Steve_Karl said:
Weren't the original Gibson Explorers made of korina?
There were actually several different incarnations of Explorers that were korina...
Gibson Explorer Guitar ( 1958 - 1963 )
The gibson explorer was introduced in 1958 , the guitar was designed to look futuristic ,it had a symmetrical shaped solid
korina wood body , 22 fret unbound rosewood fingerboard , two humbuckers , ink stamped serial numbers , gold plated metal parts, 4 ply white plastic pick guard and were made in natural finish .
In 1958 the gibson explorer met with little success , due to the low demand gibson ended production in 1959 , however they still sold overstocked korina explorer bodies during the early 60s with nickel plated parts .
Gibson Explorer ( Mahogany Body ) ( 1976 to 1982 )
From 1976 to 1982 gibson reissued several explorer guitars that had mahogany bodies , two humbuckers , gold plated hardware , pearl logos, white pickguards and were in natural , white or black finishes .
Gibson Explorer II ( 1979 - 1983 )
The Gibson Explorer II guitar had a five piece maple and walnut laminate body , ebony fingerboard with dot inlays , 2 humbing pickups with gold plated hardware , tp-6 tailpiece , beveled body edges and came in natural finishes .
Gibson Explorer guitars started gaining popularity in the early 80s and more through the 90s when rock stars and bands such as kiss , metallica , scorpions and many more were endorsing them .
Gibson Explorer CMT (1981 to 1984 )
The gibson explorer CMT had a bound curly maple top body , 2 dirty finger humbucking pickups with exposed coils , 3 knobs in a straight line , 3 way selector switch , ebony fingerboard , gold plated hardware , and were available in sunburst , cherry sunburst , and natural finishes . Introduced in 1981 and discontinued in 1884 .
Gibson Explorer Korina ( 1982 - 1984 )
The gibson korina is very similar to the original 1958 gibson explorer model and is highly collectible , the guitar had gold knobs , nashville tune o matic bridge , korina body and neck , 2 humbuckers , 8 digit serial numbers and were available in candy apple red , natural or ivory finishes .
Gibson Explorer 83 ( 1983 to 1989 )
In 1983 gibson introduced a gibson explorer that had an alder body and was referred to as the gibson explorer 83 . The Guitar had 2 humbuckers , maple neck , ebony fingerboard , 22 fret dot inlays , triangular knob patterns and chrome plated hardware . Discontinued in 1989 .
Gibson Heritage Series ( 1983 - 1984 )
In 1983 gibson also made a reissue of the original 1958 gibson explorer with a korina body , the guitar had gold hardware and only a 100 were made ,they called it the gibson heritage series . ( highly collectible )
Gibson Explorer III ( 1984 To 1985 )
The gibson explorer III had 2 p-90 pickups , 2 knobs , 2 selector switches , maple neck , rosewood fingerboards , chrome plated hardware, locking nut vibrato system optional , and were made in red white or camouflage finishes . They also made some explorer III models with black hardware and kahler vibrato systems in 1985 .
Gibson Explorer 90 Double ( 1989 to 1990 )
In 1989 to 1990 gibson also introduced the Gibson explorer 90 , the guitar had a mahogany body and neck , it had 1 single coil and 1 humbucker , strings ran through the body , and chrome hardware .
( Gibson also made the Gibson explorer 90 guitar in 1988 , it had 1 humbucker and didnt last very long on the market ) these guitars were made in white , ebony , or silver finishes .
Gibson Explorer Reissue '76 ( 1990 to present )
The gibson explorer reissue was introduced in 1990 and renamed the gibson explorer '76 in 1991 , it has a mahogany body and neck , rosewood fingerboard , dot inlays , 2 humbuckers, and chrome plated hardware . Still in production in various colors ( cherry , sunburst ,white and natural finishes )
arty07:
