❌SOLD❌ Gibson Explorer Koa Natural, 2004

By the late 1950’s Gibson head Ted McCarty was looking for futuristic, fresh new designs, and in 1958 the radically different Gibson Explorer, Flying V and supremely rare Moderne made appearances. None were successful at the time – fewer than 50 Explorers were built over a few years and the Moderne didn’t make it past prototype. Both the Explorer and Flying V were officially discontinued in 1959.

Since then, of course, things have changed and the Explorer and Flying V are mainstays of the rock genre. Both guitars have been re-issued and revamped a number of times and are quite popular, but the Moderne’s reissue in the early 1980’s sold poorly.

This is a Gibson Explorer dating to July 11, 2004 and built at the Gibson Nashville plant. The Explorer’s construction is very simple, with a solid body, set mahogany neck, and rosewood fingerboard. The wiring is simplified, a pair of humbucking pickups with individual volume controls, a selector switch, and a master tone control. Add gold plated tuners, tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece, strap pins and a pickguard and you’re done!

The original Explorers and Flying V’s were made of Korina, an African wood more properly known as Limba, either ‘White’ or ‘Black’ depending on its colouring. Unfortunately, Limba is difficult to source in usable sizes, tends to crack during curing and is susceptible to fungal and bacterial staining during its growth. Consequently, traditional Mahogany or Koa is often used – and on the 2004 Explorer release, it’s Koa, with a Mahogany neck and Rosewood fingerboard.

This guitar is in overall good condition with just minor wear, and it plays very nicely. The design is surprisingly comfortable, and the neck profile is slimmer than the 1950’s style. I quite like this guitar. The original hard shell rectangular case is included.