The Electra Forums

It was suggested I post up some of my Explorer shape guitars so here are a few to start...

Hamers

















Some Deans

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Free Your Mind and Your A$$ Will Follow......

Gorgeous! How do they compare? There are some pretty nice Dean guitars out there...

Real beauties!

RCSBlues

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RCSBlues

I'm jealous of your collection. I want to get an old ESP Explorer, as in the Gibson-shaped one (think James Hetfield's Explorers.) The closest I can find is an Edwards, but that's fine by me. Now to save...

You're taking it easy.
I want an Aria SB-1000 Black N' Gold, as in the one Cliff used (That Jason got... ), but we know I'm shooting too high.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

To buy the old Explorer Shape, it has to be either Edwards, or ESP Custom Shop. I can't afford $4000 for a custom shop explorer, so I'll go with the much cheaper Edwards eventually.

It's

vs

You never know, maybe an ESP will waltz onto Craigslist or something.
I dunno, maybe even the original Gibson.

But as I said, my Aria is a long time coming....

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

Point taken.
Wouldn't it be nice to be rich?

Well, that depends.
Yes, for buying what you want when you want it, but no for being a stuck up snob with no real importance.

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

Touché.
I'd like to think of myself as rich without the negatives.
I was talking to the people on the ESP forum - apparently the Edwards explorers are really bad... I guess I'll keeeep on seearchaaan... thiiis search goooes onnnn...
/bad reference to a bad song.
(Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tock...) o_O

Give Dean a strong consideration for an Explorer shape guitar. The Korean import Zs are real nice bang for the bucks. Check out the Black Gold model. It is a Trans Black Flametop veneer on Mahogany. Grover tuners. Good used ones are $350 to $550 new with case. My Trans Green one is based on that model but obviously it is Green. That is POSSIBLY one of only four. They were to be a Ed Roman/Dean special run and Ed had to stop selling Explorer shaped non Gibson guitars due to a lawsuit with them back in about 2005 or 2006 IIRC.

I think the Hamers win out ultimately for me. I've been a fan of those guitars since I was a dirty faced kid of 16 in 1977 and saw my first Hamer ad in Guitar Player. It was a shot of, then unknown to me, Rick Nielsen with hair and no hat even but a BADASS Standard. I wanted an Explorer for many reason prior to that but seeing one with a Flametop like a Les Paul, well that was easy enough to see it had to happen. Soon I seen my first one in person at Knut-Kopee Music in Minneapolis. Floored about it, I had to wait 5 years to get one of my own. The newer ones are INSANE. The Blonde one above on the right is my dream finish. It is to me the guitar from that ad all those years ago. The fit, feel, parts and methods used to build them. Hamer has had some great import stuff come out. The Korean made stuff has been my favorite among thier Korean, Chinese, or Indonesian made stuff. Especially older Hamer Slammer Series stuff. NOT Slammer by Hamer, Hamer Slammer Series.

My '96 USA Deans are a great product too. Of my 18 Deans 3 are '96 USA builds. At that time the current version of Dean had a small shop in eastern Tampa with two guys in paticular, Jon Hill and Ben Chafin building for them. Ben now runs Chafin Customs and of course, is restarting Electra! Jon has kinda went full circle and since 01/08 has been back in Tampa building for Dean as head of the USA Shop. The current USA Deans are available and are at peak build quality. Dean has really got some cool things going on.

Here is a guitar Ben rebuilt/built for me. It started with my first Evilbay purchase in 2000, a Mighty Mite late '70s Explorer body. I then gathered all the parts together and finally in mid 2006 convinced Ben to take on the project. I put a '93 Hamer USA neck with it, Dean USA pickups, Dimarzio bridge, Sperzel tuners, RS Guitarworks wiring and electronics. Finish by Moe's House of Color. Ben refretted it and rebound the body too. It had been stripped and the binding was very melted. This guitar was dreamed about from 1979, when I first seen Mighty Mite stuff coming out, until completion in 2008. Ben only worked on it as a side project for me. Told me he doesn't normally take on that stuff. Like I forgot it took me two years to convince him to put it together. That cat is one busy mofo too. I need to see how the Summer NAMM treated him.

Mighy Hamer Daytona Mite

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Free Your Mind and Your A$$ Will Follow......

http://cgi.ebay.com/Metallica-Master-of ... 286.c0.m14

Hey, look what I found... what both of us want. Too bad that's so expensive.

I tried a new Gibby Explorer at Sam Ash the other day... It played so much better than my Electra, just because of the mistreatment my Electra has gotten.

I need to win the lottery, NOW.

And, is this a bad time to say that I like St. Anger?

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Addicted to Matsumoku.

For shame!

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Well.....
Austin lp Copy w/ emgs
custom made fender strat
epiphone lp with emg
81 electra phoenix x130b
76 electra omega x210
takamine acoustic
westbrook nylon

Meh, different people have different preferences. I like all of the 80s metal, like Megadeth, Slayer, Flotsam & Jetsam etc. That's why I found it bad.

Also, the lyrics are kinda ridiculous.
"My lifestyle determines my deathstyle"
"Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tock"
"KILL KILL KILL KILL, KILL"
etc.

In other news, I wish Gibson would just make the 84 Explorers a standard model instead of the current models. Or have both.