The Electra Forums

Had to nab this... my BIN finger is still smoking...

Looks like pre-Matt Electra. I see no mention of any Explorer model other than the X910 on the Electra page. But I've also seen other mystery early Electras go by, including this one that got away:

are those white racing stripes i see before me? it gets points just for that.
i don't remember seeing one of those either. the flying V is similar to the "flying wedge" (at the bottom of electraman's site) but obviously with variations.
in any case both have the pre-matsumoku logo but seem to be from the SLM electra line and not the west coast cheapos. any non-SLM i've seen have either an "X" or the electra logo on a metallic plate or both.
btw, correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't you averaging about one electra purchase a week now? sure it's cheaper than gibsons but nevertheless an expensive habit!

btw i just noticed the headstock on the flying V. oddly enough it's kinda similar to the phoenix headstock. it has that weird fish mouth a the top.

Sweet! Let us know how it plays!

Matthew

Ssh! you weren't supposed to notice... but you're right, there are sure more expensive obsessions... at least i'm not adding motorcycles! I suppose I'm making up for twenty years of owning and playing only one guitar (the red X189 in my av).

I'll post more detailed pics when it arrives. My experience so far with pre-Matt Electras is pretty good, the Tele is sure a nice player, and the LP I just got back together is great! This neck looks a lot like the Tele neck to me, at least from a distance.

Do we know who was making the pre-Matt SLM Electras?

Well, if the 2245's and 2246's were SLM, I bet these were too. The Electra name logo is the same, the necks look really similar. If SLM didn't sell those, who printed the catalog?

I bet there'll be no serial numbers, I'm just hoping for a model number sticker like the Teles, but I'm not holding my breath. One detail I wish I'd photographed on the TeleRez project was I discovered a pair of what look like very small japanese characters maybe on the base of the neck. I'm pretty tempted to pull the neck off and see if there's similar markings on this Explorer, though I'd rather leave the neck untouched.

As far as tremelo bridges, I remember them being very common on strats in the late 70's, they were a big part of the guitar god myth. The only thing is, nobody really knew much what to do with them, except make the occasional attempt at Hendrix licks. Guitarists did use them, of course, like David Gilmour, but it wasn't really till the likes of Eddie Van Halen that the mass of guitarists at home really understood what they were for.

As a result, you're right, strat-style trem bridges in the 70's were pretty bad, becasue they were mainly ornamental, nobody was setting up free-floating bridges. You'd grab the whammy bar to give a little jiggle at the end of a song maybe, but you'd wind up retuning anyhow.

I never really learned to use a trem bridge well myself, but then again I'm not really the screaming lead player either. I always used to set up my guitar with the bridge fixed against the body (three springs in back). For the very rare occasions when I'd want to bend, I could just as easily pry the bridge up by hand, so it was easier having the bar removed. (at least I don't remove and lose the whammy bars any more thought) It's been interesting playing guitars like the Dimension IV that were set up with a full-floating bridge. I'm not used to the fact they stay in tune so well though.

Nice grab, looks great!!...Looks kinda like a Hondo headstock.

Ronnie

X189, the logo can be deceiving. i've played and seen electras with the same logo but they're just barely playable pieces of plywood or laminated planks w/ cheap pups thrown in. those seem to be the "other" electra from pacific coast music and usually have an "X" on the headstock or a metallic nameplate. but it seems like both the explorer you got and the V are SLM. i could be wrong...
in any case i'm sure your phoenix was getting lonely after all these years...

It arrived today. What a piece! condition fair as you'd expect, some chips and dings but nothing major.

I haven't restrung and set it up yet, but so far my impression is it's kinda cheap in quality- the pickups are odd and a little small, and has those tiny pots. This is one heavy guitar though! The neck feels kinda liks a baseball bat so far, though there's room for improvement I think. The racing stripes are white electrical tape, which I should have guessed. (I remember putting stripes on my X189 with tape!) Kinda undecided whether or not to leave them on, they actually look pretty good.

This thing may be a wallhanger, but I'm willing to be surprised. I haven't gone over it closely for ID markings yet, but wouldnt be surprised if its the same vintage as the 2246 tele.

Pictures to follow soon.