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Three pickup 1958 Explorer at Elderly with video

Arch D. Bunker

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXLkAwLW2HA&feature=youtu.be

Posting this link again, in order not to derail the '58-63 explorer serial number thread.

The only real rare part on the Elderly guitar seems to be the cut off six in line Kluson tuner strip (if this has the right tuner hole spacing..). Apparently these clipped off tuners used on the 1963 Explorers have a different spacing than other six in line Klusons with plastic buttons used on early 1960s Epiphone and Gibson models (at least that's what Tom Bartlett says, who was looking for a set).

If this actually came out of Kalamazoo in the early sixties (with nickel hardware), why the '58 pots? There's more, but I leave that to the illuminati.

(BTW: I greatly respect the Elderly folks and I am a big fan of Stan W., but authenticating 50s Gibson korina stuff is a minefield. Regardless of who made this, it's one heck of a cool guitar!)
 

F-Hole

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Sep 2, 2015
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The only real rare part on the Elderly guitar seems to be the cut off six in line Kluson tuner strip (if this has the right tuner hole spacing..). Apparently these clipped off tuners used on the 1963 Explorers have a different spacing than other six in line Klusons with plastic buttons used on early 1960s Epiphone and Gibson models (at least that's what Tom Bartlett says, who was looking for a set).

Indeed they are, I have a worn set that came with a small job-lot box of parts I bought years ago (bought the job-lot for some spare 62 Strat tuners). I didn't know what they were for a long time. I'm quite tempted to destroy them, as they'll only ever be used for one thing.

If the guitar is real, it's a shame it's been so heavily modded.

Disclaimer: I wouldn't recognise a real Korina guitar if it bit me.
 

deytookerjaabs

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At least the 2nd or 3rd time I've seen a guitar the owner said went to the factory for pickup mod and they hacked it out like that.
 

Luke Gibson

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The hacked out pickup route is puzzling to me. Would Gibson do this quality of work? It's a very amateur job at best.... Anything is possible I guess but I find it a little hard to believe.... I'm not chiming in on the authenticity of this guitar, I will leave that up to others more knowledgeable. Still very cool video to watch!
 

Arch D. Bunker

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The hacked out pickup route is puzzling to me. Would Gibson do this quality of work? It's a very amateur job at best....

Or the proverbial red herring...? :hee

Guitar looks kind of like the Skinner Explorer (8 4548, 10 numbers away) - bigsby and custom plaque, plastic button tuners. But no period black/yellow Gibson case, or the back toggle switch routing as on the Skinner. The Elderly serial # looks sloppier than the Skinner's:
serialnumber84548small.jpg


Another shot of the Skinner:
G2small.jpg


Now where is the korina brigade when you need those peeps?
 

deytookerjaabs

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The hacked out pickup route is puzzling to me. Would Gibson do this quality of work? It's a very amateur job at best.... Anything is possible I guess but I find it a little hard to believe.... I'm not chiming in on the authenticity of this guitar, I will leave that up to others more knowledgeable. Still very cool video to watch!


The explanation I got was there was usually just one or two guys at the warranty/repair bench and it was on a separate wing/floor from the main production rough wood lines. Most "repairs" were usually refins and the repair area was pretty much just full of hand tools thus they improvised a lot. The tech I used to work with in Chicago was a bit of Gibby historian & visited Kalamazoo frequently, she used to see sloppy mods to stuff and joke "well that's about what Gibson would have done in the 50's" Walter Carter mentioned the "Hank Garland" mod to me in regards to my Sheraton in that around that time people would send a guitar back to have a Charlie Christian pickup put in, they would just chisel the route a little bit wider.
 

F-Hole

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The hacked out pickup route is puzzling to me. Would Gibson do this quality of work? It's a very amateur job at best....

Take a look at the cut through from the bridge route to the treble side on the first rack 345's from '59. It looks like somebody used a cold chisel. Very similar to this Exlorer.
 

Luke Gibson

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Take a look at the cut through from the bridge route to the treble side on the first rack 345's from '59. It looks like somebody used a cold chisel. Very similar to this Exlorer.

Thanks! I don't doubt it's possible it just appears amateur.... Do you have any pics of what you're referring to, would like to see?
 
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