jlb32":1d3kspvr said:
fretout":1d3kspvr said:
rottingcorpse":1d3kspvr said:
You scored sexy twins,who both put out bigtime! Every man's dream.
Thanks man! Yeah, they're total sluts. Haha! I got a killer price on them, so it all made sense. I remember reading a while ago that GC was going to stop negotiating price, but I was able to get them down to used prices on these, so two it is!
Oblivion DC":1d3kspvr said:
Those are some good looking guitars man! Be happy you didn't get an alpine white one because eventually they go all yellow/old cream on you. Some people really like that but it's really not my thing. Congrats and happy new guitar day!!
Thanks DC! I'm not too big a fan of the whole "yellowing" of the nitrocellulose either. I'm too much of a perfectionist to be able to accept it. My Alpine White '68 has aged to an ivory color, which is about as far as I can stand. I can't stand the new '74RIs because the binding reminds me of cheddar cheese, but there are some that love it. To each their own. I'm hoping this is as "dark" as the Nitro ages on my 68 (not the best pic, but it's the closest to the actual color)...
Racerxrated":1d3kspvr said:
Congrats!
Everyone loves how an LP resonates, even if they don't necessarily like LPs. I think an Explorer resonates just as thick. My first real guitar was an early 80s Destroyer..always contemplated getting the real deal.
Very True! I don't know how or why, but I notice that the body on both the Explorers resonates more than any other guitar I've owned! These things are like tuning forks! I figured that the LP would resonate more (mostly due to the maple cap and sometimes the maple neck), but I was wrong! The Explorer vibrates more than any other guitar I've played! I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not yet, but it's amazing how great these sound acoustically.
I read a lot of reviews in the last few months about how different players said they noticed a sharper attack on their Explorers compared to their LPs. Maybe it's the maple cap on the LPs that keeps that resonance "under control" and gives them a thicker, rounder tone. I have no idea, but surprisingly, there is a place for these "unconventional" guitar shapes, and I'm really liking it so far!
jlb32":1d3kspvr said:
Congrats! I love the looks of those!
Are they new models? Where did you buy from?
Thanks JLB! I kinda resigned myself to getting an Explorer with a pickguard because the 1984 models I've found are around $1,200 in rough shape, and the prices on the 1984 Explorer Reissues are higher than what I wanted to pay. I was searching around and saw these and it took my about a month to determine that the control layout is identical to the 1984 Reissues, save for the input jack on the side.
The only other Explorer without a pickguard is the Explorer Pro (updated version of the Explorer 90 designed in part by Mathias Jabs). I'm a pretty big guy, and I stopped considering a Flying V because it looks like a toy when I play them, so the Explorer Pro isn't an option for me either. This run is a full size Explorer, and they rarely ever make a full size Explorer without a pickguard, so I had to jump on them.
As I understand it, these were limited to a run in 2016 only and are no longer being made. From what I've been able to research online (i.e. Take this with a grain of salt), Gibson completes limited runs in batches of 40. I purchased from Guitar Center, and I bought the very last two in the US. I searched around, and while a few of the bigger name stores have a few left, they are getting down to single-digit supplies at many of the stores I called. And, FWIW, I tried to find anyone else that bought these, and I could only find one thread about them. I guess they could be considered "under the radar", but you can look up specs on Gibson's website, but no brick and mortar stores have them.
Thanks!! I really do love the Gibson Explorer look without the pickguard. They just do not seem to make many of them and like you stated the '84 models are way overpriced considering condition of most of them. I really love the look of these. I might have to search and find one of these, if they are still a few around!
jlb32":1d3kspvr said:
fretout":1d3kspvr said:
rottingcorpse":1d3kspvr said:
You scored sexy twins,who both put out bigtime! Every man's dream.
Thanks man! Yeah, they're total sluts. Haha! I got a killer price on them, so it all made sense. I remember reading a while ago that GC was going to stop negotiating price, but I was able to get them down to used prices on these, so two it is!
Oblivion DC":1d3kspvr said:
Those are some good looking guitars man! Be happy you didn't get an alpine white one because eventually they go all yellow/old cream on you. Some people really like that but it's really not my thing. Congrats and happy new guitar day!!
Thanks DC! I'm not too big a fan of the whole "yellowing" of the nitrocellulose either. I'm too much of a perfectionist to be able to accept it. My Alpine White '68 has aged to an ivory color, which is about as far as I can stand. I can't stand the new '74RIs because the binding reminds me of cheddar cheese, but there are some that love it. To each their own. I'm hoping this is as "dark" as the Nitro ages on my 68 (not the best pic, but it's the closest to the actual color)...
Racerxrated":1d3kspvr said:
Congrats!
Everyone loves how an LP resonates, even if they don't necessarily like LPs. I think an Explorer resonates just as thick. My first real guitar was an early 80s Destroyer..always contemplated getting the real deal.
Very True! I don't know how or why, but I notice that the body on both the Explorers resonates more than any other guitar I've owned! These things are like tuning forks! I figured that the LP would resonate more (mostly due to the maple cap and sometimes the maple neck), but I was wrong! The Explorer vibrates more than any other guitar I've played! I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not yet, but it's amazing how great these sound acoustically.
I read a lot of reviews in the last few months about how different players said they noticed a sharper attack on their Explorers compared to their LPs. Maybe it's the maple cap on the LPs that keeps that resonance "under control" and gives them a thicker, rounder tone. I have no idea, but surprisingly, there is a place for these "unconventional" guitar shapes, and I'm really liking it so far!
jlb32":1d3kspvr said:
Congrats! I love the looks of those!
Are they new models? Where did you buy from?
Thanks JLB! I kinda resigned myself to getting an Explorer with a pickguard because the 1984 models I've found are around $1,200 in rough shape, and the prices on the 1984 Explorer Reissues are higher than what I wanted to pay. I was searching around and saw these and it took my about a month to determine that the control layout is identical to the 1984 Reissues, save for the input jack on the side.
The only other Explorer without a pickguard is the Explorer Pro (updated version of the Explorer 90 designed in part by Mathias Jabs). I'm a pretty big guy, and I stopped considering a Flying V because it looks like a toy when I play them, so the Explorer Pro isn't an option for me either. This run is a full size Explorer, and they rarely ever make a full size Explorer without a pickguard, so I had to jump on them.
As I understand it, these were limited to a run in 2016 only and are no longer being made. From what I've been able to research online (i.e. Take this with a grain of salt), Gibson completes limited runs in batches of 40. I purchased from Guitar Center, and I bought the very last two in the US. I searched around, and while a few of the bigger name stores have a few left, they are getting down to single-digit supplies at many of the stores I called. And, FWIW, I tried to find anyone else that bought these, and I could only find one thread about them. I guess they could be considered "under the radar", but you can look up specs on Gibson's website, but no brick and mortar stores have them.
Thanks!! I really do love the Gibson Explorer look without the pickguard. They just do not seem to make many of them and like you stated the '84 models are way overpriced considering condition of most of them. I really love the look of these. I might have to search and find one of these, if they are still a few around!
Anytime man! PM me if you want to know a few places I found that still have them. I was trying to find the specs on the original 1983/1984 Explorers and comparing them to the 1984 Reissue, and (as always) Gibson has some little quirks between models, but the biggest difference was that the original 1984 Explorers had a silk-screened Gibson logo, while the 1984 Reissues (including the 2008 GOTW Explorer) have a Mother-Of-Pearl Gibson logo. While I am a stickler for details, I like the MOP inlay better.
One other weird coincidence is the fact that these all have Rosewood fretboards. Now, I've always been partial to Ebony, but the original 1984 Explorers all came with Rosewood Fretboards. Also, Gibson was using Richlite and Grenadillo for fretboards the last few years (and is still using Grenadillo on some of the Flying Vs), and Explorers wouldn't be the first model to receive the new Rosewood Fretboards. I'd imagined they would be used for LPs and SGs long before the more extreme shapes like Explorers and Flying Vs.
This is all speculation based on what I've read, but there's been talks over the years of having a Hetfield signature Gibson, but it seems each time they start production, something happens and the deal falls through. Back in 2008, Gibson actually made an Iron Cross duplicate for James, and if you can find some of the old "Mission Metallica" videos, you can see James playing an "unaged" Iron Cross that still have the "Gibson Custom" hangtags on it. It was rumored that Gibson refused to agree to Hetfield's terms, so the entire run was scrapped, and ESP ended up issuing their version of the Iron Cross.
About a year after the Iron Cross debacle, James approached Gibson about making some signature Explorers based around his old SO WHAT and MORE BEER Explorers. Once again, Gibson made a run of these Hetfield Signature Explorers, but negotiations fell through once again, and Gibson ended up selling the few Hetfield Signature Explorers as the GOTW - week 47, but with no mention of Hetfield. Here's the link for this run of guitars...
http://archive.gibson.com/en-us/Divisio ... er-Week47/
So, fast forward to last year. James mentioned in an interview that he had been approached about making a coffee table book, and was asked for some of his favorite guitars, as well as guitars that he's most known for playing, and he naturally selected his SO WHAT and MORE BEER Explorers to be highlighted, and this coincided with the 30th anniversary of Master Of Puppets, and the release of their authorized MOP book.
Now, It's a weird coincidence that each time there is a milestone for James/Metallica, there's talks of a Gibson Signature guitar, and that there's always something that prevents a Hetfield Signature guitar from being released, but the guitars that were built end up being sold, but without an official signature model designation.
There's a few things that make me wonder if this Limited Run might have been a similar situation:
1. First, Explorers have normally been sold with the 496R/500T pickups, and have been sold with this combo since around 1991. The only exceptions have been the Explorer Pro models, and other Signature Explorers. This run of Explorers came stock with Dirty Fingers pickups, which is what James had in his Gibson Explorer before he swapped them out for the EMG 81/60 combo, some time during the MOP tour.
2. The control layout mirrors the GOTW/84 Reissue layout. For whatever reason, Gibson has refused to offer a pickguard free Explorer with the triangle control arrangement. The only difference is they put the jack where the corner knob would be, but after measuring the layout on the '84 Reissue, this layout is identical.
3. The finish on this model is completely different than on the other "Faded" models. On the previous Faded models (LP, SG, Explorer, Flying V), no grain filler was used, and Nitrocellulose was shot over the sanded wood. On the "2016 Faded", they completely finished the wood. The only difference is they shot a satin coat of Nitrocellulose over the sanded and filled Mahogany, so this series has a very smooth, comfortable finish on it. I don't know why the 2016 Faded Explorer doesn't have the same finishing process as the 2005-2009 Faded series, but it's definitely a more finished product.
So, while I haven't found any concrete evidence that links these Explorers to Hetfield, it is a strange coincidence that the year of Master or Puppet's 30th anniversary, Gibson releases an Explorer with the same specs as Hetfield's Explorer, same control layout, same Rosewood fretboard (instead of using Richlite/Grenadillo/Baked Maple), same Dirty Fingers pickups, and while the finish is "Natural" instead of Alpine White, the fact that it's completely finished makes it seem like these were guitars that were built for a purpose, and then were abandoned Au Natural, and pushed out to retail with no marketing, and labeled "limited edition". The only other time Gibson made a full-size, pickguard free Explorer was when another Hetfield Signature Explorer fell through...back when Death Magnetic was being recorded.
This is all just speculation, and means zero to me personally, but after driving myself crazy trying to research these Explorers, I makes me wonder why they wouldn't have made a bigger deal about these. I've been wanting a pickguardless Explorer for a long time, and I just happened to see these. Then again, Gibson makes stupid choices all the time, so maybe it's just another Gibson anomaly
