Gibson '76 Reissue Explorer

Gibson black reissue explorer with white pick guard. Made in 06. came with case the size of a small car.

Sounds great, alot of gain in the pickups, solid tone.
I play alot of different styles from rock, metal, blues, and alternative. Does it all with ease.
Its nice and silent.
My only dislike is the neck is east to detune by putting even minor pressure on it. Im sued to my les pauls I guess.

Im a gibson fan through and through, and although they have gotten more expsensive and their QC has gone down, I will still use their gear, Im just more picky on playing it before buying it.
This explorer was purchased out of 6 other ones, that were all new, and not one didnt have a mark or ding on it.
Not that I care, as I will put my own marks on it, just saying.

Im sure it will do fine.
Mini tuners are a little weak but if they give me any problem I will replace them right awaay.
Finish is ok, not what old gibsons used to be, but still better than the plywood guitars that are sold out there.
Strap buttons are too small.
I never play a gig without a back up, ever.

Ive never dealt with gibson, Ive got my own tech who works on my stuff for me.
They make, I play em, and when they break my guy fixes them.

Playing over twenty years, I own alot of gibsons, mostly les pauls and a couple vs.
I would buy anothe for sure, Its an important weapon in ones gibson arsenal.
I love the tone, and large body, the dislike is the case, man that thing is huge, barely fits in our trailer!
I dont compare gibsons to gibsons, only gibsons to other guitars, and I have yet to run into a guitar that was as good as a gibson at the cost.

The gibson '76 explorer reissue is one outstanding piece of work. 22 frets, 2 volume controls, 1 tone control and a three way toggle switch, solid mahogany body, powerful humbucker pickups, ebony rosewood fingerboard (classic white only), laminated top... what's not to love?
my explorer came with a levy's strap, ernie ball strings, and a gibson usa hardcase. all for the price of the guitar!

The explorer has a powerful sound. From 'fat'beautiful cleans, to beastly, growling overdrive this guitar can play pretty much any kind of music. I mostly play rock and metal, and man did I choose the perfect guitar. The humbucker pickups give me that fat clean sound, and screaming distortion perfect for the music I play. I through a vox DA-10 amplifier with a boss ME-50 effects board. The distortion can occasionally be noisy, but the majority of the time it is a good, strong sound, with very little if any noise. The guitar has no tremolo arm, but the action is so comfortable you can make such effects easily by just bending. Overall the sound is PERFECT.

The gibson '76 explorer reissue is a sexy looking beast. All aspects of it were adjusted to perfection in the factory, and it's glossy white colour is just beautiful. The bridge pickup is raised higher than the neck pickup, and the bridge was routed excellently. I could'nt find any flaws in the guitar, except the tone control seemed a bit stiff on my guitar. Again, an amazing-looking, beast of a guitar.

This guitar does'nt have any of that glued on neck funny business, the whole guitar is one solid piece of wood. It is very durable.. and i honestly can't see it falling to pieces anytime soon! I can safely say that the explorer is a safe bet for gig playing. I would'nt bring backup, and the hardware will definetly last a LONG time.

never had to deal with it.

Ive been playing guitar for 4 years. Not too long I know, but I can tell a good guitar when I see one! The explorer was the guitar of my dreams, and I could'nt have asked for a more perfect guitar. If it got stolen, i would without question, buy myself another one, and hunt down the person who stole it!! Compared to all my 5 other guitars, this one is the best by far. It simply OWNS.

2008 Ebony Gibson Explorer
Mahogany Body & Neck
Rosewood Fretboard
496R and 500T pickups
Chrome Hardware

This is a beautiful sounding guitar and can do any style of music. However I use it mostly for metal so I had the pickups changed to an EMG 81 and 60. I run this guitar through an engl powerball head and mesa cab and this thing absolutely growls. The grind that this guitar produces is insane and yeah it looks hell cool

Everyone knows that guitars come horribly set up from the factory so I had the action set up to how I wanted it. The finish on this beauty is gorgeous, ive owned a few gibsons so i know how to look after the nitro finish which every guitar player look into when they decide to buy a gibson. My explorer had no flaws, no loose switches or controls. The only thing I dont like on this guitar is the white pickguard which I plan to swap for a black one.

There is no doubt that any guitar can be reliable if looked after properly and this is no exception but why would you wanna trash a guitar as sexy as this anyway. I have had it since the start of 2008 and play it almost everyday for hours on end, its also seen plenty of gigs and the finish is still as clear and hot as the day I bought it. Come on people its not hard to look after something you love :)

Never had to deal with them

I have been playing for about 4 years and have owned lots of guitars including a few gibsons and the best way to keep your guitar in good shape is to take care of her. I would definately buy another if it were lost or stolen, i am actually considering selling one of my deans to get another

brand new 2007 model.mine is black with the white scratchplace . features same as always

i play hard rock,and although its versatile enough, it clearly was made for harder styles of music, thanks to the high gain pickups.i plug straight into a dsl marshall combo for the most part, and the sound of this combination is quite good, if not excellent .

guitar came in perfect, absolutely nothing to bitch about. it was intonated and set up before, so all i had to do was change to some fresh strings .

as always.... the strapbuttons are way too small,and must be replaced! and if i gig with it,i always bring a backup guitar if something happens.

gibson and I go way back (haha) . they answers just about all my requests and questions,and i am very happy with that

been playing for 20 years.owns 7 gibsons,and some epiphones,ibanez and other guitars. i would buy it again if stolen, . I originally had a epiphone explorer , but although it was a good guitar, it just didnt measures up to this precious gibson..

This is basically an Explore (2001) with cosmetic upgrades. It has a beautiful natural color with gold hardware, including gold pole pieces in the pickups. Everything else is standard with two volume and one tone control knob and ceramic magnet 460R and 500T humbuckers. It gets an 8 for its simplicity, which is not really a bad thing.

I am playing through a modified Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (Svetlana power amp tube, Electro-Harmonix pre amp tubes, and a Weber CA 12 Speaker), a modified Pro Jr. into a 60s Celestion Standard speaker into a separate 1 X 12 cab, and a modified Champion 600 reissue. I own 18 guitars, ranging from Strats, Telecasters, Jazzmasters, Jaguars, DeArmond Jetstars, and a SG humbucker sized P90s. I have a tone of vintage analog effects and fuzz boxes (Fulltone Soul-Bender, Fender Bender, Analogman Peppermint Fuzz, Fender Fuzz Wah, Zinky True Grit, and Tech 21 XXL).

The 10 reflects the quality of the workman ship and the fact that it does exactly what it is meant to do. The Explorer is quite. As many reviews have stated, the pickups and very hot and bright. That being said, the volume and tone knobs are sensitive and can be tamed fairly well. The PUs sounds pretty natural, not brittle, but not warm as PAF types. By lowering the bridge pickup you can tame the highs. One big plus is that the neck PU is brighter than most and sparkles with rhythm chords, clean and distorted. If you are looking for a more vintage sound, I guess you could replace the PUs, but to me Explorers are meant to be aggressive.

My music style ranges is somewhere between fuzzy alternative to hard rock. It can handle the alternative material and it really excels in the heavier territory. Rockers and Metal Heads should find this guitar useful. This guitar can handle Alice in Chains, Chevelle, Deftones, Foo Fighters, Helmet, G & R, Metallica, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Slayer, and Tool. Personally I find the guitar to be fairly flexible, except for more mellow material. I wouldn't mind a second tone control, but that is a minor issue.

This is an easy guitar to play. I am not the biggest guy around and I have small hands I find it to be very well balanced with a nice small neck. The action is perfect and hardware is solid. The finish is perfect and beautiful.

Despite the pretty body, this is solid beast. I am not concerned of it falling apart anytime soon

Never had the pleasure to deal with them.

I have been playing 14 years. Playing live in some of the bigger clubs in LA (not all as glamorous as it sounds), as well and a fair amount of recording/producing. I have too many guitars to list individually, but the Explorer really sticks out from the crowd. It has its own personality, just like a good tele or strat. If I have to compare it to something, I guess it would be my Yamaha SBGs (I like them much better than Les Pauls). The Explorer has a more open but aggressive sound. It cuts through nicely. I keep a shot gun next to it so it doesn't get lost or stolen (joking). I have nothing negative to say about this guitar. You may have to fiddle with the volume and tone knobs to fit you amp or effects,

a truly beautiful guitar, its a gloss finish on the plain mahogany body. Its also got all gold hardware on it. you know you have a nice looking guitar when your 54 year old mother's first words upon seeing it are "wow.... that's amazing."
the Explorer's got some pretty standard tuners on it, nothing real special, but they hold it in tune well and don't have any chunky gears. one thing I should mention is that Gibson guitars tend to have an oddly specific problem with the G string going flat. nothing of that sort with mine, but you might watch out for it.
The neck is very thin. Be careful if you've got big hands (like mine), it took me a few days for me to get used to it.
included in the shipped package was a strap and some straplocks. Thank god for those. if you buy this guitar, YOU WILL NEED STRAPLOCKS. don't even touch it unless it has them or you're installing them, because I guarantee you'll drop it in 15 minutes.

2 volume knobs, tone control, 3-way selector.

Mahogany body and neck with rosewood fingerboard.

Overall: a very, very, good looking guitar with some easily rectified design flaws.

this guitar can handle most of what you throw at it, but it'll get hung up on retro styles. (beatles, etc.) ironic I guess.

where it really excels is in heavier styles such as Metal, Punk, Hard rock, whatever. it can really growl if you know how to use it. Higher-register soloing works just as well, too. just be careful when playing 6 string chords, as the top 2 strings can get lost in the sound. you can fix this by fiddling with the tone a bit though. all in all, it's got a very, rich, bassy tone.

my main complaint with the guitar is the bridge pickup. I'm not sure what the model is, but I was rather disappointed with it. if you want to play with much gain, you'd better have a big bedroom, because it feeds back at about 10 feet away with the volume half way up on my Marshall MG15CD Combo. and about 25 feet when I crank it on my friend's dad's Berhinger. there's also an annoying hum even when I dampen the strings. It's pretty quiet, and can't hear it when actually playing, but definitely worrying in a guitar that sells for 1200 USD.

overall: a nice, versatile sound with a shitty-ass bridge pickup. which I'm definitely replacing.

The set up was very good, low enough to accomodate anything I can play right now, but high enough to avoid fret buzz.

Like I said above, the Bridge pickup leaves a lot to be desired, and a large part of it may be in the adjustment of it, I'm not courageous enough to fuck with it and risk destroying what good sound I can get out of it.

the hardware is all of good quality, and I don't see myself having to replace it anytime soon. the fretwork is very good, and pretty resilient to abuse, I practice about 3 hours a day -not counting fiddling around while I watch movies and such- and after 6 months they haven't shown any sign of wear.

there's an extremely quick and quiet "chunk" sound when moving the selector switch, but it's only really audible on high volume.

Overall: all high quality parts with no significant flaws.

possible the strongest (no pun intended) aspect of the Explorer is the durablity this motherfucker has. its really a tank, I've actually cracked an oak doorjamb with this thing and no damage to show for it.
Like I said before, the hardware is all high quality and durable. the only thing wrong is the Strap buttons, they seem designed to shed a strap. STRAPLOCKS STRAPLOCKS STRAPLOCKS.

I will definitely count on this guitar to perform for years to come.

overall: the only thing of real concern if dropped is the condition of the floor.

bought it used, so no warranty or anything.

I've been playing about a year and a half, and this is my first "high end" guitar, my only previous ones where a Squier Strat and assorted acoustics.

in the 4 or so months I've had it, my Explorer has become my Baby, I take it pretty much everywhere I go except for school. I plan to put A DiMarzio Evolution in the bridge, but haven't decided what to put in the bridge (suggestions?).

Despite its flaws, it's a damn good guitar if you can nurse it a little, and I would definitely replace it if it was lost or stolen.

FROM GIBSON SITE:

BODY
Body Species: Mahogany

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: Rounded
Neck Joint Location: 19

FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood; Ebony on Classic White
Scale Length: 243/4"
Nut Width: 1.695"
Inlays: Dot

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Chrome
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Knobs: Black Speed
Tuners: Mini Grovers

ELECTRONICS
Neck Pickups: 496R Ceramic magnet humbucker
Bridge Pickups: 500T Ceramic magnet humbucker
Controls: Two volume, one tone, three-way switch

Mine is the "Classic White" with the ebony fretboard.

Well, I play metal and rock so this thing is exactly what I need. My rig is this: Gibson>Peterson Strobostomp>Boss SD-1>Boss CE-3>MXR EVH Phase 90>Marshall JCM 800 2210 into Marshall 1960B w/Celestion V30's. It is just a tad noisy. I will be shielding it soon which will cut back on all the noise and have already put in two Seymour Duncan pickups: Distortion and Jazz in bridge/neck. I have also removed the tone control. I don't use it and it loads down the pickups. This thing will do clean shoegazer all the way to death metal perfectly. It sounds like a hammer bashing into an anvil when driven hard though, which was the effect I was looking for! Best sounding guitar in my arsenal thus far.

This thing was tuned to "Z" when I first plugged it in LOL!!! But it was on the floor at GC so what can you expect? After tuning her up, I was in love. I compared it with two other Explorers in there, and it was the best. The little details you can fight about all day/night, and it had little flaws cosmetically if you put a magnifying glass to it or looked too hard INSTEAD of playing the damn thing! Nothing loose or scratched up-it worked and sounded great and the nut was cut well. This was not a matter of getting a "good one" though as all 3 in there sounded/looked great. I just chose the one that suited me. Now the Les Paul's on the other hand were, well, pretty bad for the most part.

It has one of the most stable necks I've played on. Not too thin/thick, but STRONG. Very stable altogether and I don't see it breaking if it's taken care of. The finish looks great. I replaced the strap buttons with Schallers, for obvious reasons. I would not use without a backup for the other obvious reason: strings break. No matter how good the axe.

I'm not sure about this. The warranty is for life I think. Should be fine.

I have been playing for around 10 years and have owned all kinds of stuff. The first real USA guitar I had was a custom Warmoth body/neck explorer but that didn't work out for me....the balance was all wrong due to a slightly smaller body. And I LOVE the sound of set-neck Gibson's. Nothing like it. I would be screwed if it was stolen but would have to buy another. I love everything about it, except I wish the frets were a tad bigger, but the neck is so fast it was an easy transition from the "shredder" necks I'm used to. My favorite features are that it's WHITE (James Hetfield!), Has a fast ebony fretboard, and sounds HUGE. This is the best guitar I have owned and is my first Gibson. It will be with me for a long time and will not be my last. Next on my list are a Firebird V, SG Standard and ES-355. If you get one with no problems you'll be wanting more.

Gloss Black Set neck, Gibson 500t/496r passive pups,hard case included. Mahogany with rosewood fretboard. 22 frets (although this is debatable).Locking tuners.3 way selector, V/V/T.

These pickups are actually very good, and compare favourably with SD JB's or Similar. They have great overdriven tone, and clean up pretty good too. The electrics in the guitar are pretty much on the money, no issuses at all, other than a loose selector switch, but that was fixed in a minute. If you want flat out metal sounds, these pickups do lack a bit, so just chuck in some emg 81's or SD Livewires, but for versatile, capable sounds, the originals are just fine.

Ok, here comes the pain - out of the factory this thing was a dud. it had a chip in the headstock, glue residue left and painted over on the fretboard/body joint, and a neck that required serious attention. It is so bad I put a brand new guitar in to a luthier for repairs. The worst flaws were 2 frets that weren't seated properly and could not be repaired, so were removed and new ones installed, a complete fret dress, the neck was warped (I don't know how to better describe it)and required major adjustment. The nut is a cheap crapper and the strings bind in it, so I had it replaced with a graphite one. Add US$352.00 to the purchase price for the luthiers work to make it playable (actualy to clear my conscience so I can sell it, as it no longer has it's charm to me).

I have a Gothic as well(to which this guitar can not be compared), so I know these things are durable. You would be a fool to gig without Straploks, or for that matter a backup guitar, as strings break. THe finish is adequete, in that it is shiny and black, apart from the built in factory flaws,it is by no means as classy looking as a Jackson or ESP, but it can take a knock. Another feature is that I don't have to worry about chips in the finish - they are factory supplied straight out of the box.

Customer support is good, and they are sypathetic to the problems I spoke of earlier. The issue here is not whether you can return or make a warranty claim on a guitar, but how on earth sub-standard workmanship slips past quailty control and gets shipped. I raised this with Gibson and got no answer. I am skeptical that they have any quality control in their factory, at least on the explorers and v's anyway, which is where my experiences lay. I pointed out to them that comparably priced Jacksons and ESP's are blowing them out of the water. Don't buy on the brand name alone as I did, it does not mean quality, at least not in this instance.

Overall this guitar has meant to me that I will never again buy a Gibson product (in fact I am selling mine). The price is premium, and the product is beyond dissapointing, it is criminally bad. This is the 47th guitar I have had,and the worst. off the shelf I would rate this with an epiphone. I have never had a guitar that chokes notes on the neck when you bend strings- this one did it! If you have to by a gibson, buy second hand, at least then some other poor bastard will have had to pay to have it set up from new. From my experiences, if you want a "shaped" metal guitar, buy a Jackson or ESP and save your money and heartache. They will also probably let you choose a colour and offer new fangled inventions like a Flloyd rose, and use an unheard of process called "QUAILTY CONTROL".

Maybe I am the first person in Turkey who talks sth about a guitar in this site also who has a Gibson Explorer in my country , na need talking about features there s enough information..

Honestly It sounds Big , Tasty and Fully , Dont laugh but i have An Laney Amp (15HCR) 15 WATTS :D but Its still sound good.. , While i was buying it I tried it with a full stack Mesa Dual rectifier , It sounds Pretty goddess , I'm a big fan of Metallica and i nearly get the sound i want only with an 15 watts amp ::) just think , if i have a Mesa boogie what type of sound do i get ; = ? ...

ItS Completely ^^ like A dream baby !! ^^.

When you play this you feel like yu^R flying..

No need anytime..

I think I wont need anything else qith this guitar because I not like it , I LOVE IT ..

2001..Black but Gibson also calls the color Ebony w/ all chrome hardware. I bought it used but verified with Gibson everything is stock, nothing has been changed from the original factory setup. I changed the straplocks to Schallers. This is a necessity for this guitar to keep the strap from coming loose on this guitar due to the unusual postion the strap buttons are located. Where the strap buttons is located on the back of the guitar makes the guitar awkwardly pivot the away from you. The case is killer too... a cool looking hot pink (and I don't like pink stuff) and it has it's own built in silky blanket to keep the guitar happy in it's case.

It suits my style perfectly. I wanted a guitar that would play from very heavy rock to clean classic rock. It has extra bite that other guitars due not but using the tone control it can be tamed to play mellow also. I think that the people that complain that the pickups are too harsh are not using the tone control backed off a tad. I use it with a Mesa MarkIV amp and cabinet. It can squeal on the higher notes if gain and volume are very high. I like the bite it has on the bridge pickup and the smoother sound of the neck pickup.

I bought it used and the action was too low and the strings were rusted. The finish is in good shape but it looks like the previous owner may have used some harsh stuff on it in spots or something. The pickup selector switch was loose but I tightened it. I love the action, looks, and finish of this guitar. It is my dream guitar. Oh, the serail number is stamped tio lightly and it is very hard to see, almost looks tampered with.

I commented on the wierd strap buttons under the features. It looks reliable and durable. I would have a backup guitar for gigging for any guitar.

Gibson quickly answered an email verifying that the serial number is stamped lightly on some guitars to keep from cracking or weakening the headstock.

This is my dream guitar. I became interested in it when I saw Rick Medlocke playing one many years ago. I've tried a couple of them over the years and said "someday if I have the money". I liked their action, sound, and looks. I like hard rock stuff and this is hard rock. You can adjust it enough to play some softer stuff but it was designed to rock. The case is cool too. I'm giving it a 10 because nothing's perfect but for me it is.