Epi Explorer / Destroyer

[LypsLynch55]

Well, I finally got off my ass and did all the mods I wanted to do to this guitar....its the famed Epi Explorer that Strat78 raves so much about....some of his tracks where done with this guitar.....laugh all u want about Epiphone, this is one badass guitar...

It has a 30+ y/o Super70 p/up in the bridge, a 20+ y/o APH-1 S/D in the neck...both hooked up to 250k volume pots....3rd knob (bell knobs and white pickguard plus chrome p/up mounting rings are other touches.....) is placeholder for aesthetic purposes.....it has a brass nut......now that i finally have a real tube amp, eventually I'll get some new clips up....right now that desktop is down and the labtop doesnt have a good enough soundcard to record, not to mention I need a S57.......

[Mr_Pink]

Nice !!!!
What's up with the bridge, Ibanez, or one of those new allparts ones.

[vanhalen5150]

Epi or not....if it sounds good...it is good.

[LypsLynch55]

i believe its an allparts bridge.....the ibanez ones from that era where the same style as the Gibsons (tune-o-matic style).....Strat78 maybe better able to answer this as he changed the bridge...

[leadguy]

Looks good to me.

Amazing how little it all costs with the Super 70s not going for enormous prices.

For a EVH type deal this is the way to go unless you can track down a 70s Ibanez Destroyer.

[LypsLynch55]

Yeah, basically i got alot of "essential EVH goodies" at this time - I acquired the Guitar (it had S/D EVH/'78 in it at the time), Super70, and blue MXR 6-band for $500.

Duncan EVH has since gone on to live in the Hard Ash San Dimas Strat i own. Those A2 pickups sound real good in Ash bodies....

[jimi22812]

Very cool, LL55! I plan on getting one very shortly and performing a few "selective upgrades" as well!
Two things though, what year is this one and was it made in Korea?

[Star*Guitar]

Even though it looks killer this way. I think you should consider taking off the pup covers to open the sound up even more.

[LypsLynch55]

Very cool, LL55! I plan on getting one very shortly and performing a few "selective upgrades" as well!
Two things though, what year is this one and was it made in Korea?

We're gonna have to wait on the man (Strat78) to weigh in...he was original owner.....he and i are both in agreement that there is **something** to this guitar - like even though its a low-end model, its got "it"........like finding that one magical purple plexi that just sounds better, this guitar has it.

Even though it looks killer this way. I think you should consider taking off the pup covers to open the sound up even more.

I've tried Super70s w the covers OFF and I find the tone to be slightly warmer with the cover on and less shrill-ey. I threw an old Ibanez Super70 cover on the neck p/up to even out asthetics......this guitar was in a state of disarray for too long not to dress it up nicely again...
you can see it in "franken-plorer" state on my soundclick page....you can hear it on action on the 2 YRGM clips there....keep in mind the one clip is over the top with gain....but I was trying for a speaker-smoothing type sound with a Pod.....trying to see if i could get something similar to VH I.......

[harddriver]

The super 70 does sound warmer and less shrill with the nickel cover on in my experience as well.

I have a Smits Ultra 7T set in my EPI explorer, I consider them an Asain made Gibson copy much like the ye olde Ibanez Destroyer.

[spaceace76]

The super 70 does sound warmer and less shrill with the nickel cover on in my experience as well.

this is true with nearly all humbucker covers. the nickel covers are inherently capacitive, meaning they shave off highs. they also will help with RF interference, which i think was their original intention. glad you guys are listening with your ears, not your wallets!

and this epi explorer really looks stunning. maybe i'll add it to the list...

sweet axe, LL! how've you been?

[OnTheFritz]

Wow, that looks fantastic!
Is the body Ash, or perhaps Sen?
What year was this built?

Some version of these/this is going to be my next guitar.

[Brad737]

These Epi Explorers are great guitars. They're made of several pieces of laminated korina. The ones I've played have all sounded nice and warm. And they've all played well. If I didn't have a sen-bodied Greco, I'd absolutely have one of these.

BTW, I got a Super70 from Ben and put it in my Greco. Those pickups are simply stellar. I don't know why they aren't more expensive. LOVE IT!

[Crunchboy]

If that Epi's a "player", then it's a great value. But I really want this one:
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=527156" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dirtycooter]

Nashville TN has a "Gibson Showcase" store in their mall down there with all kinds of guitars and stuff- in there they had a Korina Re-issue V just like Eds '58 made in the 80's I think that I seen this July on vacation.
But at over $2000 used I was like But it was a nice guitar-kinda expensive but woulda like to have had it.
But I have a hard time spending over $1500 on any guitar really or $1000 for that matter.