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I have several Gibson Les Pauls, and I have wanted an Explorer since I was a kid. I bought the Cherry version, and I couldnt be more pleased. When I opened the case, I was blown away by the looks alone... Shiny trans Cherry sitting in the plush white case... It just screamed "lets rock". When I picked it up, I first noticed the action was high for me. I lowered it a bit, adjusted the truss rod, and intonation. then I plugged it up to my Marshall DSL100. The clean sound was so big and full of that Gibson tone. The bridge pup had a bit of bite, but still had a good tone. The neck pup sounds smooth and mellow, and has a great feel. When I kicked in the overdrive channel, I was REALLY blown away. The pickups are much hotter than I expected. The harmonics just jump off the neck... The neck pup has such a sweet lead tone... I could solo all day with that sound! The sustain of this guitar is almost as good as my '04 Les Paul Standard. Also, I was surprised by how well balanced it is. I thought it would be neck heavy.... but it is perfect. When you let go of the neck, it stays right where its supposed to. For the price, you cant go wrong. The build quality is there- the finish is flawless. The only thing I would change, is I would have Grover mini locking tuners come standard on it. But the stock grovers seem to be doing just fine. I still ordered locking ones... I put them on every guitar I have. I saw in another review where someone said this guitar is impossible to play sitting down. I disagree. It is just as comfortable to play sitting down as it is standing up. I think a Maple top on this would be a cool addition and would add a bit more highs to the sound, not to mention it would look cool. But im not complaining. This guitar suits everything I play. I play in two rock bands that cover everything from 80s metal to modern rock, and I believe this will do it all. Ive had it for two days now and havent put it down much.... I have two gigs this weekend, and cant wait to unleash this beast. Not only does it sound amazing, but there isnt a more cool looking guitar than an Explorer. If you want a high quality guitar that sounds amazing and looks even better, I highly recommend this.

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I'ld been looking for an Explorer for quite some time and was sad Gibson stopped making them. Then found Zzounds had some brand new ones in sealed from factory boxes. I wanted the Cherry But those ae soooo gone. The black one is the one I chose and Zzopunds had em. I got my new Explorer the day after I sent the cash western union. I was very surprized and impressed with Zzounds, thanks!! Well I did a few adjustments like lower the bridge and changed strings to my favorite 9's. The guitar plays effortlessly and bends are clear with no buzzing and I have the action set extremely low. Intonation is good from factory. I was surprized what a thick slab of solid mahogany this body has, but is very comfortable to play and sits right in strap and lap. Lightning fast neck what a dream! The pickups are the most powerful I ever used,, so clear so toneful with easy harmonics jumping out of her.. I have a Gibson SG standard with classic 57's and a very strong Schecter extreme solo six with active EMG's, but this Explorer is more powerful with same amp settings. I 'm just amazed at the quality, playability and sounds of the 2012. It has the Granadillo fretboard as well and I was a little wary about that, but turns out it is very pretty and done up just right. I'm going to order a fancy custom pickguard for her when I can get some spare scratch, she deserves it. Zzounds you have made me a very happy man:)

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I've always wanted a Gibson Explorer since the 70's. When I received the guitar from zZounds I was immediately impressed by the look, feel and playability of the guitar. Gibson has been knocked lately because of their QC but this and my Traditional Les Paul are both great. These pickup's are really hot and I made a minor adjustment to suit my own personal taste but otherwise it's setup and the intonation were pretty spot on right out of the case. I'm predominately a Gibson Les Paul player but I'd place the tone of this Explorer somewhere between a Les Paul and SG. The neck is a bit larger than a SG but not is big as my Les Paul's. The Explorer is well balanced with a strap and I did replace the stock strap buttons with Schaller brand locking types. This is a must for any guitar! Less than a week after getting this guitar I played it in a show and I was surprised at how many compliments I got on it's look and sound. My shoulder and back were also very happy at the end of the night too! Overall I'm extremely pleased with the purchase and will buy more guitars and gear from zZounds!

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I recently purchased a white Gibson Explorer from Zzounds.com and I'm very happy with it. I've been playing guitar for a long time and know a decent guitar from a bad one...and this Explorer is a great sounding, great playing instrument! The quality and workmanship is very good. Not to mention it looks "out of this world"! I've always loved Rick Nielsen and Cheap Trick so it was only a matter of time before I bought one of these and I couldn't be happier. It's really cool to be gigging with this guitar. Zounds was also excellent to deal with, and the price was very good...especially for an American made instrument. And although the guitar totally looks "rock and roll", it's actually very versatile! If you're thinking about buying one of these, I recommend it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

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C'mon, it's a Gibson Explorer. You already know this thing rules. You already know you want one or you wouldn't be reading this because no one sort of thinks they might like them. You either love the style or you hate it. Well, I read the reviews too even though I knew all of these things and here's what I think was missing from the reviews I read now that I have one: Weight: Nice....not too heavy...not too light. This guitar WILL lean forward and unhook itself at the neck strap pin. It's just the nature of the body style. Obviously, you can use a strap lock set up, but it will still lean toward the front because of the weight of the tale piece so, I just run the strap across the tale piece ala Allen Collins style and it balances perfectly. Neck: Nice and thin. It's super fast and the action was perfect for me right out of the box. Tone: I play it through a Blackstar HT100 Head and a Peavey HD4x12 and this thing SCREAMS. It oozes sustain too. Again, it's a Gibson Exporer, you already know it sounds brilliant, but through a Brit tube amp....H E double hockey sticks hath no fury like this beast. If you can swing the price, buy it. You don't see them used very often and if you do, they aren't much less than new. I used zZounds financing option. The terms are really easy and honestly, I never thought I would be approved, but I was so, if your thinking about that, take the statement for what it's worth.

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I will most likely look to buying more guitars, but this one is certainly a good buy, and can never be truly replaced

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As like many others, I have always wanted an explorer. Zzounds made that possible with the 12 payment program. I ordered this on Friday and was pleasantly surprised to see it on my porch on Saturday! The guitar is great! The tone and sustain is amazing. The action is a little high out of the box for my taste, but an easy fix. Pickups are great! Clean to crunch and everything in between. As another reviewer mentioned, I was kind of bummed about the fretboard wood, I was expecting a darker rosewood based on the photos. Not enough for me to return it however, but they should update the photo. I'll be rocking this guitar for a while!

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To me this is a classic Gibson Guitar. I'm a big Lynyrd Skynyrd fan and bought this axe to get the "Collins" sound I was looking for. Despite it's odd shape (that I happen to like) this axe rests comfortably on your lap, if you like to sit while practicing. The Gibson quality is there in my opinion. I bought the New Cherry, and it's beautiful. The finish is easy to mar though. I pulled the knobs to clean under them, and you can see imprints from my finger nails. Hard to see, but easy to mar the beautiful clear coat.

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For starters I have always been a Les Paul kind of guy and was not even interested in an explorer before playing one, but after going to my local gibson dealer and trying one out I have to say that for me it was by far the best guitar i've ever played. The ebony fretboard was smooth and made shredding a breeze. pickups were hot and power chords had a nice crunch to them. The sustain on the guitar is absolutely amazing, i could hold a note all day. I played a white one with Ebony fingerboard so the great sustain might not apply to those with rosewood. another suprise i had with this guitar just from picking it up is that although the guitar looks as if it would be heavy it is suprisingly very light and easy on the back compared to a Les Paul. In my opinion the only thing that could make this guitar better for me would be 24 frets, some binding, and a floyd rose. If you play metal or hard rock though this is the guitar for you. (if you want the Floyd Rose i mentioned try out the new limited run explorer with tremolo i haven't tried one yet but i'm sure its just as good)

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This is simply a well built and excellent sounding guitar for straight ahead rock. The harmonic overtones are great and the playability is fantastic. It was always the Gibson that I wanted and I am totally satisfied with the buy, and the case. For a rock guitar it puts my Stratocaster with a Dimarzio humbucker to shame. Tapping is fantastic with this thing, and it looks gorgeous. Zounds was quick and easy to buy from, and followed up to make sure I enjoyed my purchase.I even got used to no tremelo on the guitar. An overall outstanding purchase.

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I usually don't like making bigger purchases sight unseen, but when I opened the box and took the guitar out of the case, it was ready to go! Plays great, sounds great; it was more guitar than I thought I was getting, to be honest. I always wanted an Explorer, and zZounds made that a possibility......very pleased.

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I am so in love with my Explorer! I wish I would have bought one years ago. You will not be disappointed!

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This is a great buy. I am glad I could afford it. I honestly think they could throw a couple more hundred on there because it is a very high quality guitar. Use the 4 payment plan if you have a hard time financially. Zzounds is awesome to have this payment plan. Take advantage of it. This guitar is worth every penny.

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I just love everything about this guitar, but count on bumping into stuff (or people) with it. I even like Grandillo fingerboard.

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i Picked this guitar up and didnt know what to expect. i know that some higher end guitars still suck and price doesnt always make a good guitar. but that is not true in this case being as this is probably one of the best and most solid guitars i have ever played. this guitar was definitely worth the price and have no complaints.

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I've always wanted a Gibson Explorer. You can blame The Scorpions, James Hetfield (I know ESP endorses him but not in the early days), and the show, Metalocalypse for making the want cringing throughout life. I'm twenty-three years old and I've heard so many good things about Gibson guitars. They called them "partners for life." This is a guitar I hope I can grow old with, where I can look at all the scratches and blemishes it may receive in time and each one tells a story to me. Thus, I finally purchased my ebony Gibson Explorer. I didn't want a used guitar. I wanted a new one. I've always owned used guitars. I wanted one to call my own. I do name my guitars and I call this guitar "Odin," because it plays great, sounds hot for inactive pick-ups, excellent sustain, pinch harmonics scream, sweeping, highs, mids, lows. I play copious amounts of metal, while throwing in sessions of hard rock, classic rock, blues, and jazz. This guitar arrived at my house and I didn't have to do anything. The action was already perfect, no buzzing anywhere, and the truss rod didn't even need to be touched. You could only imagine my surprise when all I had to do was tune it and play. I'm used to playing on active pick-ups so I was skeptical about a inactive set up. To my surprise, they really do sound great. In fact, with more clarity than my Ibanez RGT or my Schecter C-1 Hellraiser ever had. I am not disappointed with them but if I have one nitpick, it will be that I'll have to make some adjustments in the back to fit a 9v battery (which happens to be a perfect snug fit). Ignore anything you hear or read about the fretboard. My Ibanez has an ebony board and rosewood on my Schecter. I honestly can't tell a difference; I can hardly see one either. If you're really considering one, perhaps find a new model in a local store and test one out there. As for Zzounds, I made my purchase on Thanksgiving morning, it shipped Friday, arrived Monday - on their free shipping. That's amazing. I barely had to contain my excitement and I waited until a weekend to order. So, I definitely have to compliment them on that. My package was nicely sealed but the provided Gibson USA case would have stopped any blunt damage anyhow. Overall, I'm a very satisfied customer who finally got his very own Gibson thanks to this website. If I had any negativity to say, it would be that it sold my other guitars because I never touched them. I'm not even kidding. I bought all new equipment for this guitar... Please understand that the only person who needs to like the guitar is you and I can tell you that I flipping love this guitar.

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Ordered a white Explorer and wasn't completely sold on it when I ordered it. When it arrived and I started to play it I fell in love with it. As a matter of fact I loved it so much I just gat an ebony Explorer to go with the white one. They are not nearly as uncomfortable to play sitting down as I had initially thought they would be and just love the feel of the neck, not to thick and not to thin.

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Ordered a white Explorer and wasn't completely sold on it when I ordered it. When it arrived and I started to play it I fell in love with it. As a matter of fact I loved it so much I just gat an ebony Explorer to go with the white one. They are not nearly as uncomfortable to play sitting down as I had initially thought they would be and just love the feel of the neck, not to thick and not to thin.

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Don't buy...these have the granadillo rosewood fingerboards. Look HORRIBLE and the wood had hairlike cracks sprouting from the fret wire. After researching, I learned this "rosewood" is very dense...good tonally, but not good for gluing. If you want a REAL Explorer, you'll have to get something prior to 2011. Gibson has lost a fan here...and I'm sure many others once they realize the ruse they're pulling on their customers (their web product descriptions invariably call the granadillo "rosewood.") And that's true, in the same way that a Pinto or an Edsel was technically still a car. Caveat Emptor. But zZounds is a great company and returned it for me, no questions asked. Love those guys!

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awesome. 10/10