First off, thank you zZounds for everything yall do. Always excellent service. My guitar came out of tune, but that doesn't matter. Sometimes a guitar comes in in tune. I tuned up and got plugged in. My rig is slightly complicated. I plug into my Ibanez Demon Wah to my BOSS Metal Zone Distortion into my DOD 7band EQ to my Sonicake Black Hammer multi FX with delay, chorus, boost and a Distortion I don't use. After that I can choose from a very old CRATE G120 2X12 120 watt combo or my Randall RG80. Through either amp my effects are brutal. My new Explorer sounded amazing and passed the distortion test with flying colors. I used my Randall for the clean test as it sounds great clean. On the next k pickup I could play anything clean. I was mostly playing some Sanitarium by Metallica. It killed it. Sounded amazing. The feel of the neck is very comfortable for my smallish hands and the feet work is superb. There are no defects and everything works as it should. I usually swap out pickups, but the stock pickups hold their own and I love the sound of them so they are staying right where they belong. The fit and finish is top notch. Beautiful deep black finish with no visible flaws. It's not heavy at all. It's a comfortable weight. Does not neck dive. I had to check myself out in the mirror and this guitar is sexy. This all based on my experience and gear. I'm sure it will fit in with any rig. I'll let you be the judge. I recommend that if your on the fence to go ahead and buy one. You… read more won't regret it. It can be upgraded , different pick guard or pickups. The hardware is great. I bet it would look great with all black hardware and pickups. It gives me that Hetfield moko thang big time. Awesome guitar that is worth more than $599.

Musical Background:
40 years of playing metal. I'm done with bands and I play at home for me.

Musical Style:
Primarily Heavy Metal. Some blues, southern rock, Thrash Metal. I'm willing to learn anything. read less