1983 GIBSON KORINA EXPLORER

A beautiful and rare 1983 Gibson Korina Explorer produced by the Custom Shop, in very good condition, both preserved and playable.

This is a superb example reflecting the characteristics of one of the iconic models produced by Gibson in the late 1950s, which still enjoys a cult following among vintage guitar enthusiasts today. In 1956, Gibson faced a major challenge: the thunderous arrival of its Californian competitor Fender on the solidbody guitar market at the beginning of the decade, and its introduction in 1954 of the Stratocaster, which would revolutionize the very concept of the electric guitar for the general public. Compared to this innovative design, Gibson models seemed tired to many and were mocked by the younger generation of musicians. For Ted McCarty, president of Gibson, it had become essential to rethink the solid-body offering in light of changing tastes and, above all, the entry of American society into the modern times, in the era of color television and the conquest of space. It was this adventure that is said to have inspired the name Explorer: when it was presented at the 1957 NAMM show, it still bore its initial designation, Futura, assigned during the prototype phase. A few months later, the USSR successfully launched the Sputnik 1 probe, and the United States responded with the launch of the satellite into orbit on February 1, 1958 named… Explorer 1 – Gibson made no mistake about seizing the name to endow its new model, whose shape was reminiscent of a spacecraft, with a modernist aura.

The Explorer being a high-end model, sold in 1958 for the same price as a Les Paul Standard, it is naturally equipped with a pair of humbucker pickups with a dedicated volume for each pickup and a master tone control; the hardware is gold-plated; the body and neck are made of a special wood, Korina – this species from West Africa was already used by Gibson earlier in the 1950s for the construction of Hawaiian electric models (the double-neck Consolette and the Skylark lapsteel) – chosen for its mahogany-like qualities and for the beautiful golden amber finish after application of the nitrocellulose varnish. Despite all the efforts made by Gibson, the Explorer and its sister model the Flying V were only to make a brief appearance in the catalog – they only were listed in 1958 and 1959 before being withdrawn due to the lack of orders from dealers: factory records show 98 Flying Vs and 22 Explorers shipped during these two years. It seems that McCarty and his team were too visionary and the Modernistic series too far ahead of its time; it would take two decades for these models to truly gain popularity among guitarists, to the point that in the collective imagination, several musical styles that emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s are visually linked to the shapes of the Explorer or the Flying V.

Faced with this phenomenon, Gibson temporarily reintroduced replicas of the original models: between 1982 and 1984, a brief series of Korina Explorer was produced, like the model shown here. This guitar remains in very good condition, complete with all its original main parts: Korina body and neck, Natural finish; rosewood fingerboard; original pair of humbucking pickups stamped with the Patent Number and dated December 1982—these are the famous Tim Shaw pickups; original wiring and electronics; note the re-soldering on the cable from the pickup selector switch. Original hardware, including the Gibson tuners, Tune-o-Matic bridge, potentiometer knobs, and pickguard (interestingly, this is the only difference from the original model, which featured a white plastic pickguard). There are some signs of wear and chips to the varnish, but no major repairs. We have thoroughly adjusted this instrument to ensure its perfect playability: fret levelling, crowning and polishing; neck adjustment; action and intonation adjustment at the nut and bridge; and electronics cleaning and adjustment. Sold in perfect playable condition, with low action and accurate intonation.

In its original rectangular case, accompanied by the owner’s manual and Gibson warranty card (obviously expired after 42 years).