Description
The Case…
This guitar comes in an era-correct Gibson Explorer hardshell case. It is in good condition but shows wear to the tolex, oxidation/rusting to most metal parts as well as tape residue on the outside. All 3 latches are present and functioning. The case has a mild “vintage” odor as you’ll find in many old cases.
The Guitar! 60s C Neck | 7lbs 8oz
Here is the hard-to-find Scorpions Mattias Jabs Designer Series explorer! While not a “signature” guitar in the way we think of it today – just a artist endorsed color scheme, it was one of the first signature explorers ever that sports a cool 3-and-1 stripe design with matching white headstock that has become iconic over the years. This is a vintage-original 1985 version. It is all-original and in pretty good shape for being 40 years-old. Watch the video attached to this listing to see the guitar’s condition in real time
Detailed Condition Overview written by a Collector FOR the Collector
Headstock: Vertical finish checking all over. Some ambering to the finish on the edge by the tuners and headstock stand resting area. Truss rod functions with the correct wrench but is a little stiff. It left the factory with threads past the nut (painted ends) – this is the same as my other personal collection one. Currently has an optimal amount of relief in neck. Works well with 9/10 gauge strings – wouldn’t suggest going too heavy.
Fretboard: Frets show little to no wear, but these are very low frets from the factory. If you are used to modern fretwire, you’ll likely choose to refret this guitar. The original bridge is collapsed. If you choose to still use it – It plays well up until the 10th fret and then gets very buzzy and bent notes choke out after a full step. This will ship with a DIFFERENT BRIDGE THAN SHOWN IN THE PHOTOS installed. It solves the playability issues but is not original or perfectly matching to the guitar. A personalized setup from there is encouraged for intonation/height. The fretboard was cleaned and conditioned on 6-11-25. Fret polish at the same time.
The Body: Vertical finish checking all over (alder bodies do this from this time period.) Finish impressing ding by the top strap button edge. Some discoloration in the picking area. Pitting to the gold hardware. Lacquer lines/cracks in the vinyl decal (these are under the finish and move at different rates than the wood – they all have cracks like these.) In fine light, you can see excessing swirling to the finish like someone took a Brillo pad to the guitar. In most situations, you don’t see that though. It was cleaned on 6-11-25
Electronics: Original Dirty Fingers in the neck and bridge. Pots are a bit scratchy, but perfectly usable. Unpotted pickups are microphonic under high gain – especially the neck pickup. Pickups read correctly – solder joints look untouched to me. 1 readable ’84 pot code.
Back of Body / Edge: Back has some very light buckle worming, but not much. Same vertical finish checking as before but even more cracking to the vinyl decals with noticeable seam lines. There is edge wear on the bottom edge as well as two finish breaking dings down to the bare wood on both of the lower corners. There is one clear coat breaking ding on the edge by where a toggle is on most explorers in the cutaway. The back control plate is missing a screw (hole is stripped.)
Back of neck / headstock: No major dings on neck, just more finish checking. Lots of finish checking and mild delamination of the clear coat along the fretboard edge. It has chipped in a few areas. Mild, but good to know about. There are dings/marks where it hung on a stand on the edge of the headstock. There is a finish breaking chip to the point at the top of the headstock as well as a rubbed clear coat from a clip on tuner that appears more white
Overall – this is a very respectable condition guitar! It is far from perfect, but you maybe see 1 of these surface every 5 years. This will please many collectors as-is – a discerning professional player will want to invest a bit more into the guitar to make it the best player that it could be.
From my inspection, it is verified 100% original (original bridge that is installed for the photos is in case – non-original ships on it for better playability)