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76 explorer

DRYBONE

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Apr 28, 2006
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145
I have a 76 explorer with the really big neck, but it has a regular sticker/serial # without the limited edition. Did Gibson send out any LE's with regular stickers?
 

Jignant

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Joined
Mar 28, 2003
Messages
452
Both LE's and non LE's went out with gold sticker s/n decals to my knowlege. Here is a 77 non LE in wine red...I did see a proclaimed 1st gen explorer reissue with indent s/n on Ebay but it could have been a fake. 1st gen reissue specs - three piece mahogany, shorter neck tenon, fat neck profile, ABR1, gold 6 in line Klusons and t tops. Not sure if there were Korina versions made in the 70s. Bought mine in high school for under 400 bucks...
bg0CWlq.jpg
 
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keef

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Jan 27, 2002
Messages
5,006
It would be interesting to compare serial numbers of the LE and non LE '76s to see if there is any logic to these.

Added are neck thickness measurements at 1st fret / 7th fret / 12th fret

00229608 LE nat 60s med nk
00229622 LE full nk, nat 0.843 / 0.943 / 1.000, 7615/7621 pots
00229628 LE nat 0.830 / 0.925 / 1003
00229772 LE nat
002298XX LE nat Kahlerized restored
00230XX4 LE nat hs broken off
00230001 LE
00230010 LE? nat ex-The Edge
00230040 LE blk 7615/7621 pots
00230048 LE? nat stolen in Austin Tx
00230127 LE nat sold in Japan
00230163 LE nat
00230184 LE nat very thick baseball type of nk
00230203 LE nat
00230210 LE nat
00230214 LE nat large nk
00230224 LE nat original warranty registration card (filled out by Gibson) dated 11/6/1976
00230260 LE nat chunky nk
00230309 LE blk stripped to nat, hs broken off, body routed for Kahler
00230370 LE, nat, warranty reg. 4.4.77, 762X or 763X pot
00230375 LE nat big nk 0.875 / 0.938
00230417 LE nat chunky nk 7635 pots
00230419 ? nat Dave's guitar coll
00230517 LE nat hs break
0023054X LE nat stamped pat.no. T-Tops 0.840
00230543 LE nat kahlerized restored blk pg
00230556 LE blk rep hs break baseball bat nk
00230558 LE blk
00230634 LE nat chunky nk
00230691 LE blk
00230695 LE blk
00230696 LE nat
0023075X LE nat chunky nk
00230828 LE nat lge nk
00230833 LE nat
00230835 LE nat refin, cut up
00230965 LE blk
00231107 LE nat
00231118 nat stamped serial # (maybe not by Gibson), no LE indication/decal, maybe refin, 762X and 761X pots
00231131 LE nat
00231236 LE
00231297 LE nat
00232215 LE nat fat nk
00232218 LE nat 7615 pot
00232253 LE blk 8/13/77 pch date on warranty card
00232275 LE blk .812 / .954 / 1.017
002323XX LE broken hs stripped added nk inlays (prior to restoration)
00232348 LE nat
00232407 LE nat 7621 pot
00232413 LE nat
00232630 LE nat
0023264X LE huge nk
00232665 LE nat
00232685 LE nat
002327XX LE blk
002327XX LE 0.912, 755X pots
00232706 LE nat baseball bat nk
00232708 LE nat chunky nk, broken nk/body 7615 pot
00232709 LE nat huge nk
00232726 LE nat fat and chunky nk 7615 7622 pots, K 2 stamped on hs
00232734 LE nat rep hs brk
00232760 LE nat chunky nk 76 pots
00232776 LE nat huge nk original warranty registration card (filled out by Gibson) dated 11/20/1976
00232778 LE nat 762X pots
00232789 LE nat
0023279X LE nat (refin blk) (James Hetfield), 7621 pots
00232803 LE nat
00232828 LE nat big nk 7602 and 7615 pot
00232845 LE nat stamped 2nd 763X and 7624 pots
00232856 LE
00232884 LE nat
00232897 LE blk super fat nk
00232917 LE baseball nk
00232926 LE big nk nat
00232961 LE big chunky nk 7615 7621 pots K 2 stamp on hs
00232966 LE nat big nk
00232986 LE big nk
00233XXX LE nat huge nk SD 59 pups
00233XXX LE nat large nk 7542 pots
00233014 LE nat fat nk 7621 pot
00233026 LE nat
00233048 LE nat chunky nk
00233055 LE nat
00233058 LE nat huge (now shaved) nk
00233064 LE nat 7615 and 7621 pots
00233075 NON LE large nk nat
00233079 LE blk full nk
00233082 LE nat
00233179 LE nat 7615 and 7621 pots
00233184 LE nat
00233124 LE nat chunky nk 7621 pots
00233191 LE nat 7615 pot
00233219 LE nat 7621 pot
00233233 LE nat 'fattest nk'
00233320 LE nat
0023333X LE nat (Luke Gibson), full nk - 0.911 / 0.974 / 1.017
00233345 LE nat big nk
00233362 LE nat big nk NO tarbacks
00233372 LE 7615/762X pots
00233373 LE nat big nk
00233379 LE nat really big nk
00233428 LE nat
0023348X LE nat, removed nk, nk cavity stamp in body 'July 1X 1976'
00233481 LE nat
00233540 LE nat chunky nk
00233552 LE nat
00233601 LE nat huge nk
00233772 LE nat big nk
00233784 LE nat huge nk
00233813 LE nat very big nk
00233816 LE nat fat thick nk
00233818 LE nat huge nk .951/1.026/1.049
00233820 LE (could also be 00233920) nat big baseball bat nk
00233908 LE nat huge nk
002339XX LE 0.961, 761X pots
00233915 LE nat chunky nk 7615 7621 pots
00233918 LE nat thick nk
00233980 LE nat baseball bat nk
00233989 LE nat bought at NAMM (early example?) 7542 (2) and 755X pots
0023X081 LE nat
0023X621 LE nat fat nk
00234007 LE nat
00234027 LE nat ex BJ Armstrong
00234031 LE nat
00234103 LE nat
00234115 LE nat, K stamped on hs (and 2)
00234124 LE nat chunky nk 7621 pots
00234161 LE nat
00234179 LE nat lge nk .94 / 1.04 760X pot

00239787 non LE see through wine RED, 'K' stamped on hs
00239793 non LE nat 7636 pots
00239866 non LE nat
00239880 non LE nat fat & meaty nk also stamped 96732X in hs
00239888 non LE nat
00239896 non LE nat
00239897 non LE nat kahler fat nk
00239913 non LE blk fat nk
00239939 non LE nat
00239965 non LE nat
00239979 non LE
0023998X non LE nat
00239965 non LE nat
00239979 non LE nat
00240XXX non LE nat schallers
00240XXX non LE unplayed with tags 762X pot
00240015 non LE nat routed
00240018 non LE nat
00240052 non LE nat STAMPED serial no may be original
00240057 non LE nat
00240083 non LE blk, refin white
00240112 non LE nat
00240135 non LE nat stamped K 2
00240154 non LE nat
00240161 non LE nat 7636 pot slim 60s nk, 0.8 / 0.92 / 1.0
00240169 non LE nat 76XX pot
00240220 non LE nat
00240229 non LE nat narrow depth nk
00240246 non LE nat
00240248 non LE
00240265 non LE 7602 pot 0.84 / 0.96
00240267 non LE med nk 764X pot
00240282 non LE nat
00240293 non LE blk 7640 pot beefy nk
00240297 non LE nat
00240776 non LE wine RED see through big nk 'K' stamped on hs
00240777 non LE blk (refin, originally black), big & wide nk 760X pot
00240789 non LE nat
00240821 non LE nat lge nk 7636 pot
00240828 non LE nat
00240837 non LE nat
00240840 non LE nat
00240878 non LE nat
00240891 non LE big nk 0.787 / 0.945 / 0.984
00240897 non LE blk
00240909 non LE nat 7621 pots
00240923 non LE nat beefy nk
00240953 non LE nat med nk
0024X992 non LE nat replaced pups
00240993 non LE blk not fat nk
00240998 non LE stripped/refin
00241020 non LE nat very chunky nk
00241025 non LE nat added pg switches
00241036 non LE blk
00241038 non LE blk
00241054 non LE nat
00241067 non LE STAMPED serial no (no decal) looks original nat finish ex-38 Special
00241071 non LE nat kahler route filled
00241099 non LE nat modded
002411XX non LE nat med size nk (SGLP63) 0.805 / 0.909 / 1.005
00241179 non LE nat blk refin body
00241181 non LE nat
00241284 non LE blk super flat nk
00241304 non LE nat
00241307 non LE nat 60s nk
00241340 non LE nat Kahler
00241358 non LE blk floyd
00241364 non LE blk
00241371 non LE blk
00241398 non LE nat 765X pot
00241407 non LE nat not too skinny nk
00241502 non LE nat, 7636 pot
00241517 non LE nat
00241562 non LE wine RED see through, 'K' stamped on headstock
00241563 non LE wine RED see through, 'K' stamped on headstock
00241566 non LE nat full/thick nk
00241585 non LE black 7636 pot
00241591 non LE black full nk
00241815 non LE nat
00241XXX non LE stamped 2

First impression is that all LE's have the big necks, and (at least) some of the non LE's as well. Plus LE's are not limited to natural finished guitars.

There are also a few Explorers known that according to the pot codes would date to 1975-1977, with six digit stamped headstock numbers:

627091 nat also w 06 247092 decal
627093 white 7548 pot
627271 white
627404 white 764X pot codes
627463 white
627881 white 7552 pot codes, stamped DEMO under the pg
967310 white 7636 pot
96732X nat also w decal 00239880 (see above)
967357 white Heritage auctions
967368 white 75 and 76 pots, stamped SECOND
967370 white chunky medium nk
967392 white 7640 pot codes
967395 white 7640 pot codes
967406 white not big nk
967453 white factory 2nd bought in March 1977

(Firebird, white 75 pots stamped 627673, with a '00' decal under the finish)

The 1977s - see my next post in this thread:

06195834 LE (!) nat 0.810 / 0.960 - in view of these neck measurements vs the regular '77 Explorers below, LE really means nothing here

06 247041 nat
06 247052 nat
06 247069 nat, stamped BGN
06 247082 blk
06 247092 nat also with 627091 stamped hs number
06 247109 (refin, ex Black Oak Arkansas)
06 247116 nat
06 247118 nat hs brk
06 2471XX nat
06 247122 nat 0.77 / 0.97
06 247133 nat
06 247148 nat
06 247167 blk 0.79 / 0.99
06 2472XX blk
06 247XXX nat
06 2521XX blk 7650 pot
06 252157 red
06 252189 red kahler
06 252190 red
06 2521XX blk
06 252197 blk
06 252211 red
06 252217 red
06 25222X red
06 252237 blk med full nk
06 252271 nat
06 252305 blk

1981 Explorer: 0.812 / 0.935 / 1.000

Shipping totals according to Gibson's ledgers (which contain inaccuracies):

1975: White 2 (total 2)
1976: Ebony 104, Natural 1835, White 67 (total 2006)
1977: Ebony 203, Natural 760, White 124 (total 1087) - at least a batch of red Explorers was made as well
1978: Ebony 65, Natural 149, White 60 (total 274)
1979: Ebony 133, Natural 94, White 60, Explorer II (E2) 586 (total 873)

"If" the serial numbers on the '76 LE Explorers were applied in chronological sequence, the known pot codes would indicate that Gibson did not start shipping the run of Explorers until around June (my #00229622 has one 7621 pot). I wrote to Gibson for the shipping dates of my guitar and that of a non-LE guitar with 7621 pots, but was informed that there are no ledgers for this period available. If this is correct, it will be very hard to verify when these guitars actually were manufactured and/or shipped.

When checking the serial ## and pots of other 1976 Gibsons though, it seems that the serial number decals that were applied in the factory may NOT have been used in chronological order, but were applied at random within specific pre-assigned number ranges. Certain ranges of serial numbers were apparently assigned to specific models, with archtops in the low 100,000s, followed by the 3X5 guitars up to the 110,000s, the Les Paul range (110,000s-140,000s, with the Standards and Artisans - which were (re)introduced later in 1976 - in the 230,000s range), then the SG/L6s, S1/Marauders, basses and acoustics (140,000s-up to the 220,000s), with the Firebirds, Tbirds and Explorers occupying the 230,000s-240,000s range. Exceptions do apply...

Pot dates were all over the place, but that may not mean a whole lot. Some examples:

LPC #00120544 7613 pots
LPC 00123976 7653 (!!!) pots
SG Cst 00145326 754X pots
SG Std 00149664 751X and 752X pots
FB 00233531 7552 pots
Tbird 00243036 7636 pots

A number of 1976 guitars also have stamped manufacturing dates in the control cavity. The data derived from these also adds to the conclusion that the serial numbers within the pre-assigned ranges may have been applied randomly.

If this is correct, then it would not be possible to determine if the general neck dimensions of the LE's and non LE's gradually changed during their production runs (from big to huge, as has been suggested in other threads), since the serial numbers on these guitars were not used in strict chronological sequence. YMMV...
 
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Luke Gibson

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Last edited:

keef

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EDIT MAY 2013:

With 90 1976 Explorers now listed (which is approx. 4.5% of the factory totals of 2006 as per Gibsons records), let's take another look at some figures.

What Gibson says about these 2006 Explorers:

1835 natural finish guitars (91.15%)
104 black (5.18%)
67 white (3.33%)

The 90 listed guitars are divided as follows:

75 natural (83.33%)
9 black (10%)
6 white (6.67%)

(one red example was not counted)

One could argue that in view of the relative small sample of 4.5%, the figures of the listed guitars correspond broadly with the Gibson factory records.
IF that is an acceptable assumption, then this would also provide ballpark data with regard to the production totals of LE vs non LE guitars.

Of these 90 listed guitars, there are 55 LE's (61.1%) and 35 non LE's (38.9%) (Gibson has no data regarding the division of LE's-non LE's). When applying these percentages to the 2006 total, this would yield the following numbers (obviously subject to change):

1226 Limited Edition Explorers
780 regular (non LE) Explorers

And here is some conjecture – feel free to laugh it off.

The explorers with the stamped 627XXX and 967XXX serial numbers – mostly finished in white – were made in Kalamazoo in 1975 as a trial run for the ‘official’ 1976 run of limited edition explorers. Some of these early explorers have late 1975 pots, others late 1976 ones. This would indicate that these were actually completed and shipped out in small quantities during 1976 and 1977 (with only two apparently being shipped in 1975).

The 'K' stamped wine red explorers -K possibly standing for ‘Kalamazoo’ – could well be a batch or two made in the Parsons street factory, which mostly turned out special runs after Nashville took over most of the manufacturing duties. Maybe a store order. Gibson's records do not mention any red explorers.

I would assume that all ‘regular’ limited edition and non-limited edition 1976 explorers with the decal serial numbers were made in Nashville.

Now look at the marketplace for used guitars, and try finding an explorer with a 1977 serial number (starting with 06, or having the new 'current' numbering sequence), which I have been doing for a few years now. Those 1977's are VERY hard to find as compared to the explorers with a 1976 (00) serial number. And then look at the ‘official’ shipping totals for explorers in 1976 and 1977 (respectively 2006 and 1087). These do not correlate with the apparent rarity of the 1977 explorers vs those from 1976 - compare the numbers listed in post #3...that is far from 2:1, so not as one would expect.

What this would logically imply is that most of the explorers shipped by the factory in 1977 were actually made in 1976 – and in 1975. Not a biggie though.

About post #113 (the ferrari red explorer): that is certainly not a '76 - but I assume the owner already knows that.
Kahler trems were supposedly not invented until 1979. Plus wrong pots, pickguard, tuners, pickups, strap holders, case.....and those original leftover 70s decals sometimes turn up for sale:

decal-gibson-serials.jpg


FINAL EDIT MAY 2020:

Now listed are 225 explorers (130 LE, 81 non LE, 14 white guitars assumed to be shipped in 1976), or a little over 11% of all (2006 in total) Explorers shipped by Gibson in 1976 according to their own records. This would lead to the following estimate:

1143 Limited Edition Explorers (58%)
863 regular (non LE) Explorers (42%)

Since this allocation has not changed significantly since 2013, I won't be adding any more Explorers to the list above, and stand behind the conclusions stated there.
 
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Jignant

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Mar 28, 2003
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Here s my 77 serial number and anther shot.

explorerser.jpg


IMG_1396-1.jpg
 
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Luke Gibson

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Which color, Luke?

Natural (sorry!)

p2_u1rgzttm4_so.jpg


Mine was previously loved (played) a lot! These are very resonate toneful guitars. Mine has the tarback pickups. I'm thinking about installing a set of RS Fralin True 60's, old pots and Bumblebee's for curiosuity's sake. What's anyone's opinion; should I?
 

keef

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Sorry Luke, your serial # seems to have one digit too many - what is the correct no (you can X out the last number).
 

j45

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You'd kinda have to measure to see exactly how big. I also had a non-LE '76 in black that had a really big neck, as big as some of the biggest '58 Historic fat necks but not nearly as big as the LE. It was just too big.
 

AndreasG

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Mar 22, 2005
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It's funny that a guy who is interested in my '76 LE Explorer, which has the fat neck, states that he had one that was approx 1/2 inch (!!) thicker than mine on the first fret, and he's not sure about mine, since he doesn't like those skinny necks...Mine is just a hair thinner than my Oxblood Les Paul, and that's a fatty. Anyone has some measurements of the fat LE necks?
 

keef

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You'd kinda have to measure to see exactly how big. I also had a non-LE '76 in black that had a really big neck, as big as some of the biggest '58 Historic fat necks but not nearly as big as the LE. It was just too big.

Good point. I don't have the required tools, but maybe some of the members can post neck measurements which I will include in my earlier post. It would be nice if the LE mysteries can be finally sought out.
 

Anje

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Jan 3, 2002
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1,170
I have access to good tool to measure that, but my LE has had the neck shaved down (I'm lucky to have former J45's / Shuie's one, fantastic guitar btw).
Previous '76 I've had had been refin (so no serial tag left unfortunately) and was supposed to be a LE, it really had this big big fat neck, bigger than the black non-LE posted above judging from the pic, and too big for me.
When looking at back of the neck pics, I find you can spot on this unusual LE big fat neck profile looking at the headstock/neck junction, the back of the neck looks significantly fatter than the back of the headstock (it looks like a "stepdown" when going from the back of the neck to the back of the headstock). I've hardly seen that on other guitars.
I don't have this guitar anymore, but it belongs to a buddy now so I may have access to it to do measures if interested, let me know.
 

Jignant

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Mar 28, 2003
Messages
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I am seeing a lot of 002xxxxx serials and mine starts with 062522xx. Is this possibly an incremental serial number because mine is supposed to be a 77? Anyone know the serial number rationale and 70s production years for these 1st gens? I am seriously considering a pickup and electronics upgrade cause the original pots are shot. RS or anyone make a drop in vintage kit for Explorers?

:salude
 

DRYBONE

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Apr 28, 2006
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Here's a couple of pics of the "coffee table" as my band mates call it.
Pic1024.jpg


Pic1027.jpg
 

DRYBONE

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I'm the second owner. It had a dimarzio in the bridge and a TP-6 tail piece. The original tuners went bad in 86, so I replaced them with schaller mini's. The pick ups are Duncan Antiquities that MJ wound for me. The neck PU was a T-top when I bought the guitar in 83. I think I paid $400.00.
 
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Luke Gibson

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Jul 15, 2001
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I've read a lot of info here about the LE necks being huge. The neck on my guitar is full but I wouldn't classify it as huge (and I have small hands) Can we start adding neck size measurements to the above serial number list to see how much variation there is between guitars?
 
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