Purchased this Explorer about a week ago at the time of this review. It is aggressive and mean sounding with the pickups. Really great sounding. I have a 50s Tribute Gibson Explorer with unpotted Burstbuckers, love that guitar but not in love with those pickups. This one is great for everything from Metal to Hard Rock to Jazz if you want. Great addition to my collection.

Been a Sweetwater customer for sometime and it's because of their customer service that I'll keep coming back. Josh is an excellent rep and always goes above and beyond. If something's not right he makes it right no questions asked
This Explorer is awesome, really fun to play. It was an open box item at a great discount. The blemishes are so minute it's hard to believe that's the reason anyone would send it back. Thanks for all the help

I recently purchased this guitar, and while I was impressed with its overall sound quality and playability, I was shocked to find a major flaw in the fretboard binding. The instrument feels great in hand, with a smooth neck and excellent resonance, but the craftsmanship in certain areas is seriously lacking.

The binding on the fretboard is noticeably uneven, and in some spots, it even appears that part of the fretboard wood has been removed. This isn't just a minor cosmetic issue—it's a glaring defect that affects the overall build quality of the guitar. Given its price range, I expected much better attention to detail.

If you're looking for great tone and playability, this guitar delivers, but be aware that quality control issues like this can be a dealbreaker. Hopefully, this is an isolated case, but I strongly recommend checking the instrument carefully before purchasing.

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The shape of the Gibson Explorer has often been imitated, but I can honestly say that is has never been duplicated! This beast was my Christmas gift to myself and thanks to Justin, it arrived safely at my door and a day ahead of the scheduled delivery! It was practically in tune when I took it out of the box, but I put on a set of EVH .010-.046 strings which made an awesome guitar even better! The neck is very sleek and fast and the 70s styled Burstbucker (Dirty Fingers?) pickups sound awesome through both my Marshall DSL40CR and my EVH 5150 amp. I can get great clean sounds and enhancing them with my EVH chorus, flanger and phaser pedals is just amazing. When I kick it into both classic overdrive and high gain, the tones are just unbelievable. And to make the axe look even cooler, I also bought a Levy's leather bullet strap which is the perfect accessory for a guitar like aa Gibson Explorer!

If you are considering an Explorer, GRAB IT IMMEDIATELY! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

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Normally, I wouldn't buy a guitar without playing it first, but I decided to take a chance on this one because I've always wanted an Explorer and man did it pay off. This guitar exceeded all my expectations by far and plays like butter. It is the ULTIMATE rhythm guitar and I can't put it down!! Thanks to Tyler More for hooking me up!

I've always been a Les Paul guy. My number 1 is a 2011 Les Paul Studio Deluxe with Bare Knuckle Abraxas pickups. The neck on the les paul is just perfect. Not slim taper but not a fat chunky 50's. I was weary about the slim taper neck on the explorer but it wasn't as thin as I thought it would be and a very comfortable neck more of a "thin D" shape than C shape. The fretboard is awesome. Set up with nice low action and the thing just plays itself. I play through a Friedman Runt 50 for live shows and this guitar gives that glorious high gain chime. Try one out and pick one up. This white explorer just commands attention on stage. Thanks to Shaun Y at Sweetwater for helping me out!

I've had my 70's Explorer for about a week, this is one very comfortable guitar! The neck is smooth and fast, the balance is pretty much perfect, and the quality on the one I received is top-notch. Always wanted one of these, glad I waited and got this one... one bad-*** guitar!

I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the first Demo models of the 70's Explorer, the 15th in production based off of the serial number. It had some flaws, but nothing bad at all! Just a super small finish crack at the nut, and some super fine scratches on the back of the body which didn't bother me. Anyway, this thing was set-up amazing! Low action and ready to rip out of the box. I've been waiting to pull the trigger on an Explorer for a long time, and I'm so glad I waited. YOU WON"T BE DISAPPOINTED. Well, at least I wasn't!