Billy's Restored 1976 Gibson Explorer
- Loom
- Aug 5, 2025
- 2 min read
In his own words: Billy's Restored 1976 Gibson Explorer
Transcription:
Hey, this is Billy Rogan with the band Loom. We're a rock band out of Salt Lake City. Wanted to talk to you today with this beautiful 1976 Gibson Explorer I have here. This Gibson Explorer was first made around 1958 along with the Flying V. They were made of Korina wood. And if you have any of those laying around, do hang on to it. They're worth a pretty penny.
In 1976 they did a reissue, and they made about a little over 1,400 of these. This was my uncle's. He passed it down about 16 years ago at a gig in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where I'm from. My uncle had rock bands there in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. He's still playing today.
And, he gave this to me, and it needed som TLC. So, I wasn't able really to play it. But I could tell then when I plugged it in to my '78 Fender Twin at the time that it just had so much power behind it. My uncle put a DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup in the bridge. And that's still there today.
A dear friend of mine, luthier/guitar builder Dave Schneider, out of Woodstock, NY - Schneider Guitars - just did a wonderful job restoring this.
It has all new frets on it, a bone nut, new Grover tuners. My uncle had Schallers on there, but we had to replace them because there's some problems with the washer. Yep, the Super Distortion is still in there. And then Dave put in a Pearly Gates Seymour Duncan. New electronics. So, it kind of needed a whole re-haul. There was a crack near the neck, which was a little bit worrisome. And that took a lot of glue. There's also a crack in the headstock. So, I guess when my uncle wasn't swinging a hammer, building homes, and playing rock and roll music, he was swinging this guitar around, having a good time in bars and venues stuff, so.
This guitar is going to be debuting August 10th for our opening show performance along with Dogs in a Pile at Snowbasin. We're really looking forward to it. So, come on out, check it out. You can hear it in action. And thanks so much for checking out this guitar today. It really means a lot. It's a special piece. Look forward to playing it for you soon.
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