Gibson Explorer Golden Axe - Ageing? Or structural damage
Hey folks got a doozy here
thought I’d reach out to get some experts to weigh in on this
I recently picked up a used Gibson Golden Axe Explorer online - took ages to find one but I found a seller.
It’s well used - not too fussed about that
However there’s some areas that concern me as I’ve never owned an Explorer or an Explorer that’s finished in nitro and played this hard so I’m not sure what I should be seeing.
From initial assessment it looks to be the result of the nitro reacting to weather/usage etc but it also appears to be humidity damage (?) + road wear and tear
I just wanna know if it’s structural or just cosmetic damage
Particularly the body binding cracking by the neck join, bottom of the body where the binding is actually coming off and at the 7th fret inlay.
The 7th fret inlay is raised too, does this happen cause of the wood expanding + glue losing its adhesive?
Secondly is all this repairable? And would you say it’s worth repairing?
It uses a nitro finish. Plays and feels good, and all the electronics are clean.
Happy to hear your discussion! And if you wanna see more pics