Gibson has recruited the services of the investigative journalists who found Paul McCartney’s missing Höfner Violin bass guitar, as the search continues for the lost ES-345 that Michael J Fox played as Marty McFly in Back To The Future.
Speaking on the GibsonTV YouTube channel, Gibson’s director of brand experience, Mark Agnesi, issued an update, admitting that despite thousands of tips submitted by the public, the trail was still cold.
The electric guitar has been AWOL since filming on Robert Zemeckis’ sci-fi blockbuster wrapped in 1985, and now the journalists behind the Lost Bass Project have joint the hunt.
“Thank you again for all the submissions coming in,” said Agnesi. “ It has been hard to keep up with so hard that we’ve actually had to bring in some help. We’re very, very excited about this. We’ve brought in Scott and Naomi Jones, two investigative journalists – you may know them from the Lost Bass Project.
“They helped find Paul McCartney’s bass that was missing since 1972, back in 2024. They are officially on our investigative team right now. They are helping us sort through all of these tips, so if you have any tips – if you’ve seen it – please keep submitting those to Lost To The Future.”
Agnesi at least knows where we won’t find the ES-345. Norman’s Rare Guitars, where the was purchased from, absolutely does not have it. Agnesi joined Gibson from Norm’s in 2019. He knows all the people there. He says every guitar case has been opened.
What is more than possible is that the McFly ES-345 could be in someone’s possession and they might not even know they have it.
“If you have guitars in your house – your parents played, your grandparents played, your grandmother played guitar back in the [day]. You’ve got guitars around the neighbourhood, whatever. Open those cases up and take a look, even if you don’t know what you’re looking at,” said Agnesi. “Open the cases, take a picture, send us the pictures and info.”
Gibson still can’t say for sure which year this ES-345 is. The serial number is another part of the puzzle that is yet to be solved. But Agnesi says it is either a 1960 or 1961 model.
The most important detail is the anomalous inlay at the 12th fret. Where your typical ES-345 has split parallelogram MOP inlays, for some reason this one has a solid parallelogram at the 12th. That should rule out most suspects.
Can the Lost Bass Project find it? They have the pedigree. Scott Jones has worked at the Telegraph, the Mail and the BBC. Naomi Jones is a researcher who has worked for the BBC and Channel 4. And the Joneses are one for one as far as success rates go.
Paul McCartney’s 500/1 Violin bass, which you can hear on Love Me Do, She Loves You and I Wanna Hold Your Hand etc, went missing in 1972 after it was stolen in from the back of a van following the London sessions for Get Back/Let It Be.
It was eventually found in an attic in Sussex in September 2023. McCartney was reunited with it in December 2023 and consummated this long-awaited reunion by playing the 1961 Höfner on the final date of his Got Back 2024 Tour at London’s O2 Arena.
“We’ve been looking for it for 50 years, well, I got it back!” McCartney told the crowd. “And here to make its first stage appearance in 50 years... is my original bass! I haven’t played it in 50 years.”
Gibson’s Lost To The Future project wants to do something similar, reuniting Michael J Fox with the guitar he played in the movie. They've even got the likes of Jason Isbell on the case.
“To whoever has the guitar out there, if you are watching, we’re not expecting anyone to give this thing back to us,” said Agnesi. “All we’re trying to do is locate this so we can reunite this guitar with Michael J Fox.”
If you’ve seen a Cherry Red ES-345 from the early ‘60s with a solid inlay at the 12th fret, submit a tip at Lost To The Future.
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