Gibby price-check

[Thundernotes]

'84 Explorer -

in white that has been smoke-ambered nicely

lots of finish checking

several chips down to the wood (a real relic)

ebony board, not much fretwear at all

no neck issues

original plush case with lock mechanism knocked out of it

sounds and plays nice - light as a feather (alder wood?)

Does $950 seem high for that condition? I know these days I can get a used Hamer Standard for under 1500 in some cases, so I wonder......... not really in the market, but I'd grab the right deal.

I know nothing about G******* guitars, so I thought I'd ask. Ebay is all over the map for prices on these guitars

[Turdus]

Take a look at the headstock logo.... is it a decal, or inlay? I seem to recall some Explorers, from the 80's, using decals. Maybe it was a cost cutting measure.. don't know for sure. Somewhere in the late 80's I believe they went back to a Gibson inlay on the Explorer. I recall a couple buddies stating that Gibson quality improved around that time. Was there a change in ownership around this time?

Anyway.... $950 seems high to me. I just unloaded a mint condition 2005, with case, for $800. Personally, I would not go over 8 bills on one, unless it's from the 70's. Any more than that, and I think you'll lose some $$ if you want to sell it.

[Rocktuna]

Sounds high for a Norlin era Explorer

Esp. if your buying to potentially sell.

I was going to say $800.00 max, mid 7's would be better.

The relic thing doesn't increase the value unless it's man made. (silly huh)

[Hackubus]

I agree, $800 tops.

[sledhead44]

$900 is too high especially for ebay and in this economy. I've recently seen a few Gibson Explorers go for $650 range on ebay. These were all made in the 2000's not 1984's though.

Check GC Used stuff, they have a bunch of explorers under that price. There's a '84 Black Designer Series w/ Kahler for $679.99 if your at all interested.

[Thundernotes]

It is a decal logo, and "SEC" stamped on the back of the headstock, so it's a factory second, I assume?

[veatch]

It is a decal logo, and "SEC" stamped on the back of the headstock, so it's a factory second, I assume?

I had a V '83 that was a second, it had "2" stamped on the headstock by the serial number. (above or below, can't remember which...)

That being said, i would assume SEC would be a second.

[sledhead44]

I heard that Gibson NEVER sent out seconds. I don't know if that's true. I have only ever seen one Gibson Les Paul with a SEC on it so I thought it was a fake. I have never seen and Explorer with SEC on it. If this has SEC and a decal logo it could very well be a fake too. I am not 100% sure on this you can all prove me wrong, but this guitar being a "Second" and overpriced, I would stay away.

[Jeff R]

Gibson apparently stamped and distributed seconds during the Norlin era because I've come in contact with two. Both were stamped "second" on the back of the headstock.

Both were Les Paul Standards with minor finish issues. One in particular was probably one of the best playing and sounding Norlin LPs I've ever touched.

[cmatthes]

I heard that Gibson NEVER sent out seconds. I don't know if that's true. I have only ever seen one Gibson Les Paul with a SEC on it so I thought it was a fake. I have never seen and Explorer with SEC on it. If this has SEC and a decal logo it could very well be a fake too. I am not 100% sure on this you can all prove me wrong, but this guitar being a "Second" and overpriced, I would stay away.

Not true at all. I've owned two "Second" Les Pauls - an '81 Custom and a '78 Deluxe. Both were FLAWLESS to my eyes, and the '78 was one of the top five best-playing Les Pauls I've ever encountered.

If the guitar is an '84, it is probably the beveled body design (yuck!) with no pickguard and the triangulated control layout. If so, that's not a good deal - in my opinion, those are crap Explorers.

If it is the standard (ha ha!) model with a pickguard, inlaid logo, 3-in-line controls, and otherwise looks like a vintage '50s or '70s issue, that IS a good deal. Those are great guitars, but I haven't seen more than one or two made as late as '84 in that configuration.

[Thundernotes]

It has the triangle control layout (with a flimsy plastic cover on the back) and no pickguard, but no beveled body. This confirms what I thought - they have it priced based on the wrong reference maybe thinking all explorers are the same. Still, for the right price, it's an awesome sounding guitar. Looks like they're $350 too high, especially in this market.

[Turdus]

Gibson did sell seconds in the 70's. I bought my first LP, brand new, in the 70's. It was a 2nd, and was priced about $100 less as a result. I paid about $400 for it. Non 2nd's were selling for around $500 to $550... Deluxes and Standards that is.

[tommy p]

The black Les Paul with chrome hardware John Sykes plays is a second. A friend of mine also had one that the place he got it from called a "finish flaw" second and we looked everywhere in every kind of light trying to figure out why and couldn't.

[cmatthes]

Gibson did sell seconds in the 70's. I bought my first LP, brand new, in the 70's. It was a 2nd, and was priced about $100 less as a result. I paid about $400 for it. Non 2nd's were selling for around $500 to $550... Deluxes and Standards that is.

My LPC that was a second was $629 new off the rack. The non-seconds were $689, hanging right next to it back in 1981-82.

The same dealer also had 3 25/50 LPs - two were priced at $1,250, the third was priced at $1,175. It was stamped "Second" under the serial number as well. The fact that they sold seconds out of that run has always told me that Gibson/Norlin just stamped them to move or liquidate inventory below normal prices.

[sledhead44]

Not to steal the thread, but thanks for verifying that there are some "Second" stamped Gibsons out there. I know I read it somewhere that Gibson never did that, but if I see one in the future I won't immediately dismiss it.

[kurtsstuff]

I heard that Gibson NEVER sent out seconds. I don't know if that's true. I have only ever seen one Gibson Les Paul with a SEC on it so I thought it was a fake. I have never seen and Explorer with SEC on it. If this has SEC and a decal logo it could very well be a fake too. I am not 100% sure on this you can all prove me wrong, but this guitar being a "Second" and overpriced, I would stay away.

YOUR WRONG!!!

[murkat]

It has the triangle control layout (with a flimsy plastic cover on the back) and no pickguard, but no beveled body. This confirms what I thought - they have it priced based on the wrong reference maybe thinking all explorers are the same. Still, for the right price, it's an awesome sounding guitar. Looks like they're $350 too high, especially in this market.

by this discription, $450 tops. cheap'd out explorer. it might have play mojo, but way too high coin for a beater.

you can get a blitz (and better guitar) for that coin.

Now if it was a pickguarded 50's style, then yes. chances are that it would have been Korina or alder under the paint like mine

[benjammin308]

I read somewhere, and I don't remember where so this info is worth what you paid for it, that the SEC was stamped on the headstock when the the wood grain was deemed not worthy of a transparent finish. The SEC guitars then received a solid paint color. I have an '86 LP that this would apply to. I can't find anything wrong with it, but it's painted solid red.

[veatch]

That could make sense. The guitar i had with a 2 stamped in it was opaque, but it had a finish flaw (a couple of cracks by the controls). So maybe "SEC" was for the wood, and "2" was a final finish second?

[doody]

I was told once that if a guitar was returned from a dealer/purchaser to the factory and it checked out/was fixed that it was stamped as a second before being shipped out for resale but have no idea of the validity.

[DaveH]

I heard that Gibson NEVER sent out seconds. I don't know if that's true.

That's absolutely not true....they send out seconds all the time. Just go to a GC (if you can stand it) and pull one down from the wall. But when they get it right, they're fantastic.

[a.bandini]

I've got a ES-175 upstairs, purchased new at Manny's around 84, with SECOND stamped on the back of the headstock. No one has ever found anything wrong with it. Seems fine; looks fine; plays fine.

A.Bandini