|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 5, 2021 23:31:25 GMT -5
I've had this thing since 1979, my first real serious electric guitar. I bought it as new old stock. Seems no one wanted her. It hung in the local guitar store for over 2 years. I had played it many times, but did not have the cash until 1979 to get it. I had started out playing on a cheap El Degas copy of an ES 335/345, a budget bolt on neck Jap copy. It's a fretless wonder, plays amazing, sounds amazing. Never gonna let this one go. NEVER. Has only gotten better with age. I find it super comfortable either standing or sitting. Cleaned it up tonight and restrung with D'Addario balanced tension 009's. Love this big plank of wood! I can't understand why some might find it uncomfortable? I remember bringing it home when I bought it, my older brother an accomplished guitarist laughed at me wondering why I bought it. I said, "trust me, this thing rocks!". He laughed. I didn't. I plugged it into my Fender Twin and let it rip. All he could do was stand and stare. First time I saw him speechless with my playing. My only complaint is the case is sooo darn big!   |
|
|
|
Post by Riff Twang on Sept 6, 2021 1:40:04 GMT -5
Very nice. Does it have the inlaid Gibson logo, or is it one of the silk-screened ones?
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 6, 2021 9:29:38 GMT -5
Very nice. Does it have the inlaid Gibson logo, or is it one of the silk-screened ones? Inlaid. |
|
|
|
Post by Leftee on Sept 6, 2021 9:31:45 GMT -5
Great guitar and great story!
|
|
|
|
Post by Larry Madsen on Sept 6, 2021 13:40:57 GMT -5
Very, very nice. I've been a lover of the Explorer for years. Jeff Carlisi sealed the affair for me.  Jeff Carlisi Explorer by Larry Madsen, on Flickr His is not a Gibson, it is a custom Explorer made using Allen Collins 1958 Gibson Explorer as a model. Anyway, Do I own and Explorer ... NO  |
|
|
|
Post by LeftyMeister on Sept 6, 2021 14:27:05 GMT -5
Nice! As a teen about that same period, I remember hearing the Explorer was the most balanced guitar to play standing up.
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 6, 2021 14:54:23 GMT -5
Nice! As a teen about that same period, I remember hearing the Explorer was the most balanced guitar to play standing up. I've always found it VERY comfortable to play standing, and sitting it's equally comfortable. Now the Flying Vee....well it's a PITA. |
|
|
|
Post by reverendrob on Sept 6, 2021 19:04:22 GMT -5
The case I feel your pain, my first beast was a late 70s Hamer Standard, and I always found it VERY comfortable to play.
Moving it from gig to gig, not so much.
It died the headstock death and I didn't know then (nor did any of my other musician friends) that you can get it repaired, it was a clean break and may have been broken before.
I kept it for a decade until I left Chicago in '98.
Stripped the Kahler that had been put on it to put on a superstrat that I cobbled together after the accident, pulled the pickups as well, the shell hit the dumpster along with the case.
The superstrat became a literal fretless wonder after I yanked the frets; it still is being used by a dear friend in Chicago who loved it more than I!
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 6, 2021 20:24:28 GMT -5
I was amazed (/shocked???) at the time back then that no one wanted to buy it?!? That baffled me, but pleased me as I hoped it would hang in that store until I got the funds. I lusted after it for 2 years before I could afford it. 2 weeks later I stumbled upon and bought my 1939 Gibson L50 archtop. Another keeper.   |
|
|
|
Post by Riff Twang on Sept 6, 2021 20:55:01 GMT -5
That's quite a contrast in guitar aesthetics, you must have broad tastes and a good eye for the cool and interesting.
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 6, 2021 21:59:40 GMT -5
That's quite a contrast in guitar aesthetics, you must have broad tastes and a good eye for the cool and interesting. You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I was just getting into Django Reinhardt back then. I had just gotten a double LP of his and was playing it nonstop so the archtop drew me in like a magnet, but being in the 70's a solid body like the Explorer screaming through a Fender Twin made total sense to me also. I tried a strat, but at the time although the Jimi connection was strong, I just couldn't maneuver on a strat like I could a Gibson. I was not a very good player at the time and IMO a strat takes more skill/chops to pull off than a Gibson. So.....the strat would come much later to me. About 3 more years actually. And to this day it is second fiddle to me versus a Gibson solid body. Sadly so. I loose about 30% of my ability when I switch to a strat, not totally sure why, the scale, radius, bridge, all conspires against me methinks. I actually have recordings of the first day home with both of them, the Explorer with the Twin dimed, ( I blew the factory speakers that day) and the L50 jamming with a pal of mine on a Guild 12 string. Although raw and crude, those 2 recordings are still favs of mine for obvious reasons. |
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 6, 2021 22:11:47 GMT -5
Found an old pic of the L50 & the Explorer, it had gotten a set of Dimarzio dual sounds at the time. I had also recently got a 1977 ES175 and a budget classical guitar:  found a few pics of the frets on the Explorer, note the low height compared to a thin round toothpick:   |
|
|
|
Post by Ricketi on Sept 9, 2021 21:39:56 GMT -5
Nice Explorer, just curious what was the music store you bought it from?
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 10, 2021 23:17:13 GMT -5
Nice Explorer, just curious what was the music store you bought it from? Crown Music in Bay View Wisconsin. Mike was the main man there. I did a lot of business with Crown back then. |
|
|
|
Post by Ricketi on Sept 11, 2021 14:45:18 GMT -5
Nice Explorer, just curious what was the music store you bought it from? Crown Music in Bay View Wisconsin. Mike was the main man there. I did a lot of business with Crown back then. Crown Music is where I got my first guitar. A acoustic "Aquarius" 3/4 body. I was 12 yrs old. I just recently gave it to my daughter. I do remember Mike. |
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 11, 2021 15:40:50 GMT -5
Crown Music in Bay View Wisconsin. Mike was the main man there. I did a lot of business with Crown back then. Crown Music is where I got my first guitar. A acoustic "Aquarius" 3/4 body. I was 12 yrs old. I just recently gave it to my daughter. I do remember Mike. Dang, small world! Very cool. I also got my 1980 Fender Twin Reverb from Crown, Mike gave me a killer price on it. That era still had all point to point wiring, it's one of those 135 watt beasts with the push/pull master volume. |
|
|
|
Post by Ricketi on Sept 11, 2021 22:17:25 GMT -5
Nice amp, I miss that store!
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 11, 2021 23:52:38 GMT -5
Nice amp, I miss that store! Last time I was there it was called Warp Drive, that was some time ago. That amp is silly loud, I blew the factory speakers the first day. Had some 12" ones from a Peavy stack that I parted out, they lasted many years until the cones deteriorated. Currently has a set of EV SRO speakers. As if that amp wasn't heavy already! They look like this:  |
|
|
|
Post by Ricketi on Sept 12, 2021 10:11:05 GMT -5
Oh yeah Warp Drive, forgot about that. Those look crazy heavy, must be fun lugging that around.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mikeyguitar on Sept 14, 2021 21:09:42 GMT -5
Nice guitar!
Around 1981 I was in a music store not too far from where I live, and I was intent on buying a higher-end guitar...seeing how I was planning on gigging and needed/wanted a reliable guitar.
It came down to a new Hamer Destroyer (which as I recall had a similar shape to your Gibson Explorer) and a used 1978 Gibson LP Custom.
I opted for the Les Paul, and still own it.
...but I wonder if that Destroyer would have been a Gibson Explorer - which one would I then have chosen?
Hmmmm...
|
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 15, 2021 21:47:34 GMT -5
Nice guitar! Around 1981 I was in a music store not too far from where I live, and I was intent on buying a higher-end guitar...seeing how I was planning on gigging and needed/wanted a reliable guitar. It came down to a new Hamer Destroyer (which as I recall had a similar shape to your Gibson Explorer) and a used 1978 Gibson LP Custom. I opted for the Les Paul, and still own it. ...but I wonder if that Destroyer would have been a Gibson Explorer - which one would I then have chosen? Hmmmm... Hell, one can never go wrong with a good LP Custom, but having owned both, the Explorer, if you get a good one, is every bit as good as any Les Paul variation IMO. Body wise/feel the Explorer is VERY different than any LP. But..... I've found it actually more comfortable to play than a Lester. Fact is the electronics are near the same in both. An Explorer is far more user friendly than most would guess, it's feel and fit are amazing. Hell I've kept my Explorer for over 40 years and I've had hundreds of guitars and still have many, but that 1977 Explorer has always sat first chair for me, go figure. It's earned it place. |
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 15, 2021 21:55:33 GMT -5
Oh yeah Warp Drive, forgot about that. Those look crazy heavy, must be fun lugging that around. It is so heavy that it rarely gets played out, not that I don't like it for live playing, it's just silly heavy, especially for it's size. Frankly that thing with those SRO's in it will comb your hair all night without a blink of an eye. I've played stacks live that pale in SPL output compared to this monster. And it's bulletproof, it can run wide open for hours. Clean it's nice and jangly, throw a bunch of overdrive at it and the monster is unleashed. |
|
|
|
Post by guildx700 on Sept 21, 2021 20:53:08 GMT -5
Well folks, I finally did a local gig over the weekend and brought that silly heavy Fender Twin out to play.
It worked flawlessly for clean rhythm as well as my silly overdriven, grinding leads.
I had several folks talk to me after the concert about my set up.
I had the Twin, my 1977 Explorer, and a few stomp boxes, a vintage Boss OD-1 overdrive,
an early MXR Phase 90, and a black Hendrix Octave Fuzz. A very simply but effective setup into the Twin.
When we packed up 2 fairly husky guys packing my stuff into the truck complained about how heavy my Twin was,
and they commented about how "hot" it still was. That thing generates some heat!
Yup, 2 guys to lug that little amp. It's brutally heavy.
Glad I brought it though as I did need some good volume to cut through the sound of our band as well as the crowd noise.
I was going to bring something smaller/lighter, my Fender Deluxe, glad I didn't, it wouldn't have cut the mustard.
|
|
