I figured you 'gents would appreciate this, seeing that this style of guitar is tied quite closely to Mesa Boogie.
It took some doing, but finally, 1.5 years after Cesar teased that pic (and almost 10 years searching for a good one), I finally scored a white whale bucket list guitar! This is a 2024 White 80s Explorer, straight from Gibson. A few get released each month and on my third attempt to directly purchase, I finally did it. These get sold out within a minute or two of Gibson's email notification.
Fit and finish is very good. The fret board needed oiled, but otherwise no issues. I tried her out with the factory 10s and really like the neck pickup. The bridge 80s pup is OK, but I think it needed to be closer to the strings. I then slapped .11's on there (my standard for all E-flat guitars) and she sounds and feels perfect. I used to have the Epiphone version of this for about 7 years, and once I got one of the limited 2016 Explorers, I knew I had to have a white Gibson someday. After restringing, I moved the strap button to the side, where it should be, and added the Hetfield-correct chrome Tele knobs. She's quite lightweight, the lightest of all three Explorers I have, and that's with a half-pound of Tele knobs!
PICS:
It took some doing, but finally, 1.5 years after Cesar teased that pic (and almost 10 years searching for a good one), I finally scored a white whale bucket list guitar! This is a 2024 White 80s Explorer, straight from Gibson. A few get released each month and on my third attempt to directly purchase, I finally did it. These get sold out within a minute or two of Gibson's email notification.
Fit and finish is very good. The fret board needed oiled, but otherwise no issues. I tried her out with the factory 10s and really like the neck pickup. The bridge 80s pup is OK, but I think it needed to be closer to the strings. I then slapped .11's on there (my standard for all E-flat guitars) and she sounds and feels perfect. I used to have the Epiphone version of this for about 7 years, and once I got one of the limited 2016 Explorers, I knew I had to have a white Gibson someday. After restringing, I moved the strap button to the side, where it should be, and added the Hetfield-correct chrome Tele knobs. She's quite lightweight, the lightest of all three Explorers I have, and that's with a half-pound of Tele knobs!
PICS:
