Gibson '76 Reissue Explorer

Tuneomatic fixed bridge, H/H pickup configuration, two volume and one tone, three way pickup selector, 22 fret. I've never used an independant volume control guitar before so this took a bit of getting used to. Also, the location of the selector is a bit awkward. I turn the neck pickup off and use the switch like an on/off. The volume controls don't roll off smoothly. They seem to maintain a constant volume level then sharply drop off when level 1 is reached. The selector is a bit loose and needs to be tightened on occasion. The finish is a cherry color and is still in great shape for a used guitar.

I replaced the bridge pickup with a Seymore Duncan (forget which model) and this brought the guitar to life. It now has a great low mid range tone which I like. I use this guitar with my band more than my other guitars (see next section). One strange thing: I find it very difficult to sound harmonics on this guitar. My other guitars don't seem to have this problem so I know it is not my amp or other settings. It's not the pickup cause the guitar had this problem with the original pickup as well. Also, I've used the Seymore in other guitars. I'm not sure why this is. The guitar will produce them but it is very stubborn about where they are played.

Action is why I bought this guitar without even plugging it into an amp. I played on the guitar in the store acoustically and fell in love with the way this guitar fit me and felt. This same model guitar was in another store (priced higher) and the action on that one was nasty. The action on this guitar seems like it was designed exclusively for me, low but not too low, loose feeling and fast. The strings do buzz slightly but not enough to be noticed when played through an amp.
The guitar sits very well with the neck naturally tilting upwards unlike my BC Rich which is headstock heavy causing the neck to droop. The neck size falls somewhere between my thin Ibanez and my fatter BC Rich. Of these three guitars, the Gibson neck is my favorite. I'm going to try to find out the actual dimensions because if I ever get a custom guitar built I will use these dimensions for the neck. Comfort and perfect action is why this is my primary guitar when playing with my band.
The pickups don't seem to lie flat. They twist slightly in their cavities so they are not perfectly parallel with the strings. It doesn't seem to detract from the sound at all but who knows. Maybe this is why harmonics are difficult to sound?? I stuck some foam earplugs under them to try to re-align them but this didn't completely correct the problem.
There is a small chip in the neck up on the first fret under the low string. It doesn't interfere at all with the playing and I'll bet it got there due to some missuse but I can't be sure.

The guitar is very tough but probably not as durable as my BC Rich. I have gigged several times with this guitar and will continue to do so. I believe that the pickup selector might need replacing down the line. The finish is real nice and will last. As it is, there isn't a singe blemish in the body finish. I immediately replaced the strap buttons with some locking ones. I'm not totally comfortable with the durability of set necks but that never stopped the millions of other musicians who have used Gibsons.

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I've had the guitar for almost a year and I'm very pleased with it. I've never really been a big Gibson fan (I always found Les Pauls to be very uncomfortable) but I guess I'll be more impartial in the future due to this guitar. Like I said above, the action on this guitar is really the main reason I bought it. I guess I got lucky and found one of the "good ones" because some of the other reviewers didn't seem to like the action on this model. I'm still getting used to the controls which I wish were more like my BC Rich. The Explorer styling is classic and the color is beautiful. I didn't compare this to other guitars except the other Explorer I mentioned. I think I got an excellent instrument for the price I payed. Again, this has become my main guitar so I'm very happy with it.

1992, 22 frets, 3-piece mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard, transparent red (heritage cherry, looks exactly like the sg's) finish, two volume, one tone, H/H config, Tune-o-matic bridge/stop tailpiece, Grover tuners, pretty fat neck, typical gibson size frets, came with a gibson brown hardshell case, pink plush..

I like deep, heavy distortion, with alot of bass, but with the highs cutting through well...that doesn't, necessarily, mean that my "style" is heavy metal; I like all kinds of "styles" of playing..but i usually like deep, saturated distortion.. this guitar seems somewhat versatile..few different sounds.. the neck pickup sounds excellent for clean tones, but its very muddy with distortion (i prefer a good, high-quality, single coil, for the neck.. because those sound beautiful for clean sounds, in my opinion) .. i always keep the tone knob turned all the way up, because when you turn it down.. no matter what pickup you're using... its muddy.. and very uninteresting.. i use an Ampeg VL-1002 half stack with a matching ampeg 4x12 celestion-equipped cab (ones designed by Lee Jackson), so when the tubes are still good, which isnt long, i get pretty good distortion out of it.. but the pickups are pretty noisy...i dont use any effects, other than the spring reverb, in the amp.. the only effect i want is a digital-delay pedal.. when the preamp and gain are turned all the way up on the amp, i get an almost "electronic" sound.. which sounds like shit.. and hasnt happened with any other guitar ive played on this amp.. (guess its the pickups).. altho, the sound when tweaked right.. is a decently dark, full sound..which is good for palm-muted riffs..id like a li'l brighter sound, though... although, keep in mind, you've got to recognize all the factors that determine your "sound".. the amp is a big determining factor.. ..you could use a cheap-ass fender squier, with one of their cheap pickups.. and get a thick sound, with good bass... altho, i wouldnt be able to tolerate the noise...hehe.. im just trying to clarify my point..

The set-up was alright from Neil..action is decent..i use 12 gauge strings..and i dont have too much of a problem fretting and tapping..i didnt see any flaws in the guitar, considering it was used... i dont care about looks... im worried about playability.. and how well this guitar will last, playing-wise.. which it has done intolerably, so far.. the neck has warped and no matter how i try to set it up ..ive always got moderate to bad fret buzz, somewhere.. ..i dont like mass-produced guitars... although, some are good.. you will ALWAYS find better quality in a HAND-MADE guitar..that was built under the supervision of one master luthier..without any/many machines..

This guitar would probably do okay live.. and the bridge is my absolute favorite (for a fixed bridge)..i, immediately, changed the strap buttons, for locking schallers.. the finish is okay..it scratches easily..i would/do depend on this guitar.. although.... i always take a back-up...

never dealt with 'em neil's guitars was ok to deal with.

Ive been playing long enough, and have owned enough gear. i wish i wouldnt have wasted my money.. if you are serious about playing.. SAVE UP and get a GOOD guitar first.. BE VERY DISCRIMINATING.. you are paying for it, aren't you??.. If this guitar was stolen, id DEFINITELY not buy another mass-produced guitar.. id save up and get a good, custom-built guitar from Ed Roman at www.edromanguitars.com.. (if you wanna buy this guitar, go ahead.. $400...just contact me)

This guitar came equipped with Gibson 500T and 496R pickups, I changed to EMGs 85. I also changed its strap button to a locking model.The rest is the basic Gibson stuff: non-locking tuners, stop tailpiece...

I play aggressive, heavy music and I do some blues and country-type leads. This guitar is great for that because it have a very radical look but sounds classic. I can say its sound is very Les Paul-like, but with more defined highs and more attack.The original Gibson pickups sounded ok, but the EMGs have more gain and bass response plus it's quieter so I have no regrets about changing its pickups.I also disliked the way the control were configured, especially the bridge pickup volume pot, so now it only have a master volume control but I kept all the knobs there to maintain the original look. This guitar is at home for any musical style, but its look suggests a metal guitar. I recorded some lighter stuff with it and it sounded like a classic Gibson. It's not a noisy guitar, but that's mostly due to the active pickups.I use it with a Laney GH100L stack, a Morley Bad Horsie Wha, and Boss Chorus Ensemble and Equalizer pedals, it's a great rig.

I had a minor problem with this guitar's nut when I bought it,it was making some open strings to fret out and the action was high, other than that, the guitar came ok, the black finish looks solid and the hardware is well installed.

Yes, this guitar is being used for both studio and live work, and I think it will last long. My backup is another Explorer but I rarely need it.

As I mentioned I had some trouble with the nut, I contacted Gibson and got a response in less than 24 hours.

I 've been playing since 1982 and I always liked Gibson guitars. In my opinion they're still the ultimate rock guitar. It is true that they only have 3 sounds, but those are really usable. I can't compare it with any other guitar because Gibsons are unique. It's true that they're slower and heavier than, say, an Ibanez or Jackson, but I decided to trade those limitations for a truly great tone, and once you're used to them, the limitations seem to disappear. I chose the Explorer amongst the other Gibsons because of its look, but all other Gibsons are great(except, maybe, the NightHawk).