1976 Gibson Explorer Guitar
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GUEST:
Well, this was, uh, my brother's guitar. My brother took part in local community theater, and he would also perform in a band sometimes.
APPRAISER:
Ah.
GUEST:
And he's also a guitar collector. So he passed away about ten years ago.
APPRAISER:
Ah, I'm sorry.
GUEST:
And I was, uh, lucky enough to, to get this one.
APPRAISER:
Well, do you, uh, know what this model is?
GUEST:
Yeah, a Gibson Explorer limited edition. And, um...
APPRAISER:
And this is the 1976, '76... Is when this was made.
GUEST:
Oh, '76, oh, okay. He must have bought it fairly quickly...
APPRAISER:
You think he bought it new?
GUEST:
I thought he... Yeah, I think he bought it, must have bought it new.
APPRAISER:
The original Explorers were made in 1958 and '59, and they were kind of a, a dud. They were made out of Korina wood. This is mahogany, made basically as a reproduction of the original Explorer. Now, Gibson has just done this again, and made a, a reissue of the original Explorer in Korina wood.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Made like the old ones.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
I think a lot of people were turned off by the shape in the '50s, but then, since then, have be, become a very collectible guitar. The original ones are well over half-million, up to a million.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Um...
GUEST:
Yeah, I do like the tone on that.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, these sound great. This is in pretty good shape overall. It has some normal gold wear, which is not unusual, and it's got some pitting, but... And you can't clean this with any solvents. The best way to clean these is saliva.
GUEST:
Oh, okay. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
Just enough acid to break down the oxidation without damaging the plating.
GUEST:
Oh, that's good to know.
APPRAISER:
It's a sought-after year for the Explorer, because of '76, when they came back, was kind of the first time. So retail is probably in the $3,000 to $4,000-ish range.
GUEST:
Okay, that sounds good.
APPRAISER:
So... Yeah, it's, I mean, it's pretty cool, and I suspect it will go up from there.
GUEST:
Well, that's good to know. (chuckles)
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