NGD Gibson Explorer - My first American guitar

[vilk]

I've had Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Mexican, Japanese, Canadian, even Czech, but this is my first ever American made guitar. You know, I usually play an ESP made SG lawsuit (Edwards), and they are allegedly supposed to have the same kind of neck, but the Gibson neck on this Explorer is different. It's like... got more "shoulder" to it? But not like a Jackson soloist or an Ibanez, because the neck is also very round. It's simultaneously round and shouldery. I like it though. IDK if someone swapped the pickups or just put covers over the stock ones, because I'm pretty sure 2016 Explorers came with uncovered pups. Plays fantastic. I just read that it is factory PLEK'd, so I believe this would be my first time playing a PLEK'd guitar as well. The action is very low and the frets are so good. There are some finish flaws that I imagine are from the factory, but I got such a deal on this thing and it plays so well I just can't find myself giving a crap about those.

You see a lot of people playing Explorer's with the neck very horizontal to the ground (James Hetfield), so I was worried that the balance of the guitar would keep the neck down, which is not my preference. I was happily surprised to find that neck stays right up there, and especially if you apply any pressure to the body with your forearm. I gotta be honest, I am not loving the painted neck. Maybe I'll have it stripped and refinished in oil like I did for my SG.

It's heavy as crap though. Man, I never thought I'd own a real Gibson! I feel like a pro.

 

[nikt]

I'm in a hunt for Explorer myself.
Congrats!

 

[TedEH]

Explorers are still the best.

 

[Dawn of the Shred]

Congrats and HNGD man

 

[IbanezDaemon]

Very cool axe! The G.A.S for one of these has just gone up another notch.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

looks good, congrats!

 

[Ignoramus]

HNGD. Yeah, the '16 Explorer came with the uncovered 496/500 set as I'm to understand.

Have you looked at the pickups to see what they are?

 

[Edika]

Gibson Explorer's are great guitars and congrats on snagging this one as it looks really classy. The Gibson 500T/496R combo are great sounding pickups so if the previous owner just got covers then that's good news!

If you think this is heavy though you should try a non weight relief Les Paul!

 

[Leviathus]

Sweet! HNGD!

 

[jephjacques]

Mmmmm, I've always thought they look cooler with covered pickups, excellent score

 

[Ordacleaphobia]

HNGD dude; not much of a Gibson guy myself, but even I've got to admit that is a pretty sexy axe.
Three cheers for good deals and congrats on a notch off the wishlist!

 

[BlackSG91]

That guitar looks great and good choice of colour...black. My Gibson SG is my first American guitar so I know the feeling.


;>)/

 

[vilk]

That guitar looks great and good choice of colour...black. My Gibson SG is my first American guitar so I know the feeling.


;>)/

I'm toying with the idea of getting a black pickguard...

 

[TedEH]

I tend to like the white guard just cause there's enough all-black guitars out in the world already. Buuuuut at the same time maybe it just works for this one. This thread makes me want to go home and pick up my explorer.

 

[luciformheart]

Looks cool, happy NGD!

 

[MetalHex]

Hngd. +1 for black pickgaurd.

 

[GÜMERSINDO]

HNGD. Yeah, the '16 Explorer came with the uncovered 496/500 set as I'm to understand.

Have you looked at the pickups to see what they are?

Mine is from that year and has 496/500t, but there was a cheaper version with burstbucker set that had covers, I´ll bet is the burstbucker version.

Anyway, to the OP, congrats for the purchase and HNGD!

 

[Señor Voorhees]

A Gibson explorer is like my dream guitar, which is weird since I had, sold, and don't exactly miss, one. It played great and looked amazing... it had a lot of small issues I could overlook. (Ex: strap button screws were lightly stripped, and were very sharp as a result.)

I hated the way mine sounded, though, and I think I just had a dead sounding hunk of wood. I'm convinced that if I picked out a different one (bought mine site unseen cuz great price on clearance when moving to the next years models) I would love it. I've owned maybe 6 Gibsons, and it was the one I didn't like the sound of. (Again, it felt and looked great.)

Rant aside, congrats! The guitar looks just as sick as I remember them being, and I'm sure it plays just as nicely. If you're digging the way it sounds, then I'm venturing a guess that I'd love to have it, too! Out of curiosity, is it young/cased enough that it still smells like a Gibson? One of my favorite parts of getting a new gibson is opening the case and getting hit with the smell of vanilla. Absolutely love that clear coat stink. lol

 

[Ignoramus]

I have 2 explorers, and can understand the 'dead wood' issue. I resolved it on both of mine by swapping pickups (well, quite a few sets of pickups), and now they're both sublime.

 

[vilk]

Mine is from that year and has 496/500t, but there was a cheaper version with burstbucker set that had covers, I´ll bet is the burstbucker version.

Anyway, to the OP, congrats for the purchase and HNGD!

The paperwork has a "photo" of the guitar that shows the pickups uncovered, so that's why I assumed these were put on/in by the previous owner.