1970s Aztec Explorer-copy Electric Guitar

This pretty mahogany plank dates from the late '70s or early '80s. It has confusing parentage but is every bit as well-built as a same-period Ibanez Destroyer or Greco EX-800. It has "EX-380" stamped in one of the pickup cavities and that suggests Greco or Aria Pro II model numbering systems, but it's not obvious to me who made it but it was definitely made in Japan. The owner of the guitar scrounged-around on forums and found-out that the Aztec brand was used by a German importer in the '70s and '80s. He also found that it's possible it was made by Chushin Gakki which was the company that made the somewhat-known Maya/El Maya guitars.

I've seen some high-end El Maya models but they're scarce. This is definitely higher-end than the average El Maya set-neck Les Pauls and, aside from a couple of details, would be a dead-ringer for a Greco, Ibanez, or Aria Pro II-caliber instrument from the same time. The "off" details are the "stepped" heel joint (rather than flush) and a lamination at the headstock that runs the length of the tuners. This is, more than likely, for reinforcement so that the headstock laminations don't split when bumped. I've seen this on two other Explorer-style copies from the '70s and '80s (both unmarked) but no others. It's confusing!

Pickups-wise, it has an original Gotoh Super-Distortion-style humbucker in the neck and a presumably-original, possibly-later US-made DiMarzio Super Distortion (DP100) at the bridge with almost identical construction. As you can hear in the video, the sound is crisp and sweet when played clean and has almost a jazzy personality. Both pickups are in actuality quite hot, though, and drive an amp with no effort at all. You can definitely get all-out-blazing-rawk out of this guy.

The hardware looks all original and the neck feels especially professional -- it's the same heft and feel as a late '70s reissue Gibson neck -- medium-C with a hint of D in the back and a ~12" or so radius to the board with nice, medium-ish frets.

Everything works as it should and after a glorified setup and cleaning it plays effortlessly and is ready to go.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, cleaning, and setup.

Body wood: two-piece solid mahogany

Bridge: ABR-style adjustable

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Pickups: 1x Gotoh humbucker and 1x USA DiMarzio DP100 humbucker

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 46w-10

Neck shape: medium C ('50s-ish profile)

Board radius: ~12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Scale length: 24 5/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 1 1/2"

Weight: 9 lbs 3 oz

Condition notes: it's in great condition overall and has nice, lightly-figured mahogany in the body. There are a few small nicks/bumps to the finish along the edges and some light usewear/scratching to the finish throughout, but overall it's fairly clean. It also appears to be all-original, too.