Crayon Sky Music

The Gibson Explorer was launched in 1958 alongside the Flying V as part of the three-guitar Modernistic series, built to appease the critics accusing Gibson of being conservative and old-fashioned in guitar design, and to show that they could be as modern as Fender were being with their Stratocaster and Telecaster models. The three models on offer were made from a wood known as korina–a type of African wood which Gibson first used on the Modernistic guitars. This foray into modernistic guitar design to rival Fender was massively unsuccessful, with only 81 Flying Vs sold in 1958.

The missing third guitar, the Moderne, never even made it to prototype stage–at least until Gibson “reissued” it in 1982. The Modernistic series was discontinued in 1959. The number of Explorers built in 1958-59 was put by official Gibson records at 22 and Flying Vs at 98.Apart from the shape being re-used and toned down for the Ray Dietrich-designed Firebird of 1963, that was the end of the Explorer until 1982, when it was reissued alongside the Moderne, and became hugely successful.

The Flying V had been reissued in 1967 and became an icon in the hands of popular and influential players such as Jimi Hendrix and Albert King. In 1982 the Explorer was greeted with a similar reaction, but a new breed of talented young players picked one up after seeing the radical shape.

For several Metallica albums James Hetfield used a white 1984 Explorer. Other guitarists who have played Explorers are Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick (who owns two original korina models from 1958), Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, The Edge of U2, Allen Collins of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Eric Clapton and Matthias Jabs of the Scorpions.

The Explorer is noted for its’ unusual body shape and headstock. The body is very angular, with several extended parts which made the guitar hard to play sitting down.

On some prototypes the headstock was a split shape, not unlike the shape used on modern Dean guitars. This was changed to a drooped “banana” headstock for the production models, which could be the inspiration for the headstock shape used on several modern guitars such as Jacksons.

The Explorer was originally known as the Futura at prototype stage and had an altered body shape with a narrower waist. Some Futura prototypes were sold and have made it into the hands of eager Gibson collectors. Also, not all were made of korina like the production Explorers- at least one was made of mahogany. These Futura models were later reissued.

As well as the Dean Z, a high-quality Explorer copy, the reissued Explorer is still on sale and is marketed as the X-Plorer. It has several sub-models such as reissued 1958-style models made of korina wood, the Shred X Explorer, which at the time of writing was imminently going into production.

This model corresponds with the Shred V, based on the Flying V. Both models are all black with rosewood fingerboards.

Also at the time of writing there was a special edition for 2008 and 2009 to celebrate 50 years of the Explorer and Flying V- two of the most successful guitars of all time.

Fender Frontman 15R