Gibson Explorer copies....

[momo]

Hello, Im currently looking for a Gibson explorer or a good copy, there seems to be quite a selection to choose from....
Greco,Fernandes,Hamer,Ibanez,Burny, all make a copy of this rockin guitar style.
All of them seem to have adopted the construction meathod of Gibson...set neck, some do have real Korina wood, others alder....Id like to have your opinion on these, any owners of copies that could chip in on thier experience would be great.

Also, what good humbuckers should I look for, Ive been playing a strat for years and I know nothing of which humbucker is da bomb and which are fisher price quality!
I have about 20-25 examples that Im watching on ebay, Im a bit stumped as to how to eliminate the great ones from the rest.

Of coarse If I had 1500 dollars to spend, I could get a vintage Gibson, but I have about 700 dollars to spend for a new guitar!...
Cheers

[jkemmery]

Have you thought at all about buying the components and "rolling your own"?

IMO you can't go wrong with either Dimarzio's or Seymour Duncan humbuckers, just choose the one's to fit the sound you want.

Of course, if your looking at an off-the-shelf Explorer copy on a budget, I would start at Epiphone, since they are Gibson's "Squier".

[dsrb]

Try epiphone. They make really good guitars for the price. Put in some duncans, dimarzios or.. perhaps bill lawrence (if you want a really heavy tone).

I think Ibanez use to make a model called Destroyer (close to gibson explorer) but now only icemans are available. You can try also Jackson Kelly. Really nice guitar.. and you will not need to make any substancial change. I think it's the best x-style guitar out there.

[ccso8462]

Carvin just brought back their x-style, model V220M. Nice guitar, coil split is standard, trem is xtra, but for $799 plus $19 shipping, it's a great buy. Not an Explorer, but worth taking a look at.

[momo]

jkemmery said:

IMO you can't go wrong with either Dimarzio's or Seymour Duncan humbuckers, just choose the one's to fit the sound you want.

"Squier".

Hey thanks guys, ill be checking the above choices....so can anyone explain in sonic terms what differences are between Dimarzio and SDuncans

thanks,Cheers

[dsrb]

Differences.. I think the differences are "different" for everyone lol. For me, it seems Seymour are more organic than dimarzios.. maybe Dimarzios are a bit more agressive. But then.. there are a lot of pickups from each brand, with different advantages and problems. I'ld go for seymor '59 or jb. Great and balanced tone. For dimarzios, maybe a evolution. On each brand website you have samples from each of their models. If it helps..

[jkemmery]

so can anyone explain in sonic terms what differences are between Dimarzio and SDuncans

If you ask me, there's more of a difference between the pickups offered by a company than one company's pickups vs. another's. High output, ceramic magnet pickups from Dimarzio sound more like high output ceramic magnet Seymour Duncans than they do low output alnico magnet Dimarzios.

Basically, if you are playing with more distortion, a higher output pickup is preferred, wheras lower output pickups are generally preferred for cleaner sounds. As far as Dimarzio's, I like Nortons, Air Nortons & Virtual Hot PAFs for a good balanced tone and ouput, but those are just my choices. I like Duncan JBs and Custom Customs, again that's just me.

[momo]

So im still looking for that great explorer at a good price.....Im thinking of buying a new epiphone copy and swap the pickups for better ones.....can anyone tell me what new pups for sale are made to emulate old PAF pickups?
I checked ebay for originals, its either too expensive or either cheap chinese copies that look great but are probably very bad.
thanks
Oh, and by the way.....apart from the pups, is there anything else on epiphone explorer copies that are not that great?

[pollyshero]

The ORIGINAL Explorer copy:

www.hamerguitars.com/?fa=detail&mid=394&sid=196

And the more affordable offshore product - Hey check it out - KORINA

www.hamerguitars.com/?fa=detail&mid=1987&sid=182

[momo]

You know, this might be it!, it has Korina wood, but also has the Duncan pickups....thats what I would of bought to put in the epiphone.
thanks for the reply
now if I can only find this on ebay...

[momo]

OK, now im a bit confused....lets say I had the money for it, I would buy a 2000 dollar Gibson vintage of even better if I could find a 76/77 Ibanez Destroyer.
But back to reality, I could buy either a epiphone or Hamer xt copy...change the pups(although I would really test out the Seymore Duncans 59neck and JB bridge on the Hamer first).
That could work for me....now what would definetly make the sale would be on Hardware/workmanship.
I read that the Hamer xt tuners are not that great, and that there is a ton of poly finish over a STICKER that gives the nice grain on wood!....I could live with the finish, but the tuners have to be good!
So how are the tuners/finish on a epiphone?
Of coarse, if I could choose the guitar by handling it and seeing it, that would be better, but Im in Montreal and there is not one epiphone explorer or Hamer standard to be seen!....so I would buy this either on ebay or a good online store....

I guess what I really need is opinions from you guys that have either of the 2. I know that quality standards on imports can change from one guitar to another, so its still a bit of a shot in the dark as far as buying online without seeing it!
thanks for the help....
with a bit of luck and good advice, ill be soon "Icky thumping" the hell out of my new find!

[pollyshero]

I haven't seriously looked at any XT series lately. Early examples that I checked out left me cold as far as workmanship and hardware.

Things may have changed in the last 5 years. A good indicator of positive change is the switch from "Duncan Design" pickups (offshore licensed and manufactured but designed by S.D.) back to genuine "Seymour Duncan" or Hamer model pups on the newer guitars. Maybe they've gone back to Gotoh tuners as well...

I don't have a Standard, but I own two Korean pre XT Studio Archtops. I replaced the pickups in one, but kept the Duncan Designs in the other. The hardware isn't top-of-the-line, but they're both well made and perfectly playable and adequate.





I've NEVER seen a Hamer finished as you described. I DO know that they offered (maybe still do) some guitars with screen-printed graphics under a clear coat finish (as a matter fact they claim to be the first to do this - a very popular method of finishing custom graphics in the 80's). The wood you see on the Korina model is WOOD.

If I had $2000 & really wanted a Korina model I'd contact Hamer - they'll build just about anything (just ask Rick Neilson).


Found on eBay:

NEW HAMER BLACK STANDARD ELECTRIC GUITAR

BRAND NEW Hamer XT Series Standard Custom

HAMER STANDARD -STD - USED SECOND

NEW HAMER NATURAL KORINA STANDARD ELECTRIC GUITAR


Remember that all eBay links are time sensitive. At some point in the future, these links will no longer work.





(edited by sumgai to make all link references active)

[momo]

Hey thanks for the help....I ended up buying this!....

NEW Dillion Korina Explorer style guitar FREE SHIPPING!

the reputation on the workmanship and hardware is what made the sell. I can always change the pups if I dont like them. Also, the dealer was like 150km from me so that is great also!





(edited by sumgai to give the link a description)

[momo]

Whhooohooo!
So ive been playing my new ax for a day and wow, this is a great buy! especially for an online transaction.
Very clean build, great pups...heavy distortion but defined chords....one piece long tenon set neck Mahogany as well as a one piece Mahogany body.
Resonates real well,acoustically very loud! I tried an Epiphone at a store...real stale acoustic sound compared to this babe!
Well balanced, although I have to get used to the strap position, it tends to push the fretboard away from me, its not too bad, but if I have to look at the board, then I either have to lean further forward, or pull it back towards me.....its not a big deal, its just that my strat was so snugly fit!
All in all, this in my opinion, is the best bang for the buck in this price category, seriously, the workmanship on this ax is similar to guitars that are in the 2000 dollar price range!
ALL frets are cleanly mounted, no nicks on the fretboard, real easy to slide up and down...like butter....which makes me realize that my strat is due for a fret dressing!
This is my first Humbucker ax, and well, one of the reasons I avoided those in the past was because of the muddyness I experienced playing heavy distortion. Now I know that lots of things ca muddy it up, but now, I tried my homemade Big muffs and Fuzzface....WOW, nice harmonics and interelation between notes, all coming thru the distortion!
Ill be ignoring my Strat for a while before I regain some kind of balance!
Cheers