Epiphone 1958 Korina Explorer Electric Guitar

No longer available at zZounds
Get classic looks and tone at an affordable price. The Epiphone 1958 Explorer features a korina wood body with a tight grain pattern and resonant tone.

What's special about this item?

Feature: What it does:
Korina neck Stable tuning and intonation, warm tone
Korina body Very warm, lively, and balanced tonewood
Pau Ferro fretboard Delivers strong midrange presence and punch
Epiphone Alnico Classic humbuckers Classic biting tone with warm, fat mids

A rare vintage classic returns with Korina body and Alnico Classic Humbuckers. Epiphone proudly presents the return of the historic Limited Edition Korina Explorer, one of rock's most legendary instruments in a solid Korina Body with Alnico Classic PRO Humbuckers, and gold hardware.

Legendary Explorer

The Explorer electric guitar was first released in a very limited run in the late 50s and was one of the most radical designs of its time. And today originals are some of the most expensive instruments on the vintage market. Embraced by classic rock and metal fans, the Explorer remains one of the most popular and coveted designs in Gibson and Epiphone's long history. Now, Epiphone introduces the legendary Explorer to a new generation with an all Korina (also known as African Limba) body with modern hardware and superb vintage voiced Alnico Classic Humbuckers.

Solid Korina Body

The Limited Edition Korina Explorer is made from solid Korina, one of the great tone woods for electric instruments. The profile of the black and white pickguard is also reminiscent of the first generation of rare Explorers. Korina was first used by Gibson in the late 50s for the first limited run of the Flying V and Explorer. Although few copies were made, Korina quickly drew the admiration of luthiers and guitarists for its warm tone and strong resonant properties. The new Ltd. Ed. Korina Explorer is finished in Antique Natural to show off the guitar's fine and delicate grain. Korina wood is read more also lightweight, easy to hold, and comfortable to play.

The neck has a classic "1960's" SlimTaper D-Profile and a 24.75" scale, perfect for any style. The Pau Ferro fingerboard has a 12 radius, traditional pearloid "Dot" inlays, a 1-11/16" nut, and 22 medium jumbo frets. The Explorer's trademark headstock has a mid-60s style "Epiphone" script logo along with legendary Grover Mini-Rotomatic machine heads with a 14:1 ratio for fast and reliable tuning.

Alnico Classic Humbuckers

The Limited Edition Korina Explorer is powered by an Alnico Classic humbucker in the neck position and an overwound, slightly hotter Alnico Classic Plus humbucker in the bridge position. Similar in tone to the original "PAF-style" humbuckers of the original Explorers, Alnico Classics use Alnico-V magnets for a higher output with enhanced mids and highs. Alnico Classic humbuckers are carefully wound to reveal the full tonal range of the Korina body for exceptional power and detail. Controls include individual volume controls for each pickup and a master tone, all with vintage-style Black "Top Hat" knobs.

Solid Epiphone Hardware

Epiphone hardware is guaranteed for the life and the Ltd. Ed. Korina Explorer features a LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge and StopBar tailpiece for exceptional intonation along with an Epiphone all-metal non-rotating 1/4" jack. All hardware, including the Grover machine heads, is gold, a perfect complement to the Antique Natural finish.

Lifetime Warranty

The Epiphone Ltd. Ed. Korina Explorer comes with Epiphone's Limited Lifetime Guarantee and Gibson's world famous 24/7/365 expert Customer Service.
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- Body Material: Korina (African Limba)
- Neck Material: Korina (African Limba)
- Neck Profile: "1960's" SlimTaper; D-Profile
- Nut: Synthetic Bone
- Neck Joint: Glued In
- Truss Rod: Adjustable
- Scale Length: 24.75"
- Fingerboard Material: Pau Ferro with pearloid "Dot" inlays
- Fingerboard Radius: 12"
- Headstock: Traditional Explorer with Pearloid "Epiphone" logo
- Neck Pickup: Epiphone Alnico Classic Humbucker
- Bridge Pickup: Epiphone Alnico Classic Plus Humbucker
- Controls: Epiphone All-metal 3-way Pickup Selector
- Bridge Volume
- Neck Volume
- Master Tone
- Binding: None
- Frets: 22; medium-jumbo
- Bridge: LockTone Tune-o-matic
- Tailpiece: LockTone Stopbar
- Nut Width: 1-11/16"
- Hardware: Gold
- Pickguard: 3-layer; (B/W/B)
- Output Jack: Epiphone All-metal 1/4"
- Output Jack Plate: Square; Black PVC
- Machine Heads: Grover mini-Rotomatics; 14; 1 ratio
- Knobs: Black "Top Hat" knobs
- Optional: Hard Case (940-EXLP2)
- Warranty: Epiphone Limited Lifetime

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-4GIBSON
Web: https://www.epiphone.com/en-US/Support/Contact

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (64 ratings)
Submitted October 24, 2021 by Griff T in Columbia, SC

"Great looking guitar that I’ve wanted since I’ve been a kid."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I’m very happy with my purchase because this axe looks, feels, and sounds great. I’m a huge Skynyrd fan and the second I saw Allen Collins shredding on his explorer, I added it to my bucket list of guitars to own. Now I can’t afford a real Gibson explorer but I could afford this beautiful Epiphone Korina Explorer and I’m happy I did. After replacing the factory strings, I plugged it in and started playing and here are a few things I’ve gathered about it:The tuners are pretty good and probably the best I’ve experienced right out of the box from Epiphone. I have had 3 epi les Paul’s and eventually upgraded to locking tuners on all three but I think I might be able to keep the stock tuners on this explorer for a while. The pickups are actually pretty decent in my opinion but I am planning on replacing them with either Seymour Duncan 59s or pearly gates but only because I got a great deal on them. The stock pickups could be a tad bit muddy but for a 600 dollar guitar theyre pretty good. The finish is absolutely amazing. It looks even better in person than the pictures show on this website and the gold hardware combined with the wood and natural finish is gorgeous. Plus when I’m not playing it, it looks fantastic hanging on my wall. I usually play on a satin neck because I prefer the speed compared to a glossy neck but on this explorer it doesn’t bother me at all. I can play just as fast on this neck than I can on my other guitars and the slightly wider fretboard read more with the slim tapered neck is great for accurately hitting notes while soloing. Since I never held or played an explorer before this one I was worried about the comfort level of playing while sitting down but it is surprising comfortable. I can’t really lean back as well as I can with my les Paul’s but I have no complaints One con I noticed though is that you’re going to want to put strap locks on this guitar because it is very easy for the top buckle to slide off the strap. Also I have to buy a special case for this guitar because of its unorthodox shape but I saved so much money because of the price of this guitar that it won’t be an issue. All in all I’m very happy with my purchase and zZounds shipped this guitar about a month earlier than I expected it due to it being on back order so that was a very nice surprise.

Musical Background:
Been playing guitar since I was 7 years old (17 years playing)

Musical Style:
Lead guitarist mainly with 60’s and 70’s hard rock/southern rock influences.
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No longer available at zZounds

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