Opinions on Epiphone Explorers?

[CoG]

Hey guys,

Anybody own one of the Epiphone Explorers? Are you happy with it? I'm looking at picking up an Explorer-body of some kind... I can justify owning three electrics and my other two are pretty visually bland.

I'd rather not have to replace the bridge, tailpiece, pickups blah blah blah just to make it decently playable, mostly just because I don't want the hassle. I could afford a "real" Explorer, but then I'd have another guitar I'm scared to take anywhere.

Additionally, if you have owned one, ever severely downtune it regularly? Any guitar of mine will probably end up tuned to CGCFAD (or something equally stupid) with 013-056s most of the time, and has to be playable past the fourth fret ;-) I know that in theory anything's possible with professional setup, but I've owned guitars that just couldn't hack it w/o constant adjustment.

 

[DaveyJack]

I am really not an EpiphoneLover, so I would recommend you a great old ESP. They've made really nice Explorer model(EX). And the truss rud is adjustable so you can have your barbedwire played decently on the guitar. Look for yourself. They even have wood finish one.

 

[CoG]

thanks!

I could drive up to montreal, pick this up, and save like $80 on shipping! :lol:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ESP-James-Hetfi...ryZ33038QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[DaveyJack]

Definitely, these one rocks!

They're are not for me ( because I promised myself only to buy neck-thru ebony fretboard guitars) but ****, they're just great to play. ESP guitars are known for they're playability, you're just another player with a ESP in your hands.

If you can afford the Diamond Plate one, you'll get one of the most brutal guitar shape with the MOST brutal finish ( to me, you can't be more brutal than diamond plate).

Go for it man, you've got a deal there!

 

[CoG]

that's about $6300 too rich for me, the whole point is to find a guitar that looks a bit cool on stage but is less hard-to-replace than my Yamahas.

thanks for the heads up on the ESPs, though, I will keep an eye out!

 

[DaveyJack]

You may want to look at Jackson Guitars, too. They've get nice Kelly model ( which is basically an explorer).

They've got basic, intermediate and pro-level explorer.

They play great, athey don't cost much, and they rip off the stage both with their sound and their look.

I just can't lay a Jackson down!

 

[ToneAddictJon]

Don't forget the Hamer, they are nice guitars and very affordable, but you may want to switch out the stock pups, that being said I'd rather buy a few guitars that play really well and feel nice and have to put new pups in than try to find the one guitar that has everything on it perfect (they're out there but they are expensive). Jackson's are nice, but once again their stock pups don't cut it (to me anyway). Also BC Rich has some killer looking guitars too (once again new pups needed though).

 

[lockbody]

Don't forget the Hamer, they are nice guitars and very affordable, but you may want to switch out the stock pups, that being said I'd rather buy a few guitars that play really well and feel nice and have to put new pups in than try to find the one guitar that has everything on it perfect (they're out there but they are expensive). Jackson's are nice, but once again their stock pups don't cut it (to me anyway). Also BC Rich has some killer looking guitars too (once again new pups needed though).

+1

The import Hamer Standards are great guitars for the money.

 

[RJ2213]

what about an Ibanez Destroyer DT420? this one is mine

and these are the ones i drool over

 

[DaveyJack]

I played many Ibanez, and I just realized that a big part of their products got basswood body... which I just hate. I tried a Dual Recto with one and, when I grabbed the guitar, I thought it was sheet made.

I know this is not, but the wood seems so cheap to me. I just hated the thing. I like my guitar to be heavy so that they don't fly when I take my Floyd up.

I wonder if that "Destroyer" model has a basswood body. I hope not, this would ruin the fact that the guitar looks so brutal!

 

[Rocky]

Basswood can be a great tonewood. In fact Suhr and Anderson both note that their 'holy grail' of tone is a basswood body with a maple top. Basswood took a hit in the 80's when companies started using wood that wasnt really basswood and calling the wood basswood. Real basswood is a great tonewood and isnt cheap or bad sounding at all.

From the Tom Anderson site:

Basswood
Pronounced bass like the fish. This wood gained popularity in the 80s and for a time was probably the most used wood for locking tremolo guitars. It is very light weight and produces a fairly even and full mid-range response throughout the entire band width. Many people feel it is extremely well matched with humbucking pickups because it produces a lot of the same frequencies that humbuckers easily reproduce. This is not to say that single coil tones aren't great as well. Toward the end of the late 80s, a few other species of woods were mistakenly thought to be basswood and this seemed to lead to a decline in basswood's popularity. However, true basswood does produce a very pleasing midrange tone and is the only type of basswood used here at Tom Anderson Guitarworks. Ifs natural color is light blonde to of white with little to no discernible grain. For this reason, an opaque paint color is usually chosen for a solid basswood body.

From the Suhr site:

Basswood – Strong in the midrange, Basswood has a balanced tone and is lightweight. Light in color with almost no grain patterns, Basswood is best suited for solid colors or is excellent as a backing wood for a Maple top. All types of neck wood combinations work on Basswood but Indian would be on the woollier and warmer side.



Basswood Back / Quilt or Flame Maple Top – Okay, this may be the Holy Grail of tone. The Basswood response is extended by a 3/16" Maple top adding more clarity and grind to the fatness of the Basswood, this combination is our favorite! Usually colors chosen will be opaque on the back with transparent colors on the top – LP style. It's most excellent with a one-piece Maple neck.

 

[SixVeeSix]

With used Gibsons in the $650-900 range, why not just get the real thing? Do you really want a guitar with a Chinese metal truss rod and soft crappy fret wire? No Epiphones. Make them go away. Some of the Japanese manufactured Explorer copies as previously mentioned are pretty nice guitars. There was a mahogany finish Gibson in the Lynwood GC up here in Washington a couple months ago. Had a nice fat neck, EMG Zakk Wylde pickups and Schaller tuners. Someone had given her a good beating but she was ready for much more and $750. How can you beat it?

 

[devilrob1979]

I'm a proud graduate of Lynnwood High. Woot!

 

[themisfit138]

Don't Get an Epiphone. I use to have a 1983 Gibson Explorer, it sounded great until the neck broke so I bought an ESP MXII and love it.