r/ExplorerGuitars

Matt Heafy of Trivium posted this on his socials. He is getting an Epi/Gibson Explorer signature. Fans are going to help design/spec it!

Been building up my Explorer lineup and thought I’d share the current trio.

Edwards E-EX-120D (VW)-tuned to Drop C.
Mahogany body/neck, rosewood fretboard. Loaded with a Seymour Duncan Black Winter rail in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck. This one’s probably the most aggressive sounding of the three

Epiphone Explorer Ebony — also Drop C.
Mahogany body/neck, Indian laurel board. Bought it with an EMG HET-SET. This one is a great rhythm machine. Neck is a bit too wide.

ESP LTD EX-7 Baritone — ADADGBE.
Mahogany body, maple neck, ebony board, EMG 81, 27” scale. This one is for the lower, uglier riffs. The single bridge pickup setup makes it feel brutally simple.

Happy mother’s day! 🌺 ❤️ 🌹 💜 🌼

I'm potentially looking at getting this and I've seen a few reviews say the Floyd is not good and the pick ups are low output?

Anyone tried one of these??

Hey folks got a doozy here

thought I’d reach out to get some experts to weigh in on this

I recently picked up a used Gibson Golden Axe Explorer online - took ages to find one but I found a seller.

It’s well used - not too fussed about that

However there’s some areas that concern me as I’ve never owned an Explorer or an Explorer that’s finished in nitro and played this hard so I’m not sure what I should be seeing.

From initial assessment it looks to be the result of the nitro reacting to weather/usage etc but it also appears to be humidity damage (?) + road wear and tear

I just wanna know if it’s structural or just cosmetic damage

Particularly the body binding cracking by the neck join, bottom of the body where the binding is actually coming off and at the 7th fret inlay.

The 7th fret inlay is raised too, does this happen cause of the wood expanding + glue losing its adhesive?

Secondly is all this repairable? And would you say it’s worth repairing?

It uses a nitro finish. Plays and feels good, and all the electronics are clean.

Happy to hear your discussion! And if you wanna see more pics

My purchase gives my opinion on it haha I don’t think I’ve ever liked Gibsons necks. And yeah it’s original, 82 babyy🤘

Got a kit for my birthday last year and finally finished it

Found this on a job site, owner said it came with the house and he used it to prop open his basement bulkhead. Gave him 50$ for his sparkly door prop and fixed the lift arm on his door. Think I did ok? Did a little research. The E-Series was only produced for about 18 months. This one has the license Floyd rose trem and locking nut with 24 frets. It's nothing valuable but gotta love finding literal gold in a basement right?!

After an almost year long project my baby is finally done!!! It started out as a ChESP that I sanded down to bare wood which to my surprise was actually mahogany and not “plywood” as some people claim…. I shipped it off for pyrography sometime around June or July last year (the artist wishes to remain anonymous but he’s incredible) instead of having just the barbed wire on the headstock or “ESP” I opted to use my initials “SFR”

I got it back from overseas in October to learn a valuable lesson, never ship a guitar via FedEx, because when I got it back the headstock was broken but it was a clean break so it was an easy fix for a local luthier named Dave Lewis based out of Reading PA. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

I took it to him for repairs and to finish the clear coat and reassembly. There were a few complications from the clear coat I had the artist put on (against his recommendation btw) so the process of clearing it took months, in the meantime I was turned on to a luthier based out of Vietnam who makes custom fretboards and I had him make me a new one with barbed wire inlays made out of mother of pearl. When I got it I took it to the luthier and the measurements I gave him were a hair off so the neck had to be reprofiled slightly. Once that was done and it was installed it was several coats of clear coat and I’m happy to say that this morning I finally got to bring my baby home! And it feels incredible!!! I’ve wanted to have a guitar like this since I first saw James play it in person March 8, 1997 in Philly and now I finally have it.

Hi guys, i’ve purchased this Ibanez Destroyer few years ago. I don’t know the serial number because previous owner broke the headstock (i’ve put a sticker on it but i don’t like it) and it is painted, all i know is that it came from japan. From what I’ve seen online I think it’s Destroyer DT520 from 1981-1987 but I’m not sure.

Just got this Epiphone Futura FX custom on an incredible deal. Ignore the foot…

Some people don’t know what they have ($250.00).

Had to clean and upgrade the Floyd Rose (titanium) the hardware on the Floyd was corroded more than any bridge I have ever seen. The previous owner must have sweat acid.

Aside from that, not a single scratch or dent on it.

Leveled, crowned, and polished the frets, setup, and cleaned MULTIPLE times.

In the end it plays incredibly. Running 9s with .005/.004 action.

The not quite normal shape grows on you…

Really happy with the Explorers little, MUCH THINNER brother.

Had this for over 20 years. It was always my grail because of Hetfield. Nothing else I have plays like it.