Gibson '76 Reissue Explorer

Stated elsewhere check the gibson site if you need specifics.
The tuners stay in tune, the tune o matic is fantastic and the neck is comfortable, but I suppose you expect that from a gibson. The one gripe would be a second tone pot if you are a tonal purist most people in a live situation will be able to make do besides the three tone knobs look fantastic.

My style is everything, I play punk, blues, goth rock, metal e.t.c. this guitar is as versitile and defined as a les paul IF not more defined. I am using a avt100 combo. It is noiseless, the only problem is that the bridge can be so raunchy and hot that in higgh gain settings it may feedback, but the real juice is in the neck. I can't believe anyone complains about the smooth lead tones that the neck can provide, It also has enough bite to pull off any nin extreme treble distortion. clean the bridge is southern fried rock and blues the neck is well defined a lot of people are saying the bridge is too hot for clean, heres a novel idea, how about you model your amp around this guitar. I dont like the feedback but that only bothers you if you are in a extremely close proximity to the amp and a bridge pickup purist..

I got it from a shop so I don't know how it was out of the box, finish is(was perfect) everything was perfecxt for me. the only problem is the volume knobs, when you turn them all the way downand go "past 1" it kind of crackles and bounces back *this is only a problem if you are turning the volume knobs to zero with an extremely heavy hand* This problem probably developed after the beating this bad boy has recieved

It has been beat up to hell. The hardware is fine. I've actually dropped this head first and it only has a chip in the paint. the one issue is the finish wears away over time but that is character.

Never had to contact them.

Brilliant, get this guitar and you will have a friend for life. ONE PROBLEM IS FDINDING A GUITAR STAND THAT WILL HOLD IT UP ONSTAGE! I love this guitar though.

This is the 2004 model, 1976 re-issue. Finish is fantastic, but after playing, the black finish needs to be polished and wiped down as it smudges very easily. Chrome hardware looks great with the black finish! Definitely needs strap locks and a very long strap because of the shape of the guitar and where the strap buttons are located. 22 frets, very nice, smooth feeling neck (even though I am more used to Ibanez-style, thinner necks). Stays in tune very well with .10 guage Ernie Ball strings on it. Nicest finish I have ever seen on a guitar, just brilliant!

Overall sound is more versatile than you'd think for what many consider a "METAL" guitar. With the pickup selector in the middle position, it sounds almost identical to a Les Paul (that very distinctive Gibson sound, much like Jimmy Page). The bridge position gets a very nice, meaty, treble-y, distorted sound, great for metallica, Judas Priest, even Van Halen type of sound. I do not like the neck pickup sound at all. No meat, just flat, dull, I never use it. Sounds great in the middle and better in the back (bridge). The biggest problem with the pickups is that when you are soloing on the high frets (E & B strings), way up there, the guitar will feedback like a beast. I do not recommend this guitar for wild soloing on the higher frets, due to this feedback problem.

Action is low and flawless. Bought it used, required very little adjustment, pickups were a bit low, and bridge was adjusted just a bit. Like I said in the FEATURES section, the finish is truly remarkable, brilliant, can't say enough about how this guitar looks. People that have never played guitar and don't know a damn thing about them come over to my house and see it & say, "OH MY GOD... THAT GUITAR IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!" Its rather hilarious, the reaction it gets!

After putting DUNLOP STRAP LOCKS on, I'm sure this beast would survive any fierce combat!!! It is incredibly durable, built to perfection, solid as granite! I never use one guitar at a gig, because strings do break no matter what brand or type of guitar. The screw for the strap buttons is wide, and I originally bought SCHALLER strap locks, replaced those with DUNLOPS which have the originally sized wider screw.

I e mailed GIBSON about replacing the white pickgurad with a black one... They e mailed me the very next day with some info. Great response, very pleased. And they have the best guiatr manufacturer website ever.

I have been playing for over 25 years, mostly Metal/Hard Rock. I used to play a standard American Strat for 20 years which I grew tired of the thin sound, & now use my Ibanez RG-750 almost all the time. Took some getting used to, but I do like the Gibson Explorer for a different sound, and especially for the different look. I consider this more of a rythym guitar as opposed to a lead guitar, mostly because of the pickups, and also I prefer a thinner, flatter neck for crazy soloing. This guitar might sound a lot better with EMG or SEYMOUR DUNCAN pickups, but I won't alter mine as I wish to keep it original so it'll retain its value. Plus, I have other guitars with more of a distorted, crunching sound, and this guitar just sounds smooth and "natural."

2001 in Ebony finish. Standard setup with 3 way toggle and inline knobs - 2 vol 1 tone. The person I bought this from replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncan JBs in both positions. A JB in the neck actuall works very well. He also installed strap locks. Stock otherwise. I'm accustomed to Les Pauls and thought I'd miss the dedicated tone knobs for each pup. Not such a big deal and 4 inline knobs would probably be a bit much.

I use this guitar for rock and blues. With the JBs, I can find singing harmonics all over the neck at a variety of stage volumes. I plug into a Clyde wah which runs into a Boss GT3 with a Keeley modded TS-9 in the external distortion loop. Amp is a '68 bassman 50 into a Marshall 1960a. I can sympathize with everyone's knocks on the stock pickups. I pulled them out of my LP Classic for pretty much the same reasons others state. I bought this guitar off eBay and the fact that the pups were already switched out made me pick this one over the others.

I'm getting ready to put this guitar in for a professional setup. It plays quite nicely right now but it isn't staying in tune as well as I'd like and I suspect the nut is the culprit. Having bought it second hand, I can't knock Gibson for the setup. I can knock them for the nut though. The finish and fit are outstanding. This is a very cool and sinister looking guitar. Very rock.

Due to the angle of the neck strap button, I'd consider playing this one without strap locks (strap locks are an absolute must on les pauls). Mine came with strap locks so I'm leaving them on. I have no worries about this or any other Gibson.

I emailed them once regarding dating a guitar. They responded the next day with all the information I requested. Gibson has a great website.

I love this guitar and would definitely buy another if it were lost or stolen. Playing this axe while sitting on the couch is perfectly comfortable. It is also well balanced while hanging off my shoulder. It plays nicely and has a great neck. My advice to you is buy one and replace the pickups with your favorites.

Its got everything I need, except it doesnt come with strap locks.
( I dont think any guitar comes with those )
The black finish is beatifull and evil at the same time, I love it.

The sound from this beast is dark, bassy, and full. I would not call it muddy at all though. I use this guitar w/ Mesa Boogie dual rectifier full stack, and a Marshall TSL-100 half stack. It makes my Marshall sound so much more agro, and makes my Mesa sound heavier than Hatebreed when I detune to drop-C tuning. I am used to my other guitar which is a ESP explorer w/ EMG-81 & 85 pickups, so I thought I would not like the passive 500T pickup that this thing came with. But I actually love it, the EMG-81 is actually not that much hotter than the 500T bridge pickup. As far as the neck pickup, (496R) I really like it for solo's but for clean stuff no matter how I adjust the pickup height it sounds WAY to bright, its gotta GO! I think the main factor with this guitar's massive sound is do to the huge solid mahgony body, which I love because I am used to a explorer copy with a bass wood body. It sure does weigh alot more than my ESP explorer, you just need to play it lower so it takes some of the strain of your back. I give it a 9 because the clean sound sucks, but I can fix that, If I only used it under heavy gain I'd give it a 10.
And as far as the people saying its not a Metal guitar I beg to defer, this thing is basically a nicer looking gothic explorer that gibson quit making. Sound wise I cant really see people playing this thing for anything but Metal, or really heavy rock. I also installed a aluminum diamond plate pickguard so it would also look more the part too. (white pick guard just screams that you are a old fart thar plays blues.

Everything was setup very good, even though it came with small strings which I dont like. I think it came with 9's, it sounded good even with those small strings, but I but on 12-54 because I just like big strings. The bridge pickup was setup too high for my taste, but thats not Gibson's fault because everyone is after a different sound.

This thing is a beast, probably last longer than I will. Never gig without a back guitar because strings do break, and also you should never strap on a guitar without strap locks, especially a expensive Gibson!

Dont care.

I have been playing for over 3 years, own more guitar shit than I care to mention. Buying this thing for 900.00 was a steal considering the price of most gibsons and considering these things used to sell for 1500.00 one year ago. I would also like to note this things plays, balances, and sounds better than any other guitar I have ever played, not to mention the looks. I used to swear buy active pickups EMG-81 at the bridge & EMG-85 at the neck which I have used in ALL (3) of my guitars prior to this one, I am seriously considering NOT putting EMG pickups it this one its that good. Overall rating I give it a 10 even though this is not perfect, but no guitar is, it's still better than any other Gibson, PRS, or ESP guitar that I have played. Anything else I wish I had, hmmmm, how about a VHT Ultra-Lead full stack and a Gibson Zack Wlyde signature guitar to go with it just because the bullseye paint jog is so cool.

2003 USA made reissue of the '76 Explorer (are you old enough to remember the Bicentennial?). Beautiful natural finish with gold hardware. Before I spotted this guitar I wasn't aware the Explorer was offered with a natural finish; I'm glad it is 'cause I do like natural finishes. Comes with a nice hardshell case with funky pink fur inside. It's a nice guitar if you like to just strap it on & wail with a minimum amout of fuss. No whammy bars or coil tapping here, ladies; just great tone.

I've wanted an Explorer since I started playing, initially because they looked so cool & unique, and then, after getting an opportunity to try one, I really liked their playability and feel. Unfortunately the pickups on these new models are absolutely horrible. The 500T bridge pickup is harsh & trebly; it fuzzes up the overdrive channel on my Marshall. The neck pickup is flat & dull. I can't see using these pickups for anything but Metal, even though the '76 model was definately NOT a metal guitar. I'm not sure what Gibson was thinking. I had to replace the stock pickups with my favs, Duncan SH-1 '59 PAFs to suit my taste. Other than that, I think the guitar sounds excellent plugged straight into my Marshall combo with an EH Holy Grail reverb through the effects loop for a little extra splash. It's capable of jazzy mellowness and roaring rock & roll, and it may be the last guitar I'll ever have to buy, I'm that happy with it.

The natural finish over the mahogany body is beautiful. I'm not big on gold harware but it compliments the finish very well. It came strung with .009s which are just way too thin sounding especially on
a big guitar like this. Other than that, it was set up great from the factory. I checked the intonation & action when I changed the strings and only very minor tweaking was required. Overall I was very pleased.

I've only owned it for 4 months so I don't have much to say here. I'm a big fan of Gibson (I played an SG for years) and I like their craftmanship. No worries, mate.

Never dealt with Gibson. And I hope I don't have to (you know the old rule - the bigger the company, the worse the service).

Other than the horrible pickups, this is my dream guitar. It has great tone for any style. I think they're overpriced (like most american made guitars) but I didn't want to waste my time or money buying something substandard only to go for the real thing later on. (is that the perfect rationalization for spending money you don't have? I think so.)

2002 Gibson (American made) '76 Reissue explorer, 22 frets, solid mahogany body, 1 volume, 2 tone, 3 way selector, 2 humbuckers, 492T (Neck) and 500T (Bridge), Black, tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiecec, non-locking mini tuners, thin neck with a rosewood fretboard, and a case that I would like to make my bed (so soft).

I play mostly hard rock and grunge, and this guitar suits that perfectly. I've heard people bashing the 500T, and I must admit, it is a bit much, but for distorted sounds, it's great. However, it's most certainly not a heavy metal guitar. There is not enough low-end definition for heavy metal. Great for grungy rock, though. I also use .010-.060 Zakk Wylde strings, through a CFH Crybaby, and a Mesa/Boogie dual rectifier. This guitar sounds HUGE! I used to play on a $200 guitar with an EMG 81 in it, and that produced a tone that was totally smashed to bits with this guitar. Oustanding clean sound in the neck pickup. A very distinct sounding bridge pickup. For a guy that uses a lot of "signature" equipment, I definately get my own sound with this guitar.

Out of the factory, it was set up excellently, with .009-.048 strings, I believe. Pickups were well adjusted, and everything played extremely well. However, with the tune-o-matic bridge, you DO need to have a relatively high action with a .060 low E string. But, this does lead the way to MASSIVE tone.

I've had this for about a month, so I really have no idea about this. I damned well hope it lasts a little longer than a year, for $1000.

Haven't dealt with them yet.

19 years old, currently a music technology major at a prestigious (read: snobby) liberal arts school. I definately scare the bejesus out of all the jam bands on campus with the tone I get out of this guitar. If this guitar was stolen/lost, I would definately get this guitar again. I compared this with a PRS Custom 22, and a Gibson Les Paul Standard. Both of those guitars sounded far too typical and predictable through my amp, so I went with the Explorer. The only thing I wish it had was the playability of the PRS. Damn that thing was sweet. I love the sound of this guitar. I'm probably never going to play another electric again (I hope).

Gibson '76 Reissue Explorer. American made. 1 Tone knob, 2 Volume knobs. 496R pickup in the neck, 500T for the bridge pick-up. Mine's got the mirror pickguard and truss rod cover. Exactly the same as any other explorer, white pickguard and truss rod cover could be bought to replace the mirror ones should they wear down. It's got a black body, chrome hardware, tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Came with a lovely hardcase.

Lets start by eliminating this myth - the explorer is not just a hard rock/metal guitar. It is versatile. Why would people in 1958 design the Explorer, as a metal guitar when metal wasn't around until 25 years later? You can get a nice blues sound, clean sound, classic rock sound, mild distortion and crazy distortion, it all sounds good. Think who've used this guitar and embraced it; Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), The Edge (U2), Rivers Cuomos (Weezer), Wayne Static (Static X) and many others. This guitar is a nice guitar for most styles, though it's shape immediately suggests rock.

I originally thought I was getting an Epiphone Les Paul Custom or Epiphone Explorer, since this is only my second electric, third guitar in total (and I'm 15). I ended up buying this at 200 pounds cheaper than the RRP, and it had a hardcase. Totally blew away the Epis (though the LP Custom comes quite close).

The 496R is nice, sounds good for blues and rock. The 500T is much weaker, but still useful in certain styles. With a three way pick-up selector you can use 3 settings; 1)496R 2)496R + 500T 3)500T. I tend to use option 1 and 2. Maybe option 3 if I really need it which is rarely, it's too hot if anything. I may replace it, but definitely not any time soon. It is still a gorgeus pick-up combination.

I play bits of everything; blues, classic rock, and some modern rock (Foo Fighters mostly) and little bits of grunge (Soundgarden and Nirvana). This guitar suits those styles.

Has the same electronics as the Flying V and Les Paul Classic so sounds the same.

This was bought from an independent store, so was lower in price than at some commercial place. Was in the window for a while, but is also immaculate. Didn't need any setting up. Action is perfect, quite low, but not too low. Doesn't buzz. Since it has 22 Frets and my last guitar had 21 the frets are shorter. This makes it easier to play, but it feels a little weird at first to adjust. Mirror pickguard and ebony body shine, though I may replace the pickguard and truss rod cover with white ones. The problem with the mirror pickguard is that finger prints show up so easily, no matter how hard you try not to put any on it! It's not hard to restring, though again it's weird to do at first, compared to my old guitar.

Can't say much - I've had it one day! All I know is Gibsons are SUPPOSED to last...let's hope so...

Nope.

My old setup is a horrible Squier strat and Marshall MG15RCD, this Explorer and a Line 6 Flextone II replaced it. I've been playing for 1 and a half years, and I want to keep this forever. It blows away my old setup and is so comfortable to play, but remember it's NOT for everyone. People complaining about it being "awkward" obviously just bought the guitar without trying it (which you shouldn't do anyway). The body shape is lovely, though although this thing may sound great for jazz as well as hard rock, it would look out of place at the local jazz club.

A great guitar worth every penny it costs.

1990 '76 Reissue Explorer. Wine red. There were no modifications from what's already been described in the other reviews.

Versatile, well balanced guitar. I get a broad palate of sounds. My styles vary from Pinback to Rival Schools, so I appretiate the flexibility this guitar provides. The three control knobs and three way selector switch give you the ability to mold about any electric guitar sound you are looking for.

I play through a 100W Line 6 Flextone II. Like the guitar, the amp allows me to get about any sound I am looking for.

Why did I give it a 7? I am not a fan of the 500-T and I hope to get rid of it when the guitar gets it's next professional tune-up. I was not suprised when I have read others here being equally critical of it. The pickup is just too unbelievably hot.

At one time, I owned a Gibson SG-X, which I bought through an auction without playing one first - dumb move. The SG-X is outfitted with a single 500-T. I couldn't get within 15 feet of my amp without it screaming out of control. The Explorer's 500T wasn't as bad as the one on the SG-X but I still don't like either. I'm glad the guitar allows you to control both the volume and the tone of this pickup seperately as it allows you to calm it down a bit.

Bought the guitar used so I can not say how it was from the factory. The guitar shop I bought the guitar from did a nice setup job on it before they shipped it.

Intonation was perfect, action was low with no buzz, wiring was well shielded.

After 13 years, the guitar still seems like new so it was well made.

My only compaint is that the nut has either worn with time or was faulty at the time of construction. I'm fairly sure it isn't wear because the frets are in great shape. The nut catches on my high E string and causes the occasional out of tune annoyance when it snags during tuning. This will be repaired or replaced at my next professional tune-up.

Everything but the nut is exactly as it should be. Quality built guitar and worth the money.

I gig with it and I have absolutely no problems.

I always have a backup. No time to change strings when you are playing live.

Never had to deal with Gibson directly.

Playing 5 years but already had a 10 year musical background in both drums and trombone.

Besides the Explorer, I also own a 2001 Les Paul Standard DC and a 1995 Ibanez Artstar 120.

The Explorer is my primary guitar for the songs I do in the D tuning.

2001 Gibson 76 reissue explorer limited edition/natural finish
mahogany body&neck/rosewood fretboard/medium jumbo frets/humbucker pickups/rectangular brown HSC

This guitar did need a little "gearing" to bring it up to an original '58 explorer vibe: The pickups were traded for a matching set of Gibson PAF 57 classic humbuckers with gold covers.The black barrel knobs for a set of gold top hats/white toggle cap for an amber & a set of strap locks to protect this investment.With this said,
the arrival rating of 7 (before these very much needed up-grades) arrives at 10. this guitar was worth the work
to bring this "modern classic" to a "vintage classic" explorer.

This particular guitar arrived from Gibson with a proper factory set-up.The wood grain was very well selected both for the guitar body&neck.Though the headstock grain could have been a bit more carefully matched.Otherwise everything was of Gibson standard.

Though I am a professional session guitarist and Conservatory instructor,I do beleive I could rely on this guitar outside of the recording studio for a performance.Again, I would go with the strap-
locks for protecting your investment.(This is the first thing that I do on my Gibsons)The only thing that I do not trust is the buttons.

I have contacted Gibson for many reasons over the years.They have always resepected my concerns and questions.I have not been dissapointed.

I am a 29 year professional session guitarist & Conservatory of Music
instructor.I own around 20 guitars (all Gibsons)I perfer Class A tube combo (Vox AC15/AC30)(Gibson Goldtone GA15RV) (Orange 15/12)
If this particular explorer were to be lost I do think I would replace it.I do not however look foward to the time that it takes to bring it to the standard of a "58 modern guitar"

I bought this guitar brand new in 1990, along with a matching '67 flying V reissue, both are sunburst, (like the finish found on old reverse firebirds). I paid about $550 for this guitar brand new, they have gone up in price since then, $1100? It is of course, made in America by Americans. Number of frets? 22 like all the good guitars of the past. The body was made from a solid piece of mahogany, a very wide and thick piece of solid mahogany with a nice even grain pattern. The neck is also solid mahogany, not a 2 or 3 piece glue up like some of the gibsons from the seventies, although this is a good way to strengthen the neck, it just doesn't look as good as a one piece neck. The'76 has three knobs, one tone shared by both pickups and a volume knob controling each pickup. This reissue has the correct tune-o-matic bridge (the slightly wider tune-o-matic without the retaining wire), the correct finish for all the hardware (chrome), the correct stop tailpiece, chrome mini-grover roto-matic machine tuners, (appropriate for a 1970's explorer), the frets are incorrect for 1976, too narrow, 76's had those nice jumbo frets (railroad ties), the pickups (496R and 500T are totaly wrong for this guitar or any other gibson reisse, no chrome covers, and way, way, too, too hot, they sound like crap to me, the neck has the proper "chunk" to it (even better than my flying V), it came with a nice pink fur lined case with a furry shroud to cover the guitar in the case. The new cases I've seen no longer have the furry shroud, I think it's satin now, too bad, should've kept the fur! The 9 I'm giving for this catagory is because gibson got so many things right on this reissue.

Here is the one major flaw in an otherwise very nicly done reissue, the pickups. The 500T is a nasty sounding pickup in my opinion, built to be too hot. It has a grittyness in the upper mid range and an overall lack of fullness and smoothness that you would get from a good P.A.F. like a 57 classic plus, or a lindey fralin. The real '76 explorer had patent number pickups or "T" buckers as they're sometime called because of an upper case letter "T" embossed on both plastic bobbins under the chrome covers. My explorer doesn't get played at all because the pickups just sound so bad to me, so it has sat in the case for about 13 years and is
so clean and scratch and dent free that its stupid, but then all my guitar are very well cared for. (a brand new 13 year guitar). As soon as I can make it a priority, I'm putting in a 57 classic plus, (chrome covered of course) in the bridge position, and a 57 classic (also chrome coverd) in the neck position. I did this on my flying V and it now sounds incredible. I play the V all the time and the explorer sits in the case. I can't figure out why gibson would put a thrash metal pickup in an otherwise nice 1970s reissue rock guitar. Unfotunatly, a bad pickup can ruin the sound of even the best guitar. I'm giving the sound catagory a 1 with the 500T, but replace the pickups and score goes up to 10+.

I,ve heard some other people complaining about harmonics on this model. In order for a guitar to sound it's very best, you have to have it intonated by a professional. You must decide what gauge of strings you are going to use and have your guitar intonated for that particlar sized string set. This is very important! It controls how in tune each note of each string will sound all the way up the neck. Harmonics are based on how in tune the guitar is over the entire fretboard. The guitar shop you buy your explorer from should do this for free, if they won't buy from someone else. My explorer was nicly made except for 2 things, the pick guard wasn't routed very carefuly, and the gibson logo on the headstock is one of those cheap, crappy fake plastic pearl inlays instead of the nice real pearl inlays gibson usually uses. I've seen the new ones and I think they have the good inlays again, but look out for it if you buy an old one, they look like crap. The glue joint at the neck is very nicly done, just like all the gibsons I've ever owned, and the neck angle is kind of low, but not like on my flying V. Low neck angle is a good thing, the lower the better up to a point. I've heard a few people say gibson uses bone for the nuts on they're guitars, this is totaly false, they use a composite material, a kind of plastic (they have for many, many years now). Why you ask? because real bone can have voids, kind of like air pockets and this can really effect how the guitar rings out.

If you use a strap, get strap locks. This guitar will become "unstraped" and if you can't catch it in time, there goes your headstock, a very ugly thing to have happen.

"Hello? customer support? Why did you guys put those awful pickups in such an otherwise nice guitar?"

I've been playing since 1979, I've owned lots of guitars. I love gibsons the most, love the sound of good humbuckers through a good quality tube amp. This will be a great guitar once I put in the right pickups.