QUESTION
I recently was thinking about putting together a set f 1983 Gibson Korina guitars. I have the Gibson Flying V. I read that there is also a Gibson Korina Modern and a Gibson Korina Explorer. I have seen the Gibson Modern but have never seen an explorer come up for sale. Why is that ,was there a low run of these guitars and what would I have to pay today for one.
REPLY
Thank you for email. The Gibson korina series guitars made in 1983 did consist of those three models with the Gibson Flying V being the most popular and most produced . Then the modern was the next most produced and finally the Gibson Explorer was the most limited of the series. In twenty years i have only owned about 6 out of the thousands and thousands of guitars we have owned and sold. The gibson Explorer for me is the coolest and have no idea why they were not produced and what Gibson was thinking. Every guitar collector thinks there the best every player loves them once again Gibson Guitar dropped the ball on that one.
I have no idea of the real numbers produced I am sure the numbers are available on line but i would guess the shipping totals were around 100 on these. The great thing is these sound great and play great and if you did not have half a million dollars for a real explorer were in only about 25 were ever made this was the next best thing. Even today I do not know were to track any down for you they are that hard to find.
At the time these were revered as the real deal and an accurate replica. As we all know they were cool and yes they looked sort of like a real flying v but they were not very accurate. Until about 7 years ago or so they were all you had if you wanted a replica if you did not have a custom builder make one for you. As a quick note these were really bleached mahogany and not korina wood but that is not important it is the original guitars and their collectability and playability that counts.
Gibson in there historic series replicated these again and really well about 7 years ago and they are the best you can get at this time they are quite pricey maybe around $5000 but they are really hip!! I believe Gibson still makes them but on a custom ordered basis.
Back to the 1983 Gibson Explorer I would estimate these are about $3500-$4000 if you can find one . They have gone as high as 7000 at the height of the madness so now is actually a good time to buy one if you can find one. A complete set always brings the most money so here is a hint. Do not buy the modern until after you find the explorer . Find the harder one first this way you d not waste the time or money if you cannot find the Explorer just a little bit of advice.
Hope this information helped if you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at THE PARTS DRAWER and I wil be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Jim Pasch
Tags: 1983 korina explorer, gibson korina explorer, vintage gibson korina explorer