of a dead-ringer for Hetfield’s famed 1984 Explorer, with Gueikian’s ‘Do Epic Shit’ tagline delicately embossed on the body.
Those familiar with Hetfield’s Explorer will no doubt see the connection here: Hetfield’s own model has ‘So What’ scribbled in a similar position on the body in equally flourished handwriting.
And, with Gueikian further teasing that this particular custom creation (dubbed CEO2) is “almost ready and will be going to a special friend”, it seems safe to assume Hetfield will indeed be the lucky recipient of this Explorer.
Sure, there are some differences between CEO2 and the ‘So What’ Explorer – the inlays aren’t dots, for example, and the pickups don’t look like EMGs – but they can all be explained by the fact this is clearly a Custom Shop creation.
To add fuel to the hype fire, Gueikian has been actively engaging with comments that have suggested the CEO2 could be linked to Hetfield.
He’s liked a stream of comments that all acknowledge the Hetfield link, including ones that read, ‘Gotta be Papa Het,’ ‘I’ll pick this up in May when I’m down for the Metallica show,’ ‘James is gonna be so happy for hos [sic] Christmas present,’ and (perhaps the biggest giveaway of them all), ‘Is your special friend named James?’
So, it looks like CEO2 will most definitely be making its way to Hetfield, but what could that mean for the average ’Tallica fan hoping to get their hands on a Hefield Explorer?
Well, the signs suggest Hetfield and Gibson are very friendly indeed. In fact, the Metallica frontman’s fondness of Gibson is well documented: he owns a whopping five 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard ’Bursts, and a further four Golden Era Gibsons, including both a ’58 Korina Flying V and Explorer.
As such, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the two parties are working closely together behind the scenes on some upcoming guitars, and CEO2 is merely a statement creation to tie the proverbial knot of the new partnership.
It also helps that his bandmate, Kirk Hammett, is already an established signature artist for the firm, with a handful of signature Gibsons to his name – including replicas of his Greeny, 1979 Flying V and 1989 Les Paul Custom.
And, for even more evidence of the Metallica link, Gibson recently revived the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ – the amp that was famously used by Hetfield and Hammett on Master of Puppets – for the first time since its launch.
Coincidence? Maybe. At the end of the day, CEO2 could just be a nice gift from Gibson, but we can’t help but feel there’s slightly more to the story here.
Whatever the case, Gueikian has teased, “Reveal coming soon,” so hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for all this speculation to be put to bed.
Head over to Cesar Gueikian’s Instagram account for more unofficial updates.
