Flying V vs. Explorer

[Z SCORP]

Besides the look is there much difference in the sound of these 2 guitars?

[veeman]

Of course. Every guitar has it's own sound. They may be simular, but each has it's own sound. Of course, the amp you play thru, the way you play, ect. all has its effect.

[GibSinCity]

In my opinion, because they share the same pickup configuration(496R/500T), they sound very similar.

Enough to say that it's really a matter of which one looks better to you if you're gonna keep the stock pickups.

[Z SCORP]

Great! Thanks guys!

[Hydra26]

The explorer sounds a little bassier. Not a ton, but a little. Also feels to me like the fretboard on the explorer is ever so slightly wider.

 

Other things:

The flying V has better upper fret access

The full size explorer is perhaps the best strap balanced body shape I've ever played (the v is not bad or unbalanced, it's jsut nto as well balanced as the exp)

Where do you like to have your toggle/controls? Look at both. I have a V in a 58 style configuration and have once in a great while smacked the toggle accidentally when I was strumming too hard

The explorer, while better balanced does weigh more than a V

 

The two will sound SIMILIAR as GibSInCity says above, but not the same. Even more different is going to be a LLP Classic, which also uses the same pups but additionally has a maple cap and is built differently. It's a much more compact shape without wings, fins or the like to bleed off resonance in quite the same way. Personally, I've found I don't much care for the sound of 500t's. Don't get me wrong, they're fantastic sounding, but not my cup of tea. I usually end up dropping them down quite a bit to tame them a little if they stay in the guitar.

[mosquito3]

The flying V has better upper fret access

 

Mmmmm.....i can't tell the same. In my opinion Explorers have a better upper fret access than my 67' Reissue V.

[Hydra26]

I'm speaking from personal feel, rather than from a spec. Admittedly it may feel different to someone else. Maybe it's a form of claustrophobia, but my hand feels a little more restricted on an explorer with that treble horn. Not enough to be a problem, but more than a V to me. Both designs do have a generous lack of material around the bass side of the neck allowing your hand to wrap around which adds to comfort, imho.

[mosquito3]

I'm speaking from personal feel, rather than from a spec...

 

Me too man, i own both the guitars

[dsheppard]

The Explorer has a little more "beef" to it, as it's a little heavier, with more wood.

Of course, playing a V, & and Explorer, are very different, in terms of comfort, for obvious reasons. I've owned 2 Explorers, and 2 V's. Still own a Classic White V, with ebony board. Needless to say, I want another Explorer, but the V will NEVER be parted with. I've added Seymour Duncan pick-ups, a better Gotoh bridge, and customized pick-guard.. It's truly an amazing, aggressive sounding beast..

[veeman]

The Explorer has a little more "beef" to it, as it's a little heavier, with more wood.

Of course, playing a V, & and Explorer, are very different, in terms of comfort, for obvious reasons. I've owned 2 Explorers, and 2 V's. Still own a Classic White V, with ebony board. Needless to say, I want another Explorer, but the V will NEVER be parted with. I've added Seymour Duncan pick-ups, a better Gotoh bridge, and customized pick-guard.. It's truly an amazing, aggressive sounding beast..

 

Photo's, or it aint real!!

[SlashPerryBurst]

One thing to consider is that the Explorer in particular is a pain to carry around. The case is so big and heavy and acts like a sail in heavy wind. I've heard that a flying v case is a lot better in this respect. If you have a car, it won't be a problem, but it's not fun carrying them around everywhere.

 

The explorer does offer great upper fret access, but the 22nd is a bit difficult to reach. This is coming from a les paul player.

[Hydra26]

Valid point, but it really depends how far you need to carry it. To the bar from the parking lot? Not a big deal. a few hundred yards? Yeah, then it's more noticeable.

 

I've found that I really dig the rigid foam soft cases SKB makes. They make them in Exp, V and LP shapes. They have backpack straps (now THAT is easy to carry), don't weigh a lot and protect the instrument pretty darn good. A helluva lot better than a floppy ol gig bag, maybe as good as a hard case. They'll run you $70-100 ish but I think they're worth it.

[SlashPerryBurst]

Valid point, but it really depends how far you need to carry it. To the bar from the parking lot? Not a big deal. a few hundred yards? Yeah, then it's more noticeable.

 

Yes, but as a gigging musician with no transport of his own, I was glad to get rid of the explorer. Great guitar, but not when you have to carry it into work with you several times a week because you need to use it after work. Then carry it all the way around town. By the time you get to the gig, your hand is sore. I never really feel safe putting my trust in gig bags either. Sure some are a lot better than others, but the hard case is better when carrying it around a busy area. Another bad point with the explorer is that you can't just lean it against a wall like you can with other guitars. Unless it's in its hard case that is.

 

My point still stands. Flying V's and Explorers are great guitars, but they're really only for those with their own transport.

[Hydra26]

I can sympathize, I had a very similar situation even though I have transportation and until very recently, for years it was a 350 yard walk into work from the parking lot and then trying to fit the case in a cubicle. Wind absolutely sucked! And with the back issues I had, it made the guitar feel about 3 times as heavy when it was in the case although the case didn't weigh all that much.

 

If you're ever interested in playing that type of guitar again, I still recommend the skb soft cases though. They're called "soft" cases but they really are very rigid and protect, in my opinion, better than a stock hard case when we're talking about a guitar like an explorer or v that comes in a flat case. It's more like a lightweight hard case you wear on your back and the cordura covering is more abrasion resistant than the stock case, although it will separate worse if actually cut with a blade.. As far as leaning it against a wall, yeah, they're pretty sucky for that. Gotta find a corner and stand them up right if you're going to do that. But I'm making my comparison to the stock hard case, not something like a flight case.

[ptc]

I've always played both V's and Explorers and still have both today. They both hang perfectly on my shoulder, especially good for me as I sing as well, but they are pretty different beasts.

 

Even through pickup changes the Explorer always sounds fatter and deeper to me, but doesn't seem to have any more sustain than a V, a good V just vibrates away and it can hold a note as long as any othet guitar I play.

Upper fret access might depend on what shape your fretting hand is, I tend to get my hand stuck against the lower horn when I play the upper frets on the Explorer, meaning I record more rhythym parts with it, my slim taper necked faded V is as good as a '58 for upper fret access but chunkier necks can be a bit of a stretch for me, mind you the 70s style raised board/slim body is a cinch even though it's still a chunky heel.

 

Switch position is an interesting one, on the Explorer it's miles away on the lower horn, on a 67 style V it's stuck too close to the controls. Ideally the switch would be where it is on a Les Paul, but that's not happening.

 

Transport? The Explorer case is a nightmare, a huge heavy box only half full of guitar. V cases are fine, the shaped ones are nice and neat and look cool, just look at Judas Priests KK Downing in the Breaking the Law video.

 

Both brilliant guitars, the sound and how you like the control layout might be the big deciders.

Older Explorers are worth a look, mine's a '92 model which I bought new in September of that year and it has a lovely one-piece mahogany body, it looks great and it seems to be unusual as most are two-piece.

[DestructorsKillMusic1982]

"Transport? The Explorer case is a nightmare, a huge heavy box only half full of guitar."

 

I totally agree! That thing is huge, It's the only case I have that won't fit in the trunk of my car, which has led to avoid playing it any show where I might have to leave it in the backseat of the car, even if only for a minute (this is how I stupidly lost my '83 LP Standard in the early 90s...I still look everywhere for that guitar...)

[SlashPerryBurst]

"Transport? The Explorer case is a nightmare, a huge heavy box only half full of guitar."

 

I totally agree! That thing is huge, It's the only case I have that won't fit in the trunk of my car, which has led to avoid playing it any show where I might have to leave it in the backseat of the car, even if only for a minute (this is how I stupidly lost my '83 LP Standard in the early 90s...I still look everywhere for that guitar...)

 

The guy I bought my explorer from brought it to my house in a smart car along with one of his friends.

 

So two fully grown men and an explorer case in a car this size.

 

 

The case was primarily the reason I sold it. Loved the guitar but was glad to get rid of it after only a few short months of hauling it around. Don't know why I bothered when I had my trusty les paul long before I bought the explorer (and still do).

 

The guy who bought the explorer from me sits the case on top of a small-ish table. He uses it as a bigger table now.

[Jock68]

I've always played both V's and Explorers and still have both today. They both hang perfectly on my shoulder, especially good for me as I sing as well, but they are pretty different beasts.

 

Even through pickup changes the Explorer always sounds fatter and deeper to me, but doesn't seem to have any more sustain than a V, a good V just vibrates away and it can hold a note as long as any othet guitar I play.

Upper fret access might depend on what shape your fretting hand is, I tend to get my hand stuck against the lower horn when I play the upper frets on the Explorer, meaning I record more rhythym parts with it, my slim taper necked faded V is as good as a '58 for upper fret access but chunkier necks can be a bit of a stretch for me, mind you the 70s style raised board/slim body is a cinch even though it's still a chunky heel.

 

Switch position is an interesting one, on the Explorer it's miles away on the lower horn, on a 67 style V it's stuck too close to the controls. Ideally the switch would be where it is on a Les Paul, but that's not happening.

 

Transport? The Explorer case is a nightmare, a huge heavy box only half full of guitar. V cases are fine, the shaped ones are nice and neat and look cool, just look at Judas Priests KK Downing in the Breaking the Law video.

 

Both brilliant guitars, the sound and how you like the control layout might be the big deciders.

Older Explorers are worth a look, mine's a '92 model which I bought new in September of that year and it has a lovely one-piece mahogany body, it looks great and it seems to be unusual as most are two-piece.

Do you think that having a one piece body makes a differance in the sound? I was disappointed when I got mine a few weeks back (2011 Production) as the body looks like it is made of three pieces of Mahogany. Love the guitar, I wanted natural and as they are very hard to come by accepted what I could find. Reading the Gibson site the wording does not say "one single piece of solid mahogany" it says " The Explorer’s body is a solid piece of mahogany" I would be interested in other Explorer users comments on the number of pieces that make up the body of what is a great guitar.

[Hydra26]

I'm sure it does. I think everything affects sound but we imagine we can hear bigger differences than there are sometimes. Also, there are so many factors going on, its tough to be certain sometimes which makes this guitar or that one sound incredible or incredibly bad. We know maple sounds tight and bright, but how does this piece sound compared to that one? Enough to offset the extra windings of these pickups or that those strings are more worn in? Sometimes its not any one feature but the happy combination of many in a particular instrument. Single piece bodies are definitely more expensive, but can be more wasteful of wood. Personally, I think they're more aesthetically pleasing but I've stood in front of loud amps for too long so I don't hear some of the subtleties anymore.

[V-man]

Overgeneralizing here, I would say that Vs make for better players (due to lightness, maneuverability, and upper fret access) whereas Explorers make for better recorders (due to more wood, especially the block behind the TOM missing on Vs). Nevertheless, this is a very broad statement, as some of the light resonant Vs are the best sounding instruments, period (as the recording exception), and some Vs are heavy unbalanced beasts making the Explorers more nimble. My V90s for example (both trem AND stringthrough) weigh more than 8 pounds each, and are neck-heavy with that 24 fret neck.

 

As someone else pointed out, a guitar is an individual experience of sorts. Similar woods are used as are similar shapes, but two of the same/similar guitars can have very different characteristics based on the wood selected. Also, consider the differences within the models themselves. For Explorers, you have '76s, '84s, Futuras, 90s, Pros (not to mention Tremolos and the new '68s). For Vs you have '58s, '67s, '84s, XPLs, and 90s (also with the tremolo models).

 

As such, I can validly compare my 58 style V90 to my 67 style V-factor or my Explorer 90 against your '76 RI. My observations are that the necks are awesome on both, that the '67 is the lightest of all (individual wood may change things) and most balanced of the Vs, but the neck joint is more prohibitive of upper fret access than the '58 Vs. The '58 Vs have the best upper fret access of all but have the worst neck balance IMO (they dive like RR models). The Explorers can have the best neck balance of all (though there are individual exceptions) and are more comfortable sitting to those who can't wrap their head around the simple task of sitting with a V, but they can be plankish and more cumbersome (sort of like training wheels for/retirement from LPs).

 

I have both. I love both. You should get both.

[Hydra26]

Well put. As an aisde, i'd say i really like my exp pros and moderne. They have a good combination of that balance the full size exp has, the light nimbleness of the v. In the case of the moderne it actually balances on my leg reasonably well when sitting rather than just sitting on it but theyre all much more dun to play standing:)

[Rick]

I agree with the "transport question". I had a X, few months ago, and it's was something painful to deal with. 8 kilograms of case..

 

I played only one V so i can't really make a real comparison, but i felt more free to play the higher frets with V, obviously. I play mainly lead and I have quite large hands so i don't have too much problems with necks (but i do with radiuses, especially the vintage one, but that's another story..).