Edwards Explorer

Made in Japan, this is the explorer that ESP was sued by Gibson for. It's got Tune-O-Matic with stop, 2 EMG 81's, a volume and tone. Mahogony body with a Mahogony set neck. I got the Nevada Brown finish which looks absolutely gorgeous. It has a very satin feel which is good, especially on the neck. Overall, the guitar is built exceptionally well and feels solid.

Soundwise, it has two 81's, so if you you've heard them, you know what this axe sounds like. I'm now in the process of switching over all of my guitars to the Seymore Duncan Blackouts because they sound a hell of a lot better and uncompressed. But, as is, it sounds pretty good. I'm running this guitar into a MXR 10 band EQ, tube screamer, into a 6505+ with a decimator in the FX loop. It sounds good, especially when you're pumping a super high gain monster, but with a clean signal, as with all EMG's, sounds squashed and sterile. If you're going to do anything other than metal/hard rock, you're probably going to want different pickups. The guitars natural sustain is great, and with the Blackouts it'll probably sound really warm and woody. I don't like having a second 81 in the neck position...this is geared more towards rhythm, not lead playing, and it would have been nice if they threw and 85 in the neck position.

The guitar came to me in pretty good condition, although I got it through an importer here in the states, so it probably passed through a few hands before it got to me. I would imagine the shop I got it though would have re-set it up before they sold it.

This guitar will definately take a beating. It's built exceptionally well and I am going to go on gigs with it relatively soon, even though I've owned it for a year already. I would never plan on gigging without a backup, and I'm planning on getting another one of these soon because I'm that impressed with it.

I haven't had to deal with them, so I can't say.

I've been playing for almost 10 years and this guitar is my favorite right now. I have a mid 90's Jackson Kelly, a Schecter S-1, a Schecter Gryphon, and this guitar. This guitar is far beyond my expectations and I love it. It's much more comfortable than a Gibson, lighter, and it's got a satin neck! I would absolutely get another one if this were lost or stolen and plan on buying another for a backup. The only problem I have with it are the dual EMG 81's which I will remedy soon. I'm also re-wiring it so it will have 2 volume and the 3-way. I would seriously look into one of these if you like explorers.

It has pretty standard features for an explorer, with some exceptions. Satin "Nevada Brown" finish which is cool - reminds me of a Washburn N2 finish. Black Tune-O-Matic bridge and tailpiece, black Gotoh machineheads. Mahogany neck (set) and body with rosewood fingerboard and 22 jumbo frets. Two wicked EMG 81 pickups (which I love) with a single tone pot, volume pot and 3 way selector switch. This particular model of guitar is made in Japan by ESP and the build quality is excellent - better in fact than my Gibson Explorer that I also own that was made in the US. The body is, however, slightly thinner than the gibson and definitely weighs a lot less (wood is less dense) - no more broken back for me!

I mainly play metal and this guitar was pretty much built for it. I play it through a Laney GH100L and sometimes use a Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp through the Laney power amp stage. The combination of the EMG 81s and the lighter/thinner body give the sound more 'cut' and bite than my Gibson Explorer, perfect for that metal sound. Its not as good at cleaner sounds compared to the Gibson because if its bright nature, but still a nice tone. Sustain is excellent with the set neck and the quality of the wood used. The EMG pickups can make the preamp stage of a high gain amp such as the Laney a bit noisy, but a noise gate will remedy that and if you don't have one it can't be heard whilst playing. If you like to get that *CHUG* metal sound, with a good low end but still a lot of bite - this is the one for you! If you want more low end, the Gibson is probably a little better due to the weight.

As the guitar is an import, the strings needed to be completely detuned during transit. After a quick tune up, the guitar was pretty much playable out of the case. I made some minor adjustments to the truss rod to eliminate a *tiny* amount of fret buzz and that was it. Intonation perfect as was the action. The pickups didn't need any adjusting at all. Once again finish is excellent, the Japanese are getting a better reputation than the US builders at the moment and rightly so. I'm more disappointed with the build quality of my Gibson after receiving this guitar (and the Gibson is in mint condition).

This guitar would work very well in a live situation. It being less heavy than the original is a definite plus if you jump around on stage a lot. Hardware looks good, and if maintained correctly I suspect will last ages. As the finish is not laquered, it seems that little bit more vulnerable to bangs and bashes and I'm a bit more careful with it than other guitars - but I think that's just me being cautious. I'd happily use it on stage without a backup (as long as I had a spare 9V battery of course).

I don't speak Japanese - I think you can figure out the rest!

I've been playing 15 years now and I also own a Jackson Kelly Std which has been the mainstay of my live setup. This guitar is obviously not as versatile as the Jackson because it lacks a Floyd Rose for lead work, but the combination of set neck and construction make the tone a lot more pleasing. I bought this guitar blind on the internet from a Japanese seller. I don't normally take risks, but this one certainly paid off. Its a great guitar. Everything about it says quality. I think it may have originated from the ESP Explorer model (no - not that horrible pointy thing) that is now illegal in the western world after the Gibson lawsuit drama. I now understand why Gibson did it - this guitar would definitely threaten their sales! With paying for a hard case (admittedly not as good as a Gibson one) and paying the import duty + VAT, this guitar is still cheaper than a brand new Gibson by far.

natural finish, explorer, tunomatic with tailpiece, gotoh tuners, got a free custom gig bag with a pocket thats perfect, strat style neck i recon. it was made in the ESP factory in Japan i think with 22 frets 2 EMGs and made from mahogany with a set neck... phew would have like sperzel tuners but im just penny pinching

edwards explorer, in a natural finish, absolutely beaaautifull and got at teh cheap prices only edwards can do. loaded with two EMG 81s so i can get a real crunchy rhythm sound out of it, playing solos can sound a bit artificial with high gain settings but you could prefer that and if its not your taste then you can still just play around with you EQ to get a good sound.
i play metal mostly which is what these pickups are known for, nice crunchy sound although i find if i want the palm muting sound i want i have to really slam the strings, but thats just metal yo!
this guitar sounds to die for if some classic marshall distortion is used and played right you can get a killer, warm, rock an roll sound that makes you cum! it doesnt really make much noise, at my last band practice other guitarist was getting loooooooads of feedback through an ibanez jem an i was just there like ur guitars crap, I HATE IBANEZ.at the moment im using a boss amp factory which sounds killer! but im running this through a truly terrible amp, run this guitar through a marshall or randall and it sounds great.

guitars pretty much perfect for my playing, action is not too low, not too high, neck is a strat profile which was what i was using before i got it so the transition was easy.
only complaint is that the guitar falls down when not held when your standing up, but if you play with your guitar as low as i do (think hetfield only with more shred) then its not too much of a problem although it does make it a bit difficult to shred, although you can adjust to it.

im gona keep this short, its reliable although i can get paranoid with the active pickup batteries but not had to change them yet and you cant not get dents all over an explorer, but if you rub them they disappear for some reason, aparantly its a special finish? i dno

never had to deal with them, although i dont know how i'd go about it if i had to.

i'v nearly been playing for 2 years and i own an aria strat and a random ass acoustic that kicks ass but needs repairs, if it where stolen id go sick at who ever stole it and cut their balls off IM SERIOUS! But dont get this guitar, i want to be the only one!