RIFFER THAN THOU
This model isn’t exactly like the Gibson that certain thrashers were modifying in the 80s. It has a simple volume/tone control layout instead of volume/volume/tone, for instance. But it still has that aggressive shape, Mahogany body and neck, 22 frets and a whole lot of attitude. The neck is a SlimTaper “D” profile, which positions the hand perfectly for complex riffage, aided by the 12” fretboard radius, which gives you a flat-but-not-too-flat playing surface. The fingerboard is Rosewood and is adorned with simple dot inlays. The strings are anchored by a StopBar tailpiece and they pass over a LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge, and the nut width is 1.68”. The classically-shaped headstock carries six Grover tuners with small buttons.
The active pickups are an EMG 81 in the bridge position and an 85 in the neck. There’s a battery compartment in the back, and a 3-way pickup selector gives you bridge, bridge/neck and neck options. The pickup choice is an interesting one because certain thrashers favoured an EMG 60 in the neck position. But this is not designed to be an exact copy of anyone’s guitar. Oh, also it’s available in two colours: Alpine White and Ebony. No other colours are available. Sad but true.
EAR OF THE BEHOLDER
So how does this beast sound? Big, mean, precise and powerful. The EMG 81 keeps up with ultra-fast alternate picking while striking the perfect balance between attack and body. It keeps up with down-tuned riffs perfectly well, and it has exactly the kind of slightly cold, slightly sterile clean tone that many thrash players look for. The neck pickup isn’t as smooth and bluesy as the 60 would be, but again it gives you great attack and definition for fast playing — which is especially important in thrash lead-playing where you’ll find yourself doing everything from bluesy bends to rapid-fire arpeggios, string skips and tapping. The neck pickup’s clean tone is a little livelier than the bridge, approaching an almost jazzy texture at times.
Epiphone has been careful to ensure that the playability of the 1984 Explorer EX puts up just enough of a fight to prompt you to whack the string hard and generate those big punchy tones. It’s not a hard guitar to play but it doesn’t do all the work for you either. You’ll need a heavy pick to get the right kind of crunch, and maybe a really long strap so you can really give it some fuel and fire with your picking hand.
THE MEMORY REMAINS
Although fans of certain thrashers are probably the most logical owners of this guitar, it’s an all-round great metal axe which can cover a lot of ground, from hard rock to Open C extreme metal of the ‘Strapping Young Lad’ variety. And it has enough of its own thing going on that you can choose to celebrate its similarities to those axes used in the 80s and early 90s, or you can approach it as an instrument for your music right now.
