Epiphone '58 Explorer Reissue

I think it was made in -97 in Korea. 22 frets with Korina body (so they say). Alder neck i believe. I bought it used just a day ago and the finish on the gold, stock hardware was worn down. No quality here for an axe this "young". Passive standard PU:s that works quite nice on your home practicing amp, but in front of a blasting 100w Marshall they suck big time. Neck is kind of fat. I like it though since i believe a fat neck effects your sound in a positive way.

Gig bag included.

I play hard rock with influences like Black Sabbath, Kiss, Ozzy and so on. I use a modified 100w Marshall head with an extra preamp stage built in. Sounds like Marshall on stereoids. A fat tone with a lot of gain.

The PU:s was giving feedback like nothing else on this planet when i turned my amp up. The sound wasn't impressive either, BUT i knew that before. I wanted the guitar cause of the shape and that it's hard to find a good sample of the 70's Ibanez copies that where made then for a reasonable price.

Even though the stock PU:s are no fun, they have a good bottom end, so they can work for just using it on your practise amp as i wrote earlier.

The action on the guitar is OK. Reasonable low and the strings didn't buzz that much. The frets where worn quite a bit, so the former owner has used this axe a lot.
Oxidized hardware, both bridge and tuners and the joint between the body and the neck where bare and someone have tried to hide it. Bad job done. The pickup switch was working every other time. Need to clean that one bad. The volume controls worked in a funny way. When I used the front PU and turned the volume knob for the bridge PU, the sound on the front PU altered???!!!!! Maybe some amatuer "do it yourself" has tried to fix something?

It seems quite good. I'm a little bit conserned for the neck/body joint though. Will have it checked up soon!! The hardware are low quality but for this price..... I don't complain. I wouldn't not use it on a gig without a backup since it's not "broken in" yet and since the hardware do not seem reliable. But that is for semipro performing!

I've been playing for over 20 years. I've tried several guitars, included Gibson Explorer and the legendary Ibanez Explorer (made in the 70s. This Epiphone is a bugdet guitar over all, not as good as the Ibanez copy. If you can't afford the original or can't find a Ibanez, buy this one, change the hardware and the pickups and you'll get a great guitar for a low budget!!

I have a black 1999 epiphone exlorer(58' reissue). 22 frets, blah blah blah. When i bought it, it had all stock stuff. everything that epiphone makes stock completely sucks, but the actual guitar(body, neck, paint) are great. I have since replaced everything possible. I put black hardware on it, a black dimarzio super distortion in the bridge, black air norton in the neck, and a black pickguard. My biggest complaint about customizing an epiphone is that nothing is normal. The bridge studs are not the standard size, so if you're going to replace the hardware, you have to leave the gold studs in, but they don't show, so it's ok. Also, there is no replacement pickguard known to man that will fit an epiphone explorer. It is a diiferent size than the gibson, and all the screw holes are in a different spot, so those won't work. I had to cut mine out of 1/8" plexiglass with a dremel, and then spray it black. You have to put a bunch of monster coats of clear coat on it too to get it to shine like the body. Automotive clear with hardener would work well also. with everything on the guitar black, it is a stunnning piece of heavy metal artwork, ready to kick the ass of anybody who looks at it.

with my set up(super distortion and a Line6 Flextone II HD with a Flextone 4X12) this guitar kicks ass. It is high output, low noise, and even clean it sounds great. I use it for metal, but it could be used for a lot of other stuff...blues, country, grunge, alternatve, blah, blah, blah.

The guitar was set up like shit, but once i got it home i tweeked it nicely. Now it has nice low action and the truss is just right. The pickups had to be adjusted as well. The guitar had no flaws other than a bunch of fingerprints, i think the guys at the store had been playing with it before i came to pick it up.

This guitar has withstood live playing thus far, and will continue to do so. It is very dependable, but if you leave the stock bridge on it you will break strings constantly...CONSTANTLY! i don't know why they did it but the saddles are like fuckin knives. i used to go through a low E every two weeks, and i use heavy bottoms.

i do my own work

This is a great beginner guitar when stock, and a great professional guitar after a little customization. Looks good, sounds good, rocks hard. I would by another one if it was lost. If you are deliberating between the gibson or the epiphone, buy the epiphone, get some chrome hardware, some new pickups, and save yourself $600, or hell, by two. This is a great axe, especially for the money, buy one.

Lemme see... my Explorer is a Korean 1999 model in natural Korina finish, all gold hardware, with the bonus of nice sealed tuners like on a LP Custom. Standard stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge. Block Korina body is finished with a veneer of Korina to give the appearance of one solid chunk of wood. Came with the "designed by Gibson" HB's, no complaints there, I finally ripped the covers of them and the sound is very good. Guitar is much lighter than you'd expect, being made of Korina (which is basically a fancy breed of mahogany). Nice rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, fat frets, and the headstock is pretty much identical to the Gibson, no obvious "Epiphone" look here. I changed the black speed knobs for gold tophats which look more at home on this axe.

The sound is great, especially with the covers off. Good sustain and very clear tone, a bit brighter than an SG. Very quiet in operation, no problems with the electronics as yet. When I starp it on I just naturally gravitate towards a heavy music style.. dunno why.

Action was a little high, I am going to have to take the bastard file to the frets one day and do some milling so I can get that "fretless wonder" action I like. Finish is beautiful. An excellent job, hats off to Epiphone. I always lusted after an Explorer and this is one I can actually afford.

I don't gig, so not much commentary here; however one thing I did was to move the forward strap button to the back of the body by the heel of the neck, which is where it should have been in the first place. This makes the guitar balance much better (less tendency to dive for the deck) and the strap is less likely to unhook in this position. I don't know why Epi decided to change the location when they copied this guitar.

No comment. I do my own work.

Overall I'm very happy with this guitar; although I wouldn't call it my main axe it's a lot of fun to play and the sound is just fine. If you're looking for an axe that'll stand out amongst the Ratcastraters and Les Pauls, this is the one.

Made in USA. Black with Gold Hardware. The body and back of neck is black as well as the headstock. When you open the box, it is beautiful.

I love Metallica. This guitar gets really heavy, and it can also get decent for solos on some settings. I don't have any good amps, I use some VOX amp that my dad lent me. It sounds great for heavy playin, and pretty good for solos as well. I like it very much.

After a while of play, the gold hardware and the black body and neck get fairly dirty and printed. I wish I had purchased it in a Korina finish. Otherwise, its a really beautiful guitar. The action came a bit high, but my cousin who is a great player lowered the action for me and its great. The pickups were fine, but the one closer to the bridge can sway a bit, but not easily. Everything else about it is just great. My biggest regret is purchasing the black one instead of the korina.

The gold hardware will eventually wear off probably. The black gets dirty and if you want it looking good you are gonna hafta clean it a lot. It hasn't worn off as of yet. The strap buttons are fine. I would have a backup in case a string breaks, I have broken the high E many times.

Never dealt with em.

Good metal sound. I have been playin a while and I also own a Les Paul Classic, which in my opinion doesn't sound as good as this Explorer. I would not buy it again if stolen however, I have my eyes set on a Kirk Hammet signature, it sounds better for my tastes. I like its sound, hate the dirty black finish. If you are startin out and like Metallica, its a good guitar to get.