Changed my Gibson Explorer up. Thoughts?

jlb32

New member
Added the rusted pickguard and raw brass control knobs and tailpiece. Think I will leave the rest of the hardware chrome for contrast and something completely different.

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Well that's different! I wasn't sure I liked it at first but after looking at it for a few it grew on me a bit. Get a thick leather strap to go with it and you're all set.
 
It looks good, but I think I’d “age” the rest of the hardware. The rusted stop tailpiece next to a shiny bridge looks off to me. Just my copper-tinged .02.
 
I know but I do not want to go all brass so I am keeping some of the chrome also. Maybe if I age the chrome parts some?
 
Actually everything on this guitar is aged from playing. The finish, hardware, etc.. is scratched up, dinged, etc.. from gigging and playing over the years. The guitar is a gig guitar in person. Alot of cosmetic dameage.

The new brass parts are just aging naturally at the moment but even they have some scratches from use already.
 
I think the pick guard and the knobs look fantastic.
I have no opinion on the bridge / tailpiece other than the fact that they don't match kinda bothers me.
I think they need to be the same finish, but I don't think it matters whether they match the brass knobs & the rusted pick guard.
That pick guard on the black finish is :rock:
 
fusedbrain":3fhs4rxk said:
I think the pick guard and the knobs look fantastic.
I have no opinion on the bridge / tailpiece other than the fact that they don't match kinda bothers me.
I think they need to be the same finish, but I don't think it matters whether they match the brass knobs & the rusted pick guard.
That pick guard on the black finish is :rock:

Thanks! I kind of have the same feeling as I love the pickguard and control knobs.

As for the tailpiece. I do not want the tailpiece and bridge to match personally. I want it to be different with some contrast between the brass and the chrome. Just want this guitar to be different from everything else out there I have seen or owned.
 
jlb32":1woi4h55 said:
fusedbrain":1woi4h55 said:
I think the pick guard and the knobs look fantastic.
I have no opinion on the bridge / tailpiece other than the fact that they don't match kinda bothers me.
I think they need to be the same finish, but I don't think it matters whether they match the brass knobs & the rusted pick guard.
That pick guard on the black finish is :rock:

Thanks! I kind of have the same feeling as I love the pickguard and control knobs.

As for the tailpiece. I do not want the tailpiece and bridge to match personally. I want it to be different with some contrast between the brass and the chrome. Just want this guitar to be different from everything else out there I have seen or owned.
:thumbsup:
 
Thanks guys! I have loved the guitar for years. It has always played and sounded great but just wanted something different and kind of unique looks wise. I think I am happy with the looks at the moment.

Right now it has a push/pull pot but it only switches from the bridge to neck pickup, no blend of the 2. I am thinking about doing a 3 way toggle but I really like the looks right now and don't really use the neck/bridge blend setting to often so I'm not sure.

Thoughts? Would you leave the 3 knobs or go with a 3-way toggle, volume, tone setup? I like a tone control. Use it alot so I really do not want volume, volume.

Have also thought about brushed gold EMG pickups, more brass looking to match the other hardware, but not sure about that yet either since I love the way it sounds now.
 
jlb32":l27y33wf said:
Thanks guys! I have loved the guitar for years. It has always played and sounded great but just wanted something different and kind of unique looks wise. I think I am happy with the looks at the moment.

Right now it has a push/pull pot but it only switches from the bridge to neck pickup, no blend of the 2. I am thinking about doing a 3 way toggle but I really like the looks right now and don't really use the neck/bridge blend setting to often so I'm not sure.

Thoughts? Would you leave the 3 knobs or go with a 3-way toggle, volume, tone setup? I like a tone control. Use it alot so I really do not want volume, volume.

Have also thought about brushed gold EMG pickups, more brass looking to match the other hardware, but not sure about that yet either since I love the way it sounds now.



I like the way the pickups look now....kinda goes with the overall vibe.

No help from me if you use the tone knob. My preference would be a toggle and two volumes.....but then, I never touch the tone knob if the guitar has one, but I do ride the volume knob a lot. I also don’t really need the middle position. I’m either using bridge (90%) or the neck for cleans.
 
jlb32":3j3dpe0i said:
Thanks guys! I have loved the guitar for years. It has always played and sounded great but just wanted something different and kind of unique looks wise. I think I am happy with the looks at the moment.

Right now it has a push/pull pot but it only switches from the bridge to neck pickup, no blend of the 2. I am thinking about doing a 3 way toggle but I really like the looks right now and don't really use the neck/bridge blend setting to often so I'm not sure.

Thoughts? Would you leave the 3 knobs or go with a 3-way toggle, volume, tone setup? I like a tone control. Use it alot so I really do not want volume, volume.

Have also thought about brushed gold EMG pickups, more brass looking to match the other hardware, but not sure about that yet either since I love the way it sounds now.

I'd just add a brushed gold toggle to the pickguard like a regular explorer... I don't think it would affect the look that much... people didn't even notice it wasn't there until I asked about it...
 
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