NGD - Time for some EXPLOR'ing

[LCW]

NGD - stoked! Never had an Explorer before. Many SGs and LPs but never a "designer series" Gibson. Got an impulse to ditch my SG for this 2024 70's reissue Explorer. While it's not an "84" style, I can live out my Hetfield fanboi dreams haha.

Surprised how balanced these giant hunks of mahogany are. Kinda nice. Very comfortable to play. Nice slim neck. Feels solid.

Getting used to it still. The pickups as well. Can't quite figure out right now what they are similar to. Gibson calls them '70s Tribute' humbuckers. They are Alnico 5 and per their specs, are 16.2K neck, 15K bridge. So pretty hot. Especially the neck. They chug pretty decent but aren't the tightest things I've ever played. Seem to have some good mids.

Time to get my Ride The Lightining on...

 

[jrn1308]

Nice, I'm close to buying one myself. How's the overall quality?

 

[Shawn]

Classy. Congrats!

 

[LCW]

Nice, I'm close to buying one myself. How's the overall quality?

Pretty stellar I must say! I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[cardinal]

Love how Explorers look. Congrats!

I find the upper wing super comfortable, it's just that every Explorer I've played neck dives. I know there are ones that don't; I've just been unlucky I guess.

 

[LCW]

Love how Explorers look. Congrats!

I find the upper wing super comfortable, it's just that every Explorer I've played neck dives. I know there are ones that don't; I've just been unlucky I guess.

Zero neck dive on this and I mean zero. I can let go of the neck and it stays in place like a statue.

I’ve owned SGs that neck dived (dove?) and so I know the feeling.

For what it’s worth this one weighs 8.4 lbs.

 

[l1ll1]

DAAAAAMN.
Congrats!

This one is in the top 3 of my GAS since three years. I really like the PUs, especially since they (and the guitar) can do almost everything, including super impressive cleans. Was extremely close to buying a 70s in Antique Natural and really fell in love with those PUs.
I'm totally with you: Even though the shape doesn't look like it, it's one of the most comfortable ones I've tried. Had to play an Explorer for a looong time as part of a dance piece and loved every minute of it.

 

[gh0styboi]

Man, that's nice. I'm such a sucker for EX and Tele shapes

Looks dope, man. And happy NGD!

 

[LCW]

DAAAAAMN.
Congrats!

This one is in the top 3 of my GAS since three years. I really like the PUs, especially since they (and the guitar) can do almost everything, including super impressive cleans. Was extremely close to buying a 70s in Antique Natural and really fell in love with those PUs.
I'm totally with you: Even though the shape doesn't look like it, it's one of the most comfortable ones I've tried. Had to play an Explorer for a looong time as part of a dance piece and loved every minute of it.

Yeah the 70s pickups are pretty wicked and somewhat unique or less conventional than most other Gibson pickups

 

[grimmchaos]

I do love me an explorer. Congrats!!

 

[crik]

love mine. michael stevens arts and crafted for me back in “97. go to tracking gtr for big notes.

 

[LCW]

Just a little FYI/Beware post. Barely 24 hrs on a stand that I previously held the CS 61 Reissue that I traded in for the Explorer. Aniline dye!!!! Stupid of me!!

It is what it is now. Can’t undo. Tried a bit of cutting guitar polish on it. It’s there for good.

No wonder Gibson treats white guitars separately.

And I should have known better!! Dave’s where I got it purposely only store white Gibsons in their cases and not on hangers because of the Aniline dye from the Custom Shop reissues they have (R8, R9, R8, SG, etc).

Time to go get a new Hercules stand that I will mark with “WHITE Only!!”.

Bass Side:


Treble Side:

 

[gh0styboi]

love mine. michael stevens arts and crafted for me back in “97. go to tracking gtr for big notes.

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm about 8/10 jealous of that one. Traditional EX with 7 strings? Yes, please...

 

[l1ll1]

Just a little FYI/Beware post. Barely 24 hrs on a stand that I previously held the CS 61 Reissue that I traded in for the Explorer. Aniline dye!!!! Stupid of me!!

It is what it is now. Can’t undo. Tried a bit of cutting guitar polish on it. It’s there for good.

No wonder Gibson treats white guitars separately.

And I should have known better!! Dave’s where I got it purposely only store white Gibsons in their cases and not on hangers because of the Aniline dye from the Custom Shop reissues they have (R8, R9, R8, SG, etc).

Time to go get a new Hercules stand that I will mark with “WHITE Only!!”.

Bass Side:
View attachment 144000

Treble Side:
View attachment 144001

Yeah that sucks, but give it one year of playing and exposure of sunlight and those marks will be absorbed / faded in.

 

[LCW]

Yeah that sucks, but give it one year of playing and exposure of sunlight and those marks will be absorbed / faded in.

Sure - thanks for the advice. Glad I caught before it got any worse. But man it happened quick.

 

[grimmchaos]

Ugh that sucks!! Is that the same as accidentally bumping it into the desk the first day you have it? I've done that on most of my guitars unfortunately .

 

[LCW]

Ugh that sucks!! Is that the same as accidentally bumping it into the desk the first day you have it? I've done that on most of my guitars unfortunately .

Definitely not as bad as that.

 

[Fox Dieane]

Always love an explorer. Not the most comfortable body shape to play in my opinion, but there's just something special about them I can't get enough of.

As far as I can remember, Gibson kind of goes the old-way with finishing and stuff. Your guitar will take on characteristics of you as a player and how you store them, especially the white ones. If it's a guitar you really love and don't see yourself parting with, I like the dumb little imperfections that come with owning it over time. Be it buckle rash, finish wearing, scratches, discoloring, etc. I have guitars that I've owned for a decade and a half that have cracked finishes that I poorly covered up with nail polish. Maybe I'm just sentimental, but I love guitars that take on features/imperfections of the user.

Not gonna lie, I'm having a hard time seeing the issues your stand caused in the photos, but I say embrace the imperfections. Just look at the OG frankenstrat and how out of pocket it looks because of how the end-user handled it.

Congrats and enjoy!

 

[LCW]

Not the most comfortable body shape to play in my opinion, but there's just something special about them I can't get enough of.

Ironically I find the Explorer to be one of the, if not the, most comfortable guitar to play that I've personally owned (which has been SGs, LPs, Strats, Eclipses, SoCals, Dinkys, Soloists... I think that's it... No V's, can't stand them).

This one is super well balanced, both on a strap standing and on my lap sitting. It's not super light like an SG, but at 8.4 lbs, it's quite reasonable for how large it is. That would be 'light' for a LP. Neck feels amazing - but I like slighly slimmer necks. Similar to 60 SGs, but maybe a touch wider. Great upper fret access and neck is in the "right spot" when on a strap.

 

[l1ll1]

Ironically I find the Explorer to be one of the, if not the, most comfortable guitar to play that I've personally owned (which has been SGs, LPs, Strats, Eclipses, SoCals, Dinkys, Soloists... I think that's it... No V's, can't stand them).

This one is super well balanced, both on a strap standing and on my lap sitting. It's not super light like an SG, but at 8.4 lbs, it's quite reasonable for how large it is. That would be 'light' for a LP. Neck feels amazing - but I like slighly slimmer necks. Similar to 60 SGs, but maybe a touch wider. Great upper fret access and neck is in the "right spot" when on a strap.

Really agree with you here. For me the explorer shape is also one of the most comfortable shapes I ever played (which are all the standard shapes incl. all Ibanezes). Similarly easy to navigate – at least for me – are set neck icemans, which comes at no surprise at all.