New website - the original '58 Explorer Bass

ilan · February 20, 2016, 11:37:12 AM

Including pics, history etc.

http://www.explorerbass.com/

Dave W · February 20, 2016, 12:19:18 PM

Interesting history. I knew about the Lonnie Mack connection but hadn't heard the conflicting stories about how it got to the store where Wayne Bullock bought it.

Basvarken · February 20, 2016, 12:22:26 PM

Interesting.
What about the Explorer that Uwe has? That one has the banjo tuner for the G string too. And a korina body.

godofthunder · February 20, 2016, 02:18:05 PM

I have always been fascinated by this bass! At some point I am going to do a build! I meet Lonnie Mack in the mid 80's got his autograph on a album. I can't help but think My Ibanez Destroyer was a very close copy.

lowend1 · February 21, 2016, 09:14:54 AM

I used to visit the Explorer regularly when it was in the window at We Buy Guitars, but never played it. As I recall, there was a sign on it saying '58 Explorer Bass, and a price of either $3k or $3500. Like Scott, I eventually wound up with an Ibanez Destroyer bass, but didn't get on well with it.

Bionic-Joe · February 21, 2016, 10:10:23 AM

I almost bought an Epiphone Embassy Bass from ken Collins, the owner of the bass. I'd LOVE to build a replica. I actually was planning on it and had asked Uwe for tracings of his but never heard back from him. and then Life punched me in the stomach again.. and now I am even broker than ever.. Oh well...

Highlander · February 21, 2016, 01:58:55 PM

Nice to see clean imagery...

patman · February 22, 2016, 01:30:50 PM

The history was interesting...

Some of those people are still around town. Carl Edmonson still plays guitar at the last church I attended...before I became a recovering catholic....

At the time, Bob Armstrong from the Casinos played organ with Carl. I believe Bob recently passed away.

I had an original copy of "The Wham of that Memphis Man"...I gave it away with the rest of my vinyl years ago. Those people were all kind of local heroes when I was growing up.

Dave W · February 22, 2016, 05:57:53 PM

Quote from: patman on February 22, 2016, 01:30:50 PM

I had an original copy of "The Wham of that Memphis Man"...I gave it away with the rest of my vinyl years ago. Those people were all kind of local heroes when I was growing up.

I had the album too. After all these years, I'm still amazed at Lonnie's talent.

amptech · February 23, 2016, 02:13:22 AM

Just when life seemed dull and meaningless....
I am stunned by the looks of it.. I saved a couple of pics of this some time ago, just because.

Would be fun to build one. But I guess rebuilding an existing 80's explorer will not put you in the park.
Are all explorers (except this '58) medium scale? And neck/body is not mahogany/limba but maple/mahogany?

uwe · February 23, 2016, 12:14:02 PM

The myths and facts about this thing crop up every few years!

Rob: What I have is a Gibson Custom Shop-built replica of sorts on the behest of a Texan car dealer (the "Texas private collection" mentioned in the story on the website) who also owned the original at the time. It looks very similar (as he wanted it to be), is short scale as well, the main differences/usability improvements over the original (which is basically an EB-2 with a grafted on Explorer guitar body) seem to be:

- just one banjo tuner, not four,

- TB Bicentennial sidewinders as pups, not a single mudbucker,

- korina body AND neck (not maho).

The (intentionally makeshifty so as to ape the original) pick guard is of course just for looks, not necessity - it doesn't cover any filled in guitar body cavities like the original did.

Here is what a (very nice) dealer (not the one I bought it from, that was the guys from Rockin Robin) at the time wrote to me about the replica:

"From: A ...@....com
Sent: 12/27/2004 3:13:02 PM
To: Uwe.Hornung@CliffordChance.com
Subject: Re: Explorer Bass Question

Uwe,

It appears that you have the Gibson bass line at least as represented as did Entwhistle...

I managed Sound Vibrations in Corpus Christi from 1980--1984. Byron D. Goad was, at that time, a Cadillac dealer in Victoria, a friend, and a collector of interesting pieces. At his request, I contacted the Gibson Custom Shop and began the process of ordering a Korina Explorer bass to be fitted with Thunderbird pickups. Byron had one of the very few original Korina Gibson basses at that time (I don't recall the serial number, though) and we photographed the instrument and specified the differences that Byron wished to achieve. His original Explorer bass had a mahogany neck and four in a row tuners on the ladyslipper headstock. Initially, the Custom Shop boys were not interested in duplicating the Explorer headstock; they didn't have the right templates; they could just use the Victory bass headstock design; yadda, yadda, yadda. They finally agreed to use the ladyslipper headstock if they could produce in the 3 + 1 configuration. It seemed to be a reasonable request; they cited headstock strength versus string pull as their major issue. I requested a banjo style tuner for the G string so the headstock wouldn't lose its fluidity.

The instrument arrived about a year after the initial contact with Gibson and the dealer cost at that time was about two thousand dollars. I think that we received it in 1983. If it wasn't '83, then it was '82. It did appear in a rare guitars calendar produced by Tony Dukes; I may still have my copy of the calendar--I don't know; I will look for it, though...

Obviously, an alpha-numeric serial number on a Gibson is a rarity--I don't know of any other Gibson instrument with a similar number. I am sure that you can guess what BDG means. 001 is a combination of two things: the instrument was to be the first of many and the 00 prefix was cool...like James Bond.

Byron, his spouse, and the IRS got entirely sideways with one another. The event continued for years, costing Byron his marriage and his entire collection of instruments. Byron asked me to hold that instrument for him until the smoke cleared. A few years into the event, he asked me to return the bass so that he could sell it; it was his last piece. It is my belief that if you paid the advertised price for the bass, you acquired it for a bargain!

Sorry about the flinging of opinion regarding the Victory basses, Uwe. I thought that they were too heavy and demonstrated no great step forward in either tone or feel over a typical Precision bass of the period.

The Korina Explorer is art that can be played like a Ferrari Barchetta is art which can be driven. That Korina Explorer is truly a one of a kind piece.

Sincerely,

A ..."

Amptech: Only the ('orrible) Gibson 80ies Explorers were medium scale, the fine reissue from a few years ago was long scale (maple with maho body) as are the Epi Explorer basses (some kind of mock "korina" wood for both neck and body, it is very dent prone and almost white, but sounds lovely blurry and is comparatively light). And both much better (than the medium scale Exies) for it, too.

Bionic-Joe · February 23, 2016, 01:45:53 PM

Uwe's bass is definitely the coolest one there...only I would have put 1960's PUPS in there with a tuneomatic bridge!!!!!!! YOWZA!!!

uwe · February 23, 2016, 02:23:58 PM

I'm no great fan of the Bicenttennial pups in general, but they sound good in this bass. A mudbucker would be too limiting. In my ears, an Explorer bass needs some treble.

leftybass · February 23, 2016, 02:49:37 PM

OMG, Sound Vibrations! Spent many an hour in that store as a teen. Just looking, of course. You weren't allowed to touch anything. The owner was a Dutch douchebag.

66Atlas · February 23, 2016, 05:31:57 PM

I love the photo of Entwistle with the bass. He is either entirely in the bass player zone or completely stoned...or both.