View other reviews for this product:
tjon901 « An expensive Explorer with different pickups and paint »
Published on 07/07/11 at 21:24Everyone should know how the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar is. He cant drive 55. He has been a Gibson player for a long time now. Gibson has given him his I believe 2nd signature guitar. This time it is an Explorer. Gibson first started selling Explorers in 1958 and their design was way too radical for the time so they were discontinued a year later. In 1976 Gibson started the first reissue of the original 1958 design and now today Gibson is selling reissues of the reissues. Gibson has been producing the '76 reissue Explorer since 1990. Many people say the '76 reissues are better than the original Explorers put out in 1976 You can probably guess what color it is. Its red, how creative. This guitar is pretty much a standard Explorer with a few mods. The most important difference between this Explorer and the Standard model is the pickups. This guitar comes with a unique but nice combination of Gibson pickups. It has a 57 classic in the neck position and a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge. This guitar has the Sammy Hagar red paintjob and a creme pickguard. The neck and body have creme binding. The neck profile is a thin 60s style neck which is nice.
UTILIZATION
This guitar plays really well. Naturally the Explorer is a good playing guitar and with the slim profile neck on this one the playability is really nice. The upper frets are easy to reach because of the Explorers design. The radical shape actually gives the guitar a perfect balance for playing while standing up. The neck will come to rest at a perfect angle due to the large body acting as a counter weight. The binding on the neck is nice to smooth out the feel of the edge of the fretboard. Binding helps prevent sharp fret edges and overall I think it makes a guitar look more finished.
SOUNDS
The combination of a 57 in the neck and a Burstbucker in the bridge works well. With the Classic 57 PAF style pickups this guitar is a blues and rock machine. The 57's have just the right amount of sag in the tone so you can really work the dynamics like you would with a set of real vintage pickups. The neck pickup is super smooth and when you throw in some tone knob you can get that sour tone like you have a parked wah on. The Burstbucker 3 is the model that is in the bridge and it is the hottest Burstbucker variant. The 3 is good in the bridge. The 3 has great bite and clarity. It might even be too bright for some people depending on what kind of amp they are using.
OVERALL OPINION
I am not a huge fan of signature guitars overall. They usually have un-needed options like crazy paintjobs and signatures everywhere. Sometimes they come with a combination of hardware that no one other than the signature artist would use. This guitar comes with a good combination of pickups and the signature guitar logos are pretty subtle. Gibson was nice when they put the logo on the trussrod cover. Trussrod covers can be changed easily. And the Hagar logo on the back is ghosted into the paint so its hard to see plus it is on the back of the guitar. Another thing I do not like about these models is how much more expensive they are than the normal models. This guitar is about 500 dollars more expensive than the standard Explorer for a different shade of red and a set of pickups. Its not like Gibson has to buy pickups from themselves. If you are looking for an Explorer with a good set of pickups and do mind paying an extra 500 bucks instead of swapping them yourself guitar is for you.
UTILIZATION
This guitar plays really well. Naturally the Explorer is a good playing guitar and with the slim profile neck on this one the playability is really nice. The upper frets are easy to reach because of the Explorers design. The radical shape actually gives the guitar a perfect balance for playing while standing up. The neck will come to rest at a perfect angle due to the large body acting as a counter weight. The binding on the neck is nice to smooth out the feel of the edge of the fretboard. Binding helps prevent sharp fret edges and overall I think it makes a guitar look more finished.
SOUNDS
The combination of a 57 in the neck and a Burstbucker in the bridge works well. With the Classic 57 PAF style pickups this guitar is a blues and rock machine. The 57's have just the right amount of sag in the tone so you can really work the dynamics like you would with a set of real vintage pickups. The neck pickup is super smooth and when you throw in some tone knob you can get that sour tone like you have a parked wah on. The Burstbucker 3 is the model that is in the bridge and it is the hottest Burstbucker variant. The 3 is good in the bridge. The 3 has great bite and clarity. It might even be too bright for some people depending on what kind of amp they are using.
OVERALL OPINION
I am not a huge fan of signature guitars overall. They usually have un-needed options like crazy paintjobs and signatures everywhere. Sometimes they come with a combination of hardware that no one other than the signature artist would use. This guitar comes with a good combination of pickups and the signature guitar logos are pretty subtle. Gibson was nice when they put the logo on the trussrod cover. Trussrod covers can be changed easily. And the Hagar logo on the back is ghosted into the paint so its hard to see plus it is on the back of the guitar. Another thing I do not like about these models is how much more expensive they are than the normal models. This guitar is about 500 dollars more expensive than the standard Explorer for a different shade of red and a set of pickups. Its not like Gibson has to buy pickups from themselves. If you are looking for an Explorer with a good set of pickups and do mind paying an extra 500 bucks instead of swapping them yourself guitar is for you.