That's not an Explorer III. They had three P90 pickups. Looks to be a regular production Explorer from '85. It has a Gibson stamped Kahler tremolo and an after the nut string lock. Looks like the bridge pickup is a newer Dirty Fingers pickup though. Mahogany body, maple neck I believe. Ebony fretboard. Originally it had black speed knobs on it, but looks to have metal dome knobs. More photos of the back of the neck pickup and inside the cavity cover would be helpful.
I agree with deadringer. It's certainly not an Explorer III for the lack of P90s, and not a Explorer 425 from that same year since those had a HSS configuration. As to the spec, deadringer seems to be pretty much on the money with that - perhaps save for the Kahler being a Gibson stamped one, since the flat-mounts of the era were straight on Kahler Flyers. In terms of the sale value, depending on the state of lacquer, abundance of dents and dings, I'd say somewhere between USD 450 - 700.
Any way you slice it, it's a great guitar - the Flyer is easily replaceable with a modern Kahler Hybrid and all you need to do then is to stick a locknut (NOT after-the-nut stringlock) on it, and Bob's yer uncle.
Question about my 85'er Kahler Explorer
in Gibson USA
Posted
I agree with deadringer. It's certainly not an Explorer III for the lack of P90s, and not a Explorer 425 from that same year since those had a HSS configuration. As to the spec, deadringer seems to be pretty much on the money with that - perhaps save for the Kahler being a Gibson stamped one, since the flat-mounts of the era were straight on Kahler Flyers. In terms of the sale value, depending on the state of lacquer, abundance of dents and dings, I'd say somewhere between USD 450 - 700.
Any way you slice it, it's a great guitar - the Flyer is easily replaceable with a modern Kahler Hybrid and all you need to do then is to stick a locknut (NOT after-the-nut stringlock) on it, and Bob's yer uncle.![[thumbup]](//content.invisioncic.com/p286412/emoticons/default_msp_thumbup.gif)