can you help with explorer id?

[civicstar98]

hey Gibson people i hope i'm in the right place for the help i need

i recently picked up this guitar seems to be an explorer but im not sure

if its a Gibson or epiphone or some other brand with a similar shape

and style.

i picked this bad boy up for 75 dollars with its case. i was told it was the

original case. it needs new pickups but it still seems like a good deal.

so ill post a few pictures and see what you guys can help me with.

 

 

is the truss rod cover and although it says Gibson the writing doesn't see as sharp as the Gibson

logo is typically written. and the shape is odd to me cause when i search for one like it the only one i find

is the E2 explorer that has the same truss cover.

 

 

the head doesn't say Gibson or anything it is just black but each tuning machine has gibson

inscribed into the metal very cleanly

 

 

 

then i've heard debate is it two volumes and a tone or one volume and two tone knobs?

also it has a pick guard and the switch is in the pick guard.

so any info that could help me with this would be rad?

 

and this is one of my other ladies an epiphone

 

[Laaz]

I would say you have a Japanese made clone.

 

The E2's that had the binding were either Tobacco or Cherry burst with a few naturals, but the naturals had the creme binding. Truss rod cover of the E2 which is similar to yours did not have Gibson engraved in it. That brige looks like one of the old Ibanez bridges.

 

There were Maple / Walnut E2's as well, but they had contoured bodies & no binding.

 

Any serial number on the back of the headstock ?

 

All explorers from the factory had two volume & one tone knob. Top knob = neck volume Middle knob = bridge volume lower knob = tone.

[lowb5str]

Is there any writing or stamping inside the pickup routs?

 

What does the back of the head look like?

 

In the '80's (?) Gibson DID put the name on trussrod covers.

 

It could be an Ibby Destroyer.

[Dub-T-123]

I'm not an Explorer expert but that looks fake to me.

[Laaz]

In the '80's (?) Gibson DID put the name on trussrod covers.

 

No the E2 never had "Gibson" engraved on the truss rod cover.

 

With that big knot in the center of the wood, I would go with mid 70's Ibanez or Greco. I have yet to see Gibson issue a guitar with a big knot in the center of the body.

[civicstar98]

ive searched for a serial number but i have not found one on the back of the head either printed or stamped.

 

 

 

here a couple more pictures the one pickup it came with and under the pick guard. the pick up

each pin looks like an small alan wrench could fit in it. since we have established its not a Gibson

id still like to try to find out more none the less

[lowb5str]

No the E2 never had "Gibson" engraved on the truss rod cover.

 

With that big knot in the center of the wood' date=' I would go with mid 70's Ibanez or Greco. I have yet to see Gibson issue a guitar with a big knot in the center of the body.[/quote']

 

Not sure the E2 was the only axe. Gibson made a few V's, too. The engraving is most likely to be by a previous owner.

And what I said was that "Gibson" appeared on the cover from the factory, but in different words. Versions I have seen had it almost printed.

 

A Greco is another good idea.

 

Do we have any votes for a stripped e/2 yet?

[Laaz]

Not a chance it is a Gibson. The body route is a dead giveaway as well.

 

E2 body route

 

[civicstar98]

Ok i looked up the grecos and it look a little more similar to what i have with the design and

other features. do any of you die hard Gibson fans happen to have one and you have a picture

of the rputing under the pick guard to show to see if it matches mine?

thank you laaz if i fine a good deal ill try to add a real Gibson to my collection

[lowb5str]

I think we can now be sure it isn't an e/2. That rout shown in Laaz's pic near the switch allows for more than just a simple 3-way toggle! Huge!

 

Now the question is: what did pre-e/2 routs look like?

 

My hunch would now point to an Ibanez. The truss rod cover could have been purchased anywhere and added.That pickup looks like an Ibanez/DiMarzio type.

[Laaz]

FujiGen Gakki made both the Ibanez & Greco guitars back in the day. They were pretty much the same guitar. I had a 77 Ibanez Destroyer back in the mid 80's, but don't really remember a lot about it other than it was a good quality guitar. The Ibanez & Greco serial numbers first showed up in mid 76 so if it was manufactured before that it would not have a serial number. Both used a letter first for month and the 2nd and 3rd digits were the year of manufacture B77 would = Feb 1977. Neither had binding, nor did pre E2 Explorers.

[civicstar98]

now i'm looking at the ibanez ones too. still looks pretty cool. and im so close to finding it out

just looking at bodies now

[civicstar98]

also the case it came is is supposed to be its original case and it is a brown

hard case with like white wool looking insides you can see it in the above pictures if that helps

and trying to figure out the year

[e/2 Explorer]

If that's an ebony board, it's no Ibanez. That TRC is the same shape as an e/2 but that logo is fake as hell

 

The newer Gibson cases have the white interior so I highly doubt it's the original case

[lowb5str]

I've seen Ibanez cases looking like Fender cases from the outside, and that might bee what you ave for a case.

 

Check over on Ibanezrules.com (sp?) for more lore, I think. Also, you can ask on the Ibanez forums about pre-lawsuit stuff like the Destroyer.

 

Laaz, do you remember the year the lawsuit started?

[e/2 Explorer]

I never saw a lawsuit Ibanez with binding, I had a '77 and a '78. That pup looks like a Dimarzio

 

Tuners on the Ibanez lawsuits either had star backs or were plain with no manufaturer logos. The early Destroyers had no serial number, towards the end of production, they had numbers