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.
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.