Epiphone Explorer?

[Cubio]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm looking at buying an Ebony Epiphone '58 Explorer and I'm wondering if that'd be a good guitar for playing thrash / modern metal as well as some hard rock. Along the lines of Early Metallica (Master of Puppets) up to modern Metallica (Death Magnetic) and Pantera and Slayer. And hard rock like Offspring.

 

Would the Explorer be a good choice? How are the tone, stability and build?

 

I hear all the Epi Explorer's are made of Korina (but I've also heard other things)... whatever they're made of, how does it compare to mahogany?

 

And how are the pickups? Are they a good match for the bands/styles I listed?

 

Finally: and I might get hung drawn and quarted for asking this... how do they compare against the Tokai EX-55 Explorer copy?

 

Thanks for your help!

[WyldePlayer]

Epiphone Explorer standards are made of mahogany.

 

The only Korina bodied Explorer is the one with the gold body and gold hardware as far as i know. I forget the name of it.

[KX36]

How are the tone' date=' stability and build?[/quote']

 

I may possibly have a slightly biassed view here but... When you're playing metal, tone is really taken out of the equation. You distort the sound so much into a noise that no subtle differences from one guitar to another is noticable. Playing a vintage '59 Gibson Les Paul for metal should be a crime punishable by being hanged drawn and quartered.

 

Playing that style of music of some of the bands you mention is all about look, attitude and stage performance, not about music, so get whatever black coloured guitar you think looks coolest.

 

New Epiphones are well built, you get what you pay for; they're not as perfectly finished as Gibsons, but they're for the most part perfectly adequate for the amateur or budding professional. Older Epiphones aren't always as good quality as the new ones and that's got Epiphone a bit of a reputation that it doesn't deserve anymore.

[pohatu771]

Epiphone Explorer standards are made of mahogany.

 

The only Korina bodied Explorer is the one with the gold body and gold hardware as far as i know. I forget the name of it.

 

The 1958 Korina Explorer (as well as Flying V) comes in Natural and Ebony - but both are made of the same mahogany as the rest of Epiphone's guitars. "Korina" is really just a reference to the original 1958 material.

[WyldePlayer]

Like i said, as far as i knew. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Hungrycat]

When you're playing metal' date=' tone is really taken out of the equation. You distort the sound so much into a noise that no subtle differences from one guitar to another is noticable. Playing a vintage '59 Gibson Les Paul for metal should be a crime punishable by being hanged drawn and quartered. [/quote']

 

 

WRONG

 

 

 

Playing that style of music of some of the bands you mention is all about look' date=' attitude and stage performance, not about music, so get whatever black coloured guitar you think looks coolest.

[/quote']

 

[metalhed717]

agreed ^^^

[Sjael]

The Epiphone Explorer is a fantastic guitar. I have a Korean-made goth Explorer, and it's my main guitar.

 

I've said this a million times over, but it doesn't quite match my (literally flawless) Prophecy Les Paul in terms of quality of finish, but it's more resonant, more comfortable, and just more fun to play. Oh, and it looks %^*#ing metal.

 

The stock pickups are pretty good, but I'd replace the electronics in a heartbeat. The hardware is all fine, although I've replaced all of mine for non-quality-related reasons (Changed the tuners out for identical chrome ones, added a Bigsby B5, then a chrome Resomax bridge with StringSaver saddles to help with that.)

 

The body itself is rock-solid, and made from very few pieces from what I can see inside of mine.

 

I highly recommend them.

 

The 1958 Korina Explorer (as well as Flying V) comes in Natural and Ebony - but both are made of the same mahogany as the rest of Epiphone's guitars. "Korina" is really just a reference to the original 1958 material.

I was under the impression the Korina Explorer was made of Korina offcuts with a proper veneer on the front and back. At least we of the forum came to the conlusion a while back that it was made of something that didn't look like mahogany and did look like korina. The goth an Korina explorers certainly feel different to me.

 

The black Explorer and the Goth explorer are definitely mahogany though.

 

I may possibly have a slightly biassed view here but... When you're playing metal' date=' tone is really taken out of the equation. You distort the sound so much into a noise that no subtle differences from one guitar to another is noticable. Playing a vintage '59 Gibson Les Paul for metal should be a crime punishable by being hanged drawn and quartered. [/quote']

If you are using so much distortion that you can't tell two different guitars apart, you've crossed into a genre we educated people refer to as 'sh!t metal.'

[Hungrycat]

The Epiphone Explorer is a fantastic guitar.

 

Yes it is. In my nerd-rage I forgot to mention how much I love my Explorer. I hug it and squeeze it and call it George :P

[Cubio]

Woah KX36... take a chill pill :) were you mollested by a heavy metal guitarist as a child or something?

 

Thanks your help and clarification everyone. So let me get this straight... the Epi Goth Explorer and the Gibsons are made of mahogany (although I'm sure the Gibsons use more expensive types). The Natural finish Epi Korina explorer is made of (wait for it)... Korina. And the black Epi 58 Korina Explorer with the white pickguard is made of... mahogany?! Or is there another black epi 58 explorer that's not korina???

 

Maybe I need a little more clarification on that one :P or maybe what I should be asking is: does it affect tone? I mean... whatever they're made of... does it make a difference? I've never played anything that was made of Korina as far as I know. But if it's like mahogany then I'm happy!

 

Maybe I should just get the goth if that's definitely mahogany. I do like the inlay and the black hardware. Although I did want covered pups and the white pickguard. The pickguard could be sprayed easily enough though.

 

How hard would it be for me to find and fit some brushed steel / nickel covers to the goth pickups? And are the pickups in the goth the same as those in the Epi '58 but without covers? I noticed that the goth is significantly cheaper which is worrying although maybe that's just due to the availability of korina vs standard mahogany?

 

Thanks again, you guys are great

[Sjael]

Thanks your help and clarification everyone. So let me get this straight... the Epi Goth Explorer and the Gibsons are made of mahogany (although I'm sure the Gibsons use more expensive types). The Natural finish Epi Korina explorer is made of (wait for it)... Korina. And the black Epi 58 Korina Explorer with the white pickguard is made of... mahogany?! Or is there another black epi 58 explorer that's not korina???

 

Maybe I need a little more clarification on that one :P or maybe what I should be asking is: does it affect tone? I mean... whatever they're made of... does it make a difference? I've never played anything that was made of Korina as far as I know. But if it's like mahogany then I'm happy!

 

Maybe I should just get the goth if that's definitely mahogany. I do like the inlay and the black hardware. Although I did want covered pups and the white pickguard. The pickguard could be sprayed easily enough though.

 

How hard would it be for me to find and fit some brushed steel / nickel covers to the goth pickups? And are the pickups in the goth the same as those in the Epi '58 but without covers? I noticed that the goth is significantly cheaper which is worrying although maybe that's just due to the availability of korina vs standard mahogany?

 

Thanks again' date=' you guys are great

I can't guarantee it, but four or five other users, along with myself, concluded that the Korina Explorer appeared to be actual Korina in a discussion a while back. I'll try and dig it up. I can't speak to the Black '58 Explorer, but I recall seeing images of the control cavity showing mahogany.

 

As for Korina VS Mahogany, they are similar but Korina has more mid-range and less lows. It's also considerably lighter.

 

It shouldn't be too hard to find pickup covers for it. The pickups are a HOTHB8B in the bridge, and a HB6N in the neck, which have a strikingly similar output to the HOTCH and CH57 that are in the other explorers, and it wouldn't surprise me if they are just un-covered versions.

 

I settled for the goth as I don't really like dot inlays, and I quite like the satin finish. Here's a crappy phone pic of mine at the moment:

 

 

I originally planned to get a white pickguard cut for it, but after putting the chrome EMGs in, I really like the black one. I'm gonna get a B/W/B one cut, with a slightly modified shape to make it a bit more unique.

 

Current mods:

Bigsby B5

Resomax bridge w/ String Saver saddles

Chrome EMG 85/60 pickups

Switchcraft Switch

Black TUSQ nut

Chrome Grover tuners

All the black screws were replaced with chrome ones.

 

:)

[Hungrycat]

The Black '58 Explorer is most definitely mahogany of some sort. Mine is very light and resonant, but it's an '05. I have no clue what the brand new ones are like... (:) Come to think of it, the only Epi Explorer I've ever seen in person is mine... Golly Gee! They must not be popular with the Country Crowd.:P )

 

 

*NOTE: I found the bridge pickup to be a bit lacking, so I replaced it, but the neck pickup was fine.

I've also put a black switch ring on the toggle since this picture was taken.

[KX36]

I may have been in a slightly bad mood when I posted that because the small, low value package of guitar strings I bought online that the website would be sent by Royal Mail (i.e. normal mail delivery, same as a letter) was actually sent by DPD, a courier, which means I now have to take time off work just to sign for it or pay £12, more than the value of the package, to have it redelivered. Not only that but my previous experience of DPD was "you weren't in so we left your item in a safe place" which was by a hedge with no foliage in the middle of winter on the official 3rd most burgled street in Britain; needless to say the item was stolen and I got no refund because DPD had it on their books as delivered as if it had been signed for.

 

Anyway, I stand by my assertion that if you're going to dime a Mesa Boogie Dual/Tripple Recto and scoop the mids you could have a Gibson, an Epiphone, or a plywood fake and you wouldn't be able to hear the difference in a blind test, especially with a whole band, especially if all you're doing is chug-chugga-chugging 2 or 3 drop D chords. And it wasn't meant as a necessarily bad thing when I said thrash metal is about stage performance and more visual than audio so get whatever looks the best to you and your band.