• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

2018 Explorer

matei

Banned
Joined
Jan 2, 2004
Messages
158
Hiya... I was in the market to pick up a particular guitar that had been on sale for ages in one of my fave guitar shops, only to discover it had gone.

They had a 2018 Explorer on sale, second-hand, so I figured I'd give it a go. It was really, really light - but tonewise it was a dud. It also had a weird issue with the nut and the frets. The nut was misaligned so the high E would slip off the fretboard at the slightest use of vibrato, and the frets werecut about 1-2mm shorter than you would usually expect, in other words the slope where they were snipped started much sooner than usual, made for an unpleasant experience.

Went down the street to another place that stocks mostly Gibson, was trying out a 2018 R8 which sounded superb when I saw another Explorer on the wall, this one brand new.

Figured I'd have another go - wow. Magic guitar. A bit heavier, but incredibly resonant. Chords fretted up high ring out like a harp. Loads of sustain.

Beautiful finish, lovely grained mahogany. The neck is a bit slimmer than I'd usually use, but it makes lead work nearly effortless.

Needless to say, I bought it on the spot. They gave me a really good deal as well. Couldn't turn it down.

The fact that the fretboard is from terrified armadillo or whatever it is called never crossed my mind, it looked great and sounded great.

Definitely worth checking out those 2018 Gibsons.
 

matei

Banned
Joined
Jan 2, 2004
Messages
158
Just curious, responding to my own thread... The shop was selling this guitar as a 2019, info in case says it was made on 22/08/18, however serial number is 190009906.

It got me thinking, when are the new model year guitars actually produced?

*** Update, never mind. It is stamped "2019 model" on the back, so I guess despite it being built in 2018, it has 2019 specs. Pretty cool***
 
Last edited:

AA00475Bassman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Messages
3,769
PZihRjg.jpg
[/IMG]

With gold nobs aged nickel , love every thing about this Guitar !
 
Top