AJ B. Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 My aunt agreed that she would get me a new guitar if i got good grades this semester. Since i don't want to bankrupt her, I'm having a tough time choosing between the Epiphone firebird studio and the Epiphone Korina 1958 explorer reissue. i played the firebird and it has an amazing blues tone and performed well in all other styles I play. I've yet to try the Korina explorer, but i know they both have Alnico classic Humbuckers. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilm3 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 They're both pretty nice looking, and seemed spec'd close in terms of hardware, except for the single tone knob on the Korina. I'd have a hard time deciding, too. Comes down to you needing to find an Explorer to sample. You should budget for a case and a proper set-up. You could live for a while with a soft case, though, and you may get lucky and get a properly set up one, or at least close. Are you buying online, or at a shop? Any body know if the Korina wood has some unique tone characteristics? I've never played one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfine Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Korina and mahogany both have pretty similar tonal characteristics, with the korina being maybe a little brighter. The Firebird Studio has full-size humbuckers, right? So does the Explorer, so they should sound similar too. It probably boils down to which one you prefer the look of. Me, I probably wouldn't go with either of them, for ergonomic reasons--neither shape hangs right on me, but that's just me. I had a '64 Firebird III back in the '70's--it played great and sounded great, but I couldn't get it to balance right for me. Plenty of players use Explorers and Firebirds with no problems, so this is purely subjective on my part. I think they both look cool, but I have to admit a bit of a preference for the curvier look of the Firebird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I'd go for the '58 Korina Explorer, everyone of them I've seen has had just a mouth wateringly beautiful grain to the wood, gorgeous guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ B. Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 They're both pretty nice looking, and seemed spec'd close in terms of hardware, except for the single tone knob on the Korina. I'd have a hard time deciding, too. Comes down to you needing to find an Explorer to sample. You should budget for a case and a proper set-up. You could live for a while with a soft case, though, and you may get lucky and get a properly set up one, or at least close. Are you buying online, or at a shop? Any body know if the Korina wood has some unique tone characteristics? I've never played one. i'm buying from a shop for sure. i'm pretty sure Korina is a labeled a great wood for guitars, but then again, so is mahogany. i accounted for both of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The Firebird with Seymour Duncan SM-2's and coil taps Would be very nice indeed... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I have a MIK Custom Shop Sunburst Epi Firebird V and it sounds just like a mid 60s SG-just incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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