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tjon901 « 80s Explorer with active EMG's »
Published on 08/08/11 at 13:47This is a cool new guitar from Epiphone. Recently Gibson reissued a small number of 84 Explorers as part of its Guitar of the week line. Now Epiphone has a model out. I dont know how long they make it for but I hope they make it for a long time because it is a great model. It is called the 1984 Explorer EX. It is based off of the famous mid 80s Explorer that James Hetfield is most famous for using. It has all the right hardware as well. It has a mahogany body and neck with a 22 fret rosewood fretboard. These 84 Explorers had no pickguard and nor does this one. It has fully active EMG's in the Zakk Wylde set. It has an 81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck. The controls are simple with a master volume and master tone with a 3 way switch. Uptop are Grover tuners and the bright is a Locktone tune-o-matic and stop tail setup.
UTILIZATION
Explorers are nice guitars for the most part. The neck is pretty big but not too big. It is a D profile. The Explorer shape is all about balance. The guitar balances perfectly as you play it. Epiphone threw in some locking strap buttons on this guitar which are great. Small useless strap buttons can kill a guitar like nobodies business. The active EMG pickups require a battery and Epiphone has included a built in battery compartment so you can quickly change the battery for the pickup without opening up the entire control cavity. Only thing this guitar is missing is locking tuners and a locking bridge.
SOUNDS
The active EMG pickups mean this guitar punches above its weight class. If you played the Gibson version right next to this guitar (and I have) you wont be able to hear a difference. The pickups in this guitar are a classic metal setup. The EMG 81 and 85 are used by just about everyone in metal. They are a known commodity when it comes to metal. I am glad they didnt cheapen out and put some passive pickups in this. The 81 is a great bridge pickup. It has a great high end grind and lots of output and distortion. You can get your big chunky riffs with it and and it has a nice high end crunch. The 85 in the neck is great for leads and good for cleans. The 85 has a smoother sound than the 81 with more low end so it has a better tone for lead runs in the neck position. The 85 is also good in the bridge if you want a super thick sound. The 81 is not very good in the neck though.
OVERALL OPINION
You can get these guitars for about 600 dollars new which is a great deal compared to the Gibson version which is at least a couple thousand dollars. The guitars come with the same pickups and are made out of the same wood. This is the best alternative to the Gibson version. If you want a real 84 Explorer but cant afford this is your guitar. Its pretty rare for Gibson or Epiphone to put out a guitar that doesnt have their pickups in it so if you want one you better get one quickly because guitars like this usually do not last long.
UTILIZATION
Explorers are nice guitars for the most part. The neck is pretty big but not too big. It is a D profile. The Explorer shape is all about balance. The guitar balances perfectly as you play it. Epiphone threw in some locking strap buttons on this guitar which are great. Small useless strap buttons can kill a guitar like nobodies business. The active EMG pickups require a battery and Epiphone has included a built in battery compartment so you can quickly change the battery for the pickup without opening up the entire control cavity. Only thing this guitar is missing is locking tuners and a locking bridge.
SOUNDS
The active EMG pickups mean this guitar punches above its weight class. If you played the Gibson version right next to this guitar (and I have) you wont be able to hear a difference. The pickups in this guitar are a classic metal setup. The EMG 81 and 85 are used by just about everyone in metal. They are a known commodity when it comes to metal. I am glad they didnt cheapen out and put some passive pickups in this. The 81 is a great bridge pickup. It has a great high end grind and lots of output and distortion. You can get your big chunky riffs with it and and it has a nice high end crunch. The 85 in the neck is great for leads and good for cleans. The 85 has a smoother sound than the 81 with more low end so it has a better tone for lead runs in the neck position. The 85 is also good in the bridge if you want a super thick sound. The 81 is not very good in the neck though.
OVERALL OPINION
You can get these guitars for about 600 dollars new which is a great deal compared to the Gibson version which is at least a couple thousand dollars. The guitars come with the same pickups and are made out of the same wood. This is the best alternative to the Gibson version. If you want a real 84 Explorer but cant afford this is your guitar. Its pretty rare for Gibson or Epiphone to put out a guitar that doesnt have their pickups in it so if you want one you better get one quickly because guitars like this usually do not last long.