Gibson Explorer Faded

The Gibson Faded Explorer was introduced by the company to round out their "Faded" line of guitars which take the traditional Gibson designs and bring the costs down by offering thinner finishes that only consist of pore filler coats and a couple thin passes of nitro lacquer. This is one such guitar, and other than its thinner faded finish it's essentially a standard Explorer. It features a mahogany body and neck, a rosewood fretboard with 22 frets, Grover tuners, a tuneomatic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, a pair of hot Gibson 496R/500T ceramic humbuckers and made in the USA construction. Control wise it features dual volumes, a master tone and a 3 way pickup selector.

UTILIZATION

The design of the guitar is fairly ergonomic considering the rather bulky shape that the Explorer offers in general. I find them heavier than the Flying Vs and sometimes a bit more unwieldy to hold/play for longer periods of time. However, as far as pointy guitars go, this one isn't as bad as some of the guitars I've seen for access around the guitar. The weight is usually reasonable and the upper fret access is decent enough to get right to the 22nd fret. Also, the satin finish all over the guitar makes it really easy to glide up and down the fretboard.

Getting a good tone out of this guitar is pretty simple. It's not designed with sheer versatility in mind, and the pickups are definitely on the hotter side, so I'd really say the guitar is meant for rock or metal styles primarily. It sounds pretty solid though and definitely like a Gibson should. There is a wonderful low-midrange heft in the tone that is classic Gibson territory here, and it sounds great through a variety of different rigs.

SOUNDS

I've tried the guitar through various amps and have concluded that it seems to sound better for higher gain stuff as a general rule. It works really well for sludgier stuff like High on Fire or Spiritual Beggars where you need a thick and meaty sound, or even for tighter more modern rock or metal tones. The clean tones aren't bad either but the pickups are a bit too hot in output to sound great clean, at least for my tastes. It's definitely a guitar that's designed with a vintage voiced high octane vibe in mind. The nice thing is that it's not overly compressed like many modern metal guitars... the pickups still allow a really nice airy and open sounding quality to come through in the mix.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Gibson Faded Explorer is a great guitar for someone looking for a really cool looking and great sounding guitar for rock or metal styles. The faded finish makes it really easy to play, the tones are great for hard rock or metal and the price (usually around $500-$600 used) is quite attractive for a USA made Gibbo. Definitely worth a look if you can try one!

Gibson Explorer Faded WC (Worn Cherry), made in United States (2008)

Mahogany body, rosewood fingerboard
Round neck 22 frets, 2 humbucker (bridge 500T - 496R handle)
Tune-O-Matic
3 potentiomtres of rglage (2 volumes, 1 Tone)
Slecteur a microphone 3-position
Mcaniques Grover and Truss Rod cover with
Nitrocellulose varnish (finish "faded" = one or two coats of varnish, which it has lowered the price!)
The handle is a "Hybrid" ('50s / '60s), both round and flat ...

Imdiatement unique shape and recognizable!

I put 10 because this guitar possde just as ncessaire lments (no frills or gadgets ...), and because the quality is there!

UTILIZATION

I flash on the guitar first because of its shape, but especially the handle DEFINITIONS conquered me!
The handle is sufficient for many pais have it in hand (it was a good piece of wood in hand and is super enjoyable) as well as ergonomic trs (no problem for any position of the game).
Little more polish "faded" glue less polish than most "finished" I could try. For shredders, needless prciser that the handle is more than adequate!
CHAC is easy to acute, a little practice, however, is Necessary for the 22nd cargo ...

The guitar is a little heavier than average, but against her extremely well-balanced. Be careful though not to bump the fleeing after the guitar (it is a long time in plutt hand). The game sitting / standing poses auccun problem.

Rglage level of sound, the lady is plutt capricious. It can not be overcome easily, and it takes time to be comfortable with.

I put 8 because it is enjoyable to play trs. Weight and sound rglage him score two points.

SOUNDS

Now, talking about his ... First of all, this guitar must be plugged into a good amp, otherwise it loses its charm quickly trs, and America to be more difficult rgler. I tested a couple of times on a Marshall 100W lamps, and a small combo Honhai ... I think it is not ncessaire to add more!

In my case I play everything, but mostly hard rock / mtal or jazz.
Needless to prciser a Gibson Explorer and more a distortion is widely adapted and can leave great harmonics, sustain or rhythmic very heavy! But we can play well in his trs clear or with crunch, and out of superb solos jazz blues.
on the other hand for everything sounds like intermdiaires of pop / rock / funk, we must learn the rgler (although the amp rgler especially low / medium / high). But keep in mind one thing: they are humbuckers, if you want a Fender sound is a Fender achte.
The position of the microphones intermdiaire offers opportunities INTERESTED trs, and Tone potentiomtre of a fairly large range of variation and linear.

For pickups, the 496R has a round, warm, gnreux, a little fat / thick!, And the 500T has a clear, dry, aggressive (or acid distortion). We are dealing many typs two microphones and a bit at odds, but combine well (and of balance in terms of mediums).

I put 9 because the sound is the. But not 10 because the adjustable sound for prcis can be a bit tedious (especially for beginners)

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 1 year.
I played a Stagg stratocaster type before. I tried a lot of DIFFERENT MODELS before buying (Ibanez, LTD / ESP, Fender ...). In dpart, I wanted a versatile guitar, but I finally chose the "characters" versatility, even sacrificing its use for certain styles of music.

J'tais, I am and I will always be a fan of its shape and its handle. It also sounds beautiful, even if it remains focused hard / rock mtal saturation, and jazz / blues clean. At the same time the sound is Gibson!

The ratio quality price is more than good: it's a Gibson United States finishing with the price "faded" (800 €), comes with flycase Gibson, and above all I think the finish has faded charm and is very s enjoyable to the touch!
Only BMOL, I AIM a white pickguard instead of black, white pickguards and unfortunately for exploring Gibson are pretty hard to find in France ...:-(

I do it again with the exprience Obviously this choice.