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Rating And Reviews: Gibson Explorer Guitar

496R and 500T ceramic-magnet humbuckers. Mahogany neck and body.

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"Balls to the walls TONE MONSTER" submitted March 22, 2012

By Don P in Lynn Haven, FL
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Musical Background: Lead guitar, been playing for 35 years. I play in two rock bands, and do fill in work for other bands. I also do studio work.
Music Style: 80s rock, hair metal, modern rock, blues, classic rock.
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Overall: I have several Gibson Les Pauls, and I have wanted an Explorer since I was a kid. I bought the Cherry version, and I couldnt be more pleased. When I opened the case, I was blown away by the looks alone... Shiny trans Cherry sitting in the plush white case... It just screamed "lets rock". When I picked it up, I first noticed the action was high for me. I lowered it a bit, adjusted the truss rod, and intonation. then I plugged it up to my Marshall DSL100. The clean sound was so big and full of that Gibson tone. The bridge pup had a bit of bite, but still had a good tone. The neck pup sounds smooth and mellow, and has a great feel. When I kicked in the overdrive channel, I was REALLY blown away. The pickups are much hotter than I expected. The harmonics just jump off the neck... The neck pup has such a sweet lead tone... I could solo all day with that sound! The sustain of this guitar is almost as good as my '04 Les Paul Standard. Also, I was surprised by how well balanced it is. I thought it would be neck heavy.... but it is perfect. When you let go of the neck, it stays right where its supposed to. For the price, you cant go wrong. The build quality is there- the finish is flawless. The only thing I would change, is I would have Grover mini locking tuners come standard on it. But the stock grovers seem to be doing just fine. I still ordered locking ones... I put them on every guitar I have. I saw in another review where someone said this guitar is impossible to play sitting down. I disagree. It is just as comfortable to play sitting down as it is standing up. I think a Maple top on this would be a cool addition and would add a bit more highs to the sound, not to mention it would look cool. But im not complaining. This guitar suits everything I play. I play in two rock bands that cover everything from 80s metal to modern rock, and I believe this will do it all. Ive had it for two days now and havent put it down much.... I have two gigs this weekend, and cant wait to unleash this beast. Not only does it sound amazing, but there isnt a more cool looking guitar than an Explorer. If you want a high quality guitar that sounds amazing and looks even better, I highly recommend this.
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"Hetfield-Gibson is a great buy" submitted July 31, 2008

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Musical Background: Proffesional Musician
Music Style: Rock, Metal, Thrash, Classical
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Sound: The guitar sounds great. It needs a little bit of tweaking with the amp, and its perfect. Feature: The guitar is a Gibson, and the look is just awesome Ease of Use: There is no easy way to play this sitting down. Standing up its a surprisingly light guitar, and the neck is extremely comfortable. I was amazed at how easy it was to play Quality: This guitar will stand up to any amount of shredding you throw at it. Mine came with the Ebony finish, and the paint was perfect, not a single imperfection. Value: I would gladly pay more for this guitar. This is a life time gig machine for me Manufacturer Support: I've never had to call, so i'm assuming their good Overall: I will most likely look to buying more guitars, but this one is certainly a good buy, and can never be truly replaced
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"BUY IT" submitted October 10, 2012

By Steven Ex in St. Petersburg, FL
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Musical Background: Actively gigging Musician
Music Style: Punk/Heavier Rock
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Overall: C'mon, it's a Gibson Explorer. You already know this thing rules. You already know you want one or you wouldn't be reading this because no one sort of thinks they might like them. You either love the style or you hate it. Well, I read the reviews too even though I knew all of these things and here's what I think was missing from the reviews I read now that I have one: Weight: Nice....not too heavy...not too light. This guitar WILL lean forward and unhook itself at the neck strap pin. It's just the nature of the body style. Obviously, you can use a strap lock set up, but it will still lean toward the front because of the weight of the tale piece so, I just run the strap across the tale piece ala Allen Collins style and it balances perfectly. Neck: Nice and thin. It's super fast and the action was perfect for me right out of the box. Tone: I play it through a Blackstar HT100 Head and a Peavey HD4x12 and this thing SCREAMS. It oozes sustain too. Again, it's a Gibson Exporer, you already know it sounds brilliant, but through a Brit tube amp....H E double hockey sticks hath no fury like this beast. If you can swing the price, buy it. You don't see them used very often and if you do, they aren't much less than new. I used zZounds financing option. The terms are really easy and honestly, I never thought I would be approved, but I was so, if your thinking about that, take the statement for what it's worth.
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Gibson Explorer Guitar Customer Review submitted May 28, 2008

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Sound: very nice sound, especially works well with disrortion and other adjusting to other amp settings. 10/10 Feature: has pretty much anyting a guitarist could ask for Ease of Use: the fret board's thickness is perfect for any size hand Quality: incredible Value: worth every penny The Wow Factor: everything about it looks great, especially the lightning bolt body. perfect for metal. Overall: awesome. 10/10
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"Gibson Explorer White" submitted October 7, 2012

By David K in Des Moines, IA
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Musical Background: Classic Rock, Hair Metal, Power Metal
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Overall: I usually don't like making bigger purchases sight unseen, but when I opened the box and took the guitar out of the case, it was ready to go! Plays great, sounds great; it was more guitar than I thought I was getting, to be honest. I always wanted an Explorer, and zZounds made that a possibility......very pleased.
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"Gibson Explorer Rocks" submitted April 11, 2012

By Derek S in Sinclairville, NY
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Musical Background: 4 years expierience, teach guitar
Music Style: Hard Rock/Metal/Hair Metal... anything 80s
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Overall: For starters I have always been a Les Paul kind of guy and was not even interested in an explorer before playing one, but after going to my local gibson dealer and trying one out I have to say that for me it was by far the best guitar i've ever played. The ebony fretboard was smooth and made shredding a breeze. pickups were hot and power chords had a nice crunch to them. The sustain on the guitar is absolutely amazing, i could hold a note all day. I played a white one with Ebony fingerboard so the great sustain might not apply to those with rosewood. another suprise i had with this guitar just from picking it up is that although the guitar looks as if it would be heavy it is suprisingly very light and easy on the back compared to a Les Paul. In my opinion the only thing that could make this guitar better for me would be 24 frets, some binding, and a floyd rose. If you play metal or hard rock though this is the guitar for you. (if you want the Floyd Rose i mentioned try out the new limited run explorer with tremolo i haven't tried one yet but i'm sure its just as good)
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"Explore the "Explorer"" submitted April 28, 2012

By Keith W in Delmar, NY
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Musical Background: Playing for four yrs. Play for fun and relaxation. Play with friends. LP, Strat., Tele, Taylor acoutic.
Music Style: Rock, Country/rock, Country, Blues.
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Overall: To me this is a classic Gibson Guitar. I'm a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan and bought this axe to get the "Collins" sound I was looking for. Despite it's odd shape (that I happen to like) this axe rests comfortably on your lap, if you like to sit while practicing. The Gibson quality is there in my opinion. I bought the New Cherry, and it's beautiful. The finish is easy to mar though. I pulled the knobs to clean under them, and you can see imprints from my finger nails. Hard to see, but easy to mar the beautiful clear coat.
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"One of kind guitar. Great buy." submitted March 31, 2009

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Musical Background: Active Musician
Music Style: Everything. Don't limit yourself.
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Sound: The sounds I am able to get from the pickups has a wide range. I prefer a warm and full tone, and this guitar delivers on both humbuckers. Great for clean and of course with heavy gain. I have played this through a Marshall, Krank, Line 6, and a Bugera...and I would prefer the Marshall. Krank is great but only good to me for gain. Most amp companies have a good clean. So...sounds best through any Marshall tube amp. Guitars are only going to sound as good as your amp. Feature: The reason why I bought this guitar was for its looks. It is, to me, pretty much the most brutal and awesome looking guitar out there. Great confidence builder. The neck is what sealed the deal though at my local guitar store. I have played several guitars from Ibanez's, Jackson's, Gibson's, Epiphonies, and Fender's and I never felt so comfortable playing on a neck before. The neck is a very important but overlooked feature on a guitar that can of course only be experienced by playing it. Go try it out! Buy it from Zzounds to avoid paying sales tax and shipping(except NJ)! Stick it to the Man! Saved around $100. Everything feels nice and smooth when I play on this guitar. Even $2000+ guitars do not have a feel like this, which just goes to show you do not have to take out a mortgage to get a fine quality guitar. Ease of Use: The neck feels great. Playing standing up is just like playing sitting down. Love it. It is dream like. I look forward everyday to playing it. Just forget about friends and family for a second. Just need my Gibson time. Quality: It's a Gibson Explorer...enough said. Always looks better in person. Great case by the way. Mine out the box came with a perfect set up. Low action. Of course had to change the strings. No blemishes, no cosmetic issues,and the quality of the guitar will last as long as you want. Take care of your stuff. You paid for it. Value: Gibson. I would pay around...$1750+ for this guitar. It is that amazing. I am glad it is cheaper that of course. Manufacturer Support: No need. The Wow Factor: This is probably one of the sexiest guitars to be had. Even an old dude would get some if he was rockin' out on a Gibson explorer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank whoever was responsible for the design...Thank you. Many mimic this design...and they fail because there's never, never, never, never, never, ever than the real thing. Overall: This is a great buy. I am glad I could afford it. I honestly think they could throw a couple more hundred on there because it is a very high quality guitar. Use the 4 payment plan if you have a hard time financially. Zzounds is awesome to have this payment plan. Take advantage of it. This guitar is worth every penny.
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"Gibson Explorer is ALL that!!" submitted September 19, 2012

By Lew WAite in Kalkaska, MI
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Musical Background: Just play at home...so far
Music Style: rock,metal and blues
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Overall: I am so in love with my Explorer! I wish I would have bought one years ago. You will not be disappointed!
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"Buyer beware!!!" submitted September 23, 2012

By Chris M in Hattiesburg, MS
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Musical Background: playing 25 years. Own 15 guitars, gretsch, epiphone, fender, schecter, etc.
Music Style: everything...
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Overall: Don't buy...these have the granadillo rosewood fingerboards. Look HORRIBLE and the wood had hairlike cracks sprouting from the fret wire. After researching, I learned this "rosewood" is very dense...good tonally, but not good for gluing. If you want a REAL Explorer, you'll have to get something prior to 2011. Gibson has lost a fan here...and I'm sure many others once they realize the ruse they're pulling on their customers (their web product descriptions invariably call the granadillo "rosewood.") And that's true, in the same way that a Pinto or an Edsel was technically still a car. Caveat Emptor. But zZounds is a great company and returned it for me, no questions asked. Love those guys!
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