The iconic *Back to the Future* dance scene wouldn’t be the same without Marvin Berry and the Starlighters — and especially without Marty McFly’s famous Gibson ES-345. Buckle up… the guitar is back! Well, almost!

It’s probably one of the most famous guitars in cinema history. Who doesn’t marvel at the moment Marty grabs a Gibson ES-345 to ignite the dance and steal the spotlight from the band? With it, he plays Johnny B. Goode, inspiring generations of musicians and captivating hundreds of thousands of viewers. Though it has survived the years on screen without losing any of its magic, the guitar was lost after filming, prompting a massive international search (still ongoing!) to track it down. Can it take us back to that famous 1955 dance, like the DeLorean? We’ll have to find it to know!

The guitar was originally rented from Norman’s Rare Guitars in Los Angeles in 1985 for the film, then vanished. Its trail was lost, but its place in the imagination of fans remains. Alongside this hunt, Gibson paid tribute to this legendary instrument with two limited editions — both available at Matt’s Guitar Shop.

The first, Back to the Future 1955 ES-345 Collector’s Edition, is the more precious of the two. Limited to 88 pieces worldwide, a nod to the 88 miles per hour the DeLorean needed to travel through time, this guitar comes with goodies for superfans (newspaper clippings, dance posters, even a flux capacitor…) and faithfully reproduces a vintage ES. The second, an Epiphone version, is limited to 1,985 pieces in reference to the film’s release year but impresses with its quality.

Both guitars preserve a key detail (the anomaly!) from the original: the solid twelfth-fret inlay, unlike the cracked ones of the period — not typical for ES-345s of that era; the dance band case inscription; and a gold plate on the back of the headstock featuring the Hill Valley Music logo. A tribute edition that delights cinephiles and guitar enthusiasts worldwide! Great Scott, it’s time to play — your kids will love it!